YORK City boss Billy McEwan hailed goalkeeper Tom Evans' bravery after last night's 1-1 draw at Halifax Town.

The second half of the Conference clash was held up for more than five minutes as Evans received treatment on a suspected broken nose from City physio Jeff Miller after he had dived low to cut out a right-wing cross.

Blood poured down on to Evans' shirt, which had to be replaced, but the Doncaster-born stopper insisted he wanted to carry on and later made a crucial save at home striker Shane Smeltz's feet.

City are hoping he'll be able to face Grays at KitKat Crescent on Saturday.

McEwan said afterwards: "Tom showed a fantastic attitude and is a brave boy. He fought for the cause and did not want to come off, which is great.

"He was a bit dazed and his nose looks like it's been splattered across his face so we are hoping he will be OK for Saturday and he will need to be checked out by the medical team."

Evans' heroics might have safeguarded a point for the Minstermen after on-loan Derby striker Lionel Ainsworth had cancelled out a 57th-minute Martyn Woolford strike but the visitors could have easily taken all three during the nine minutes of stoppage time caused by the goalkeeper's injury.

In the last seconds Craig Farrell was felled by last man Neal Trotman with only goalkeeper Craig Mawson to beat but referee Karl Evans inexplicably booked the City striker for diving.

McEwan was less than enamoured by the official's decision and his overall display and said: "I thought Craig Farrell should have had a goal earlier when he had the ball in the net because I thought he was a yard onside when he was flagged. I don't know how the referee can then class what happened in the last minute as simulation.

"It was a trip whether their player meant it or not. The referee said he dived but it was impossible for him to keep his feet because he got clipped.

"The longer I am in this league the more confused I am with some of the decisions these guys are giving."

While not wanting to single out players for what he described as a "team performance", McEwan did nevertheless have additional words of praise for midfield driving force Panther and goalscorer Woolford, saying: "Manny was superb breaking from midfield and Martyn's finish was quality. He's a young boy who's been carrying a knock for the last three or four weeks so he has not trained a lot.

"He played on the right because we had to adjust things tactically with one or two players out of position but we're hoping he's OK for Saturday now."

In the absence of 20-goal leading scorer Clayton Donaldson, McEwan employed a 4-5-1 formation but felt his side created enough chances to win the match.

The City boss added: "We are disappointed not to have won the game because we created so many chances and I was disappointed with our marking for their goal, which I felt we gave them."