YORK City manager Michael Morton was pleased with the efforts of his players after their 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday, after a debut goal from Finlay Barnes levelled the scoreline in the second half. 

Josh Windass had opened the scoring in the first-half before York drew level in the second forty-five, with City matching Wednesday with fitness and looking the more comfortable after half-time. 

Morton was pleased with this, and went into detail on the identities of the trialists, Quevin Castro's absence and Ethan Henderson's future with the club after Glen Henderson's departure.

“I think the main thing for us was just to have a look at the conditioning of the players." Morton explained.

"There was only one body that broke down, but that’s because Hursty has been ill throughout the week, but I thought physically we matched them.

"We imposed ourselves a lot more in the second half, it’s a credit to the lads with the work going on behind-the-scenes.

“I thought the detail was a little bit better in terms of how we pressed, the defensive line was higher but we’re not judging the players on it because we haven’t done that tactical work.

"Some stuff we were asking the back four in the first half and they came back to us and said I don’t get it.

"The main thing for us was conditioning, we showed that we were confident as well, we showcased that towards the end and kept our identity. We want to be able to press the full 90 minutes, we knew we’d probably be able to get 45 minutes out of them but Mitch kept going and did a few more minutes. I’m chuffed to bits for the boys.

“It was really good, once you get that connection you can get those exciting moments.

"We got ourselves into some good areas in the first half but we didn’t seem to be confident enough to get forward and into the box, the two boys down the side did well, connected well and scored.

“They’re like young lads are, they’re confident and want to drive with pace and power as well.

"We’ve got some good little players down the side, we keep them going and if they get fit they can keep going again. I like wingers that drive at you and try to get into the box, so credit to all of the boys there.

“We mentioned it to the lads but there has been a real buzz around the place, at the training ground and here, that’s how we want to keep it because if we can showcase it onto the pitch then it will rub off on the fans and we want to keep that feel-good factor."

Morton confirmed that the identities of the two trialists were Adam Porter and Dylan Moonan, formerly of Stoke City and Accrington Stanley.

“I thought he [Porter, trialist A] was tidy, he’s had a few injuries and that’s why he hasn’t sustained his time at a high level.

"He’s a really tidy player, confident and broke his leg which was a shame because he made one or two appearances in the first-team which is good.

"Went out on loan again last year and got injured again, he just couldn’t get himself into the team.

"But his attitude is good, I thought it was tidy and he looked comfortable I just want to see him when he’s fitter.

“Dylan Moonan, he’s come from someone I know and he’s played at Accrington.

"He’s a good player, plays midfield and centre-half, he’s still a young lad and has got a lot to learn but when he gave the ball away his character to go win the ball back was good, so I’m chuffed to bits for him as well."

Morton also confirmed that Castro was still recovering from a thigh injury from last season.

“We’ve just got to look at him, last year he did his thigh and we’ve got to manage that.

"Credit to West Brom they’ve given us a full report and told us the best way to manage it, he can do a lot of the contact work but he can’t do the ball striking or the long-distance stuff.

"When he’s fit he’ll be right up there with the fittest and I can’t wait for the time to get him on the pitch."

Henderson is also set to be part of Morton's plans, with the York manager to take a close at the academy striker in Tuesday night's match with Garforth Town.

“He’s been training with us, that’s what was planned from day one. I’ve always seen him as a York City player and nothing different.

"He’s been in with us, training and trying to get his conditioning up and he’ll play on Tuesday.

“We’ll give the younger ones a bit more time, there will be a couple of experienced players around it to keep the balance.

"It’s just trying to push the lads now for 45 plus minutes, we’ll see how they do on Tuesday and go again next week."