York City boss Martin Foyle was demanding improvement after a dramatic late Richard Brodie penalty earned them a narrow victory against Altrincham at Bootham Crescent.
Despite not having much to play for the mid-table visitors went ahead through substitute Chris Denham just beyond the hour.
However, the home side levelled six minutes later courtesy of David McGurk’s first goal of the season before leading scorer Brodie converted a late penalty to claim maximum points deep into added time.
The result left the hosts now ten points clear of their main challengers for the play-offs, seventh-placed AFC Wimbledon, who crashed 3-0 at home to league leaders Stevenage Borough, with only five matches remaining.
The Dons are York’s next opponents at home on Wednesday evening, with Foyle calling for improvement from his side.
“A little bit disappointed in certain aspects,” he told BBC Radio York. “We’ve got to be better, there’s no question, I’m not hiding from the fact. But we turned it round and three points at this moment in time is absolutely fantastic.”
The Minstermen also had claims for an earlier penalty waved aside, while their opponents were unhappy over substitute Michael Rankine’s challenge on goalkeeper Stuart Coburn for the equaliser.
“I think Graham [Heathcote] probably analysed the game much like myself,” Foyle continued. “I thought we should have had another penalty. He probably thought there might have been a foul on the goalkeeper for the equaliser.
“You look at the overall performance and we didn’t really click into gear. It’s a little bit frustrating, but I’ve been in this position as a player and you know it’s nervous times.
“Once we equalised you could just see that the lads worked hard. They’re honest lads and they do work hard, but we do need to improve that quality just a little bit more.”
Vital View: Another struggle for York at home against moderate opposition. But is it Foyle’s team selection, tactics or simply nerves causing the problem? Or maybe it’s down to the state of the pitch?
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