York City manager Billy McEwan expressed his frustration at the standard of Conference refereeing after seeing his side lose their second game of the season at Aldershot.

The Minstermen went down 2-1 at the Recreation Ground after Essex official Fred Graham had awarded a dubious 88th-minute free-kick against Darren Dunning for climbing.

Former Welsh international Darren Barnard then scored from 20 yards to give Aldershot only their second victory of the season.

A disappointed McEwan said afterwards: "The final goal left me absolutely speechless. I am getting a rude awakening to the Conference League and some of the frightening decisions that are made in it.

"It seemed like the referee could not wait to give a decision. It was a very debatable free-kick and the minute I saw Barnard line up I knew what was going to happen. It was written in the stars.

"I don't think anybody in the ground would have agreed with that decision. It was a soft one but, even allowing for that, we have still conceded two goals from set-plays because of indiscipline."

McEwan was not blaming the officials for a first half attitude from his team that "stank" according to the City boss.

City managed just one goal attempt in the opening 45 minutes and Aldershot took a deserved lead through Nick Crittenden's free-kick and aftewards McEwan said: "We maybe thought we had arrived and there were players thinking they are better than what they are.

"They were playing a team second from bottom in the league and we looked lethargic in the first half. The body language suggested we did not feel we had to run around because we were better than them but I won't have that at York City.

"This league is open, as Burton winning at Exeter has proven. If your mental state is not right it determines the rest of your body and that's what happened to us in the first half. They can't just play when they feel like it and, to be fair, they improved in the second half when we changed things."

McEwan switched to a 4-4-2 formation with the 60th-minute introduction of Bryan Stewart and the skillful winger saw a great chance saved by Nikki Bull after the Minstermen had drawn level through Clayton Donaldson's fourth goal of the season.

The City boss said: "That was the defining moment of the game and he should have scored but he did well for us when he came on and he's a young player."

McEwan also watched on in frustration as his side conceded a goal in the final five minutes for the fourth time this season.

In previous matches, City have failed to hold on to slender one-goal leads but, on this occasion, the team were punished as they sought a winning goal.

Said McEwan: "We could have settled for a 1-1 draw by being boring but we went for the jugular and it cost us. Maybe I need to accept a certain amount of responsibility for that but a 1-1 draw at a team second from bottom is not a good result for me. I wanted to win it."

Updated: 09:26 Monday, September 26, 2005