NATIONAL League strugglers Harriers and York City battled out a 0-0 stalemate at Aggborough to produce a draw that did little to help either side.

Phil Brown’s Reds and the Minstermen toiled in the wind during a match that the hosts will certainly feel as though they edged, but to little reward.

Harriers made two changes to their starting line-up following the last-gasp defeat at Woking in midweek, the ranks boosted by the return of Krystian Pearce at the heart of the defence following his suspension.

Elsewhere, Regan Griffiths was slotted into the midfield following the news that Captain Shane Byrne would be ruled out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury.

There were few chances in the first hour, the dominant Cole Kpekawa firing over and Ashley Hemmings doing similar with a free kick early on, before Amari Morgan-Smith had the first real sight of the day with a blocked shot from 12 yards past the half-hour.

With 61 minutes on the clock, the busy Hemmings drove an effort at goal on a tight angle that flummoxed goalkeeper George Sykes-Kenworthy, who just about recovered in time to stop Morgan-Smith from gobbling up the loose ball.

Daniel Batty hit into the grateful hands of Christian Dibble on 67 minutes, before Caleb Richards drilled an effort high over the upright after a good run to meet a Reiss McNally pass.

On-loan Bromely man Todd Miller was an eye-catching substitute and, with 12 left to play, he ended a jinxing run with a shot Sykes-Kenworthy held well.

Arguably the best and final chance for the hosts on the day fell as the trusted strike pairing of Hemmings and Morgan-Smith combined on the breakaway, but the latter fizzed an effort straight into the chest of the goalkeeper.

Boss Brown lamented after the game: “The fans come out and they want to be entertained, they want to see goals and a spectacle.

“We didn’t really kick into a spectacle until 60 minutes onwards, and then we looked like we had half a chance of winning the game.

“If anybody was showing enough ambition to win the game, it was us. But nobody’s got a divine right to win, and they’ve got every right to come here, shut shop and close ranks, and that’s what they did.

“They played in a different way to what we were expecting, but we’ve then got to find a way, and our creative players weren’t as creative.”

Harriers are again in Aggborough action next time out as they welcome AFC Fylde to Worcestershire on Tuesday night.

Brown added: “From the position we found ourselves in, to the position we find ourselves in now, we’ve given ourselves a great chance with eight games to go.”