IN terms of a gesture, it may not have been as dramatic as charging in front of galloping horses on Knavesmire, but Amy Rayner's decision not to award a late penalty for the home team at Kidderminster surely strengthened the cause of female referees in the city of York.

Rayner is hoping to conquer more than a century of prejudice in her bid to become the first woman to take charge of a Football League fixture and she is likely to be welcomed with open arms by relieved York City supporters in the future having denied Kidderminster Harriers a spot-kick and spared visitors goalkeeper Chris Porter a red card on Saturday.

Sadly, outside of York, the Leicestershire official might have undermined her quest for equal opportunities as her refusal to penalise Porter for a trip on Iyseden Christie, casting allegiances aside, did appear puzzling.

It represnted a mystery that might have even left Christie's namesake Agatha perplexed but, perhaps more baffling, with Porter having been absolved of making any contact, was Rayner's failure not to caution the former Mansfield striker for diving.

Fuming Harriers boss Stuart Watkiss later remonstrated with Rayner, who received a steward's escort off the pitch before being harangued by an equally angry lynch mob which assembled either side of the tunnel that led to the dressing rooms.

City fans, however, had no cause for vitriol at the final whistle having watched their team halt a run of three straight defeats with a battling performance in a 0-0 draw.

Maybe a little bit of concern was warranted after their side failed to find the net for a third successive game with Clayton Donaldson worryingly quiet but, aside from the unawarded penalty, Billy McEwan's men created the better chances at Aggborough and played with more imagination in midfield with debutant Leo Bertos providing a pacy outlet on the right.

Darren Dunning, Lev Yalcin, Donaldson, Lee Andrews and substitute Joe O'Neill all went close to clinching victory as City enjoyed an improved performance, especially in the second half.

Kidderminster, however, probably shaded a disappointing first period although Porter was only required to make routine saves from Taiwo Atieno, Simon Heslop and Marc Pugh.

At the other end, Dunning wasted the best chance of the half, heading wide from six yards after Jamie Price's cross.

A lacklustre City started the second half with more purpose and, after Christie had smashed a shot into the side-netting, Yalcin stung home 'keeper Daniel Lewis' hands from 25 yards and Donaldson stole in front of the Kidderminster defence to head over at the near post following Price's cross.

A curling Heslop effort on 70 minutes narrowly cleared Porter's bar before Andrews was denied his first Minstermen goal by an excellent reflex stop from Lewis.

The on-loan Carlisle defender, called up for a set-piece, drilled in a fierce low shot from ten yards that Lewis did remarkably well to keep out.

Moments later, Rayner took centre stage although O'Neill almost stole the limelight in injury time with an expertly-struck dipping volley from the edge of the box that had Lewis well beaten but landed on the roof of the net.

Match facts

Kidderminster 0, York City 0

City ratings - Key: 10 - Faultless; 9 - Outstanding; 8 - Excellent; 7 - Good; 6 - Average; 5 - Below par; 4 - Poor; 3 - Dud; 2 - Hopeless; 1 - Retire

Porter 6

Price 7

Andrews 7

McGurk 7

Merris 7

Convery 7

Yalcin 6

Dunning 6

Bertos 6 (O'Neill, 82mins)

Bishop 6 (Mallon, 90 mins)

Donaldson 6

Subs (not used): Stockdale, Dudgeon, Webster.

Star man: Price - solid defensively and attacked down flanks to good effect.

Kidderminster Harriers: Daniel Lewis, Johnny Mullins, Mark Jackson, Daryl Burgess, Michael Blackwood, Simon Heslop, Terry Fleming, Marc Pugh, Russ Penn, Iyseden Christie, Taiwo Atieno. Subs not used: John Danby, Lee Thompson, Laurie Wilson, Wayne Graves, Gavin Hurren.

Yellow cards: Penn 12, Heslop 88.

Referee: Amy Rayner (Leicestershire). Rating: generally authoritative but probably got the key decision of the game wrong.

Attendance: 1,768.

Weather watch: Bright but chilly with ground frost at one end.

Game breaker: The ref's failure to award an 81st-minute penalty to Kidderminster after Chris Porter tripped Iyseden Christie.

Match rating: Poor first half, improved in the second when City rediscovered some of the form that has deserted them in recent weeks.

McEwan's verdict: "We will settle for a point away from home. We got a clean sheet which was pleasing but we had some great situations to score only for the ball not to go in. We were a bit fortunate at the other end though when, on another day, they might have got a penalty."

Player watch: Leo Bertos

Shots on target: 0

Shots off target: 0

Blocked shots: 1

Passes to own player: 15

Passes to opposition: 6

Crosses to own player: 0

Crosses to opposition: 1

Pass success rate: 68.2 per cent

Dribbles ball retained: 1

Dribbles ball lost: 13

Dribble success rate: 7.1 per cent

Headers: 1 Tackles: 4

Clearances, blocks and interceptions: 2

Free-kicks won: 1

Free-kicks conceded: 1

Offsides: 0 Bookings: 0

Final summary: Appeared to lack match fitness on his debut. Playing in an attacking role on the right, he clearly possesses pace but did not have the stamina to complete lung-busting raids, which only saw him go past his marker once in 14 attempts. He did not threaten aerially but was prepared to tackle and his distibution was generally tidy.

Updated: 09:59 Monday, November 21, 2005