Exeter 1 York 1: Mixed feelings for Mills despite deserved point

Mills admitted that he was happy overall with a point from the long trip to a team that had won their last four league matches but also added that he was frustrated his players could not hold on to a 52nd-minute lead.

In-form winger Michael Coulson opened the scoring at 
St James Park with his fifth goal of the campaign, but home forward John O’Flynn levelled on 83 minutes to earn the Grecians a share of the spoils.

It was a result that still left Mills’s men unbeaten in six matches since an opening-day defeat at home to Wycombe and the York boss said: “It’s a case of the two d’s really.

“I’m delighted we have come to a tough place like Exeter and got a big, big point, but I am disappointed that we could not see the job through after we got our noses in front. We will need to learn from that.”

Exeter had earlier missed the best chance of an even first period when Arron Davies fired over an open goal after being found on the far post by Liam Sercombe’s low cross.

Early in the second half, Coulson was far more clinical when he raced on to Jonathan Smith’s through ball to fire into Artur Krysiak’s bottom left-hand corner from eight yards.

But the Grecians rallied well and equalised when Davies’s low cross from the left was guided beyond York goalkeeper Michael Ingham by O’Flynn from eight yards.

The visitors might still have snatched a winning goal, but Coulson and Exeter old boy Jon Challinor sent shots flashing off target. In stoppage time, Dan Parslow was also denied by a brilliant reflex save from Krysiak after he had met Coulson’s corner powerfully with his head.

Exeter City: Krysiak, Amankwaah, Coles, Baldwin (Moore-Taylor, 70), Woodman, Sercombe (Doherty, 48), Oakley, Bennett, Davies, O’Flynn, Cureton (Chamberlain, 61). Unused substitutes: Evans, Tully, Frear, Keohane.

York City: Ingham, Oyebanjo, Carisle, C Smith, Taylor, Parslow, J Smith (Challinor, 65), McLaughlin (Bullock, 76), Chambers (Blair, 76), Walker, Coulson. Unused substitutes: Musselwhite, Potts, Fyfield, McReady.

Referee: S Bratt (Walsall).

Man of the match: Chris Smith.