YORK City manager Billy McEwan was unhappy at the controversial manner in which his side went behind in their 2-1 defeat at Kidderminster Harriers on Saturday.

Goalkeeper Tom Evans was penalised for carrying the ball outside his area before punting upfield.

The decision looked marginal and led to a Jeff Kenna free kick that deflected off Steve Bowey and beat Evans following a second ricochet off home striker James Constable.

About the decision, an aggrieved McEwan said: "I thought it was unbelievable. You see a keeper's foot go over the 18-yard line every week and they don't pick up on it.

"For some reason, this linesman was ultra-cautious, looking at every kick but I watched him through the whole second half and he never looked at their keeper once. He was 30 yards up the pitch.

"But Tom's got to be careful. Ninety nine times out of 100 you get away with it but, for some reason, he didn't this time."

If McEwan felt his side were unfortunate to concede the first goal, he could provide no defence for the manner in which Kidderminster doubled their lead five minutes after Donaldson's dismissal when an unmarked Michael Blackwood converted a Luke Reynolds cross from the right.

He said: "The second goal was poor because we work on stopping that kind of thing in training."

McEwan was also disappointed with his team's first-half display but pleased with the way they responded to going down to ten men, culminating in Craig Farrell's 83rd-minute consolation goal that saw him get on the scoresheet for the third successive game.

The City boss added: "After a fortnight off, you can start sloppy or fit, fresh and raring to go. Unfortunately, it was a matter of the first case for us but our spirit, character and effort was excellent after we went down to ten men. We had some great chances to score and and Craig Farrell's goal was a great finish after a great build up.

"We had to go for it because it would have been pointless sitting back and playing one up. My players will never lie down. They have got fantastic attitudes and should have got something out of the game so I'm disappointed but not disheartened."

On-loan Hartlepool right winger Michael Maidens made his full debut at Kidderminster before being replaced by Martyn Woolford at half-time.

About Maidens' first outing and Woolford's contribution, McEwan said: "We knew we would not get 90 minutes out of Martyn as he has missed a lot of training and the young lad (Maidens) did OK in his first game but it takes time to get used to our style of play and the culture of our club. Martyn came on and looked excellent going forward at times."