DIPO AKINYEMI’s absence from the York City squad against Tamworth has been explained by Adam Hinshelwood.

The York boss oversaw a dominant 2-0 victory for his City side against Tamworth, as the Minstermen claimed a first victory of the 2024/25 Vanarama National League season.

Ollie Pearce opened the scoring from the spot early in the second-half, before Billy Chadwick doubled the advantage just two minutes later.

However, there was a surprise on the team sheet, with the notable absence of key talisman Akinyemi, who wasn’t involved after starting in last week’s 1-1 draw with Southend United.

Hinshelwood has confirmed that Akinyemi’s absence was merely a precautionary measure, with the striker suffering a ‘slight knock’.

“It’s just a slight knock,” Hinshelwood confirmed.

“He missed a couple of days of training this week, so we were just a bit nervous on when he was available to come back.

“He didn’t have enough minutes in his legs throughout the week and I’m pretty certain that he will be available for Tuesday.

“Today would have been too much of a risk for him, he’s been strained these past couple of days but he will be ready for Tuesday.”

Hinshelwood was without the ever-reliable Akinyemi but was impressed by the quality of his squad, who stepped up to clinch an important first win of the season.

The York manager is keen for his players to know that if they are awarded an opportunity, then it is down to them to take it to make that spot on the team sheet their own.

Hinshelwood explained: “We talk about the squad being important and when you get your opportunity, you’ve got to take it.

“To have Dipo Akinyemi missing from your squad and still have the quality that we did moving forward, it really proves that.

“It’s going to be important this season, all of those key players have to be pushing each other along.

“We’ll have a look at where everybody is. We’ll recover tomorrow and see if anyone has any scraps or knocks or anything, before getting back to work on Monday.

“It will be a bigger session for those who need it, so we’ll be recovering a bit.

“I’m really happy with where the squad is, apart from Crookesy [Adam Crookes], the rest of the squad is shaping up nicely.”