York City have their final home pre-season friendly this evening when hosting Premier League Newcastle United at Bootham Crescent (kick-off 7.45pm).
| “They have all trained again and there has been no reaction and that’s really pleasing” – Russ Wilcox |
The Minstermen haven’t actually won any of their handful of friendlies to date and required an equaliser from trialist ex-Cheltenham Town and Bath City forward Kaid Mohamed to rescue a draw for them at non-league Darlington on Monday evening.
It was in truth largely a reserve side that at least featured welcome comebacks for defensive summer signings Eddie Nolan and George Swan. Meanwhile, forward trio Jake Hyde, Michael Coulson and Emile Sinclair remained kicking their heels on the sidelines and already face a serious case of “catch-up” with the start of the new season only just over a week away.
“Eddie played centre-half against Darlington and he is very versatile and can fill a lot of spots,” manager Russ Wilcox told The Press. “They have all trained again and there has been no reaction and that’s really pleasing.
“Of the three, Jake is the closest of them,” he continued. “He has done some work on the grass on Tuesday but he is not back with the group yet and he won’t figure against Newcastle. We are hoping that, as the week progresses and if there is no reaction, he would be very close to playing some part on Saturday [at Halifax].”
York-born former England boss Steve McClaren was expected to rely on a combination of first-team and fringe players for the visitors.
Skipper Fabricio Coloccini is one certain to miss out with an Achilles problem while Chancel Mbemba’s switch to St James’s Park won’t be completed until the end of the week.
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