Last day losers.
The Harriers ended the season in tenth spot after this 1-0 home defeat to season long strugglers, Leyton Orient.
We had enough chances to score and get back to level terms after their 7th minute goal but there were two reasons we didn't.
The first was down to our woeful finishing, especially that of Colin Larkin.
The second reason was the outstanding and assured performance of Orients young goalkeeper Glenn Morris.
Talking to some Orient fans before the game they were telling me how highly rated he is and for someone thats still at school had been turning out quality performances for some time now.
Morris's will be a name to look out for in future years, he is destined for the top.
Shame about our keeper, the usually reliable Stuart Brock.
Last week it was Rushdens Billy Turley that went walkabout, twice, this week it was Brockie.
Until that moment we were passing the ball about well and had looked so much on top that we could already have been in front by two goals.
After the goal Orient tightened up and our toothless attack could make no headway against them.
Because we had four of our usual crew missing through suspensions it meant a first appearance since mid January for Andy Ducros in place of Ian Foster. Bo Henriksen replaced Drewe Broughton in attack with Ian Joy deputising for Scott Stamps again.
With Abdou Sall missing Ian Clarkson replaced Adie Smith at the back allowing Adie to move into the middle along side Craig Hinton.
The early goals could have come from Ducros, Dean Bennett and Ian Clarkson but with all three there was no venom behind their efforts.
It took a sudden breakaway from Orient to produce a free kick on the left side of the field after a foul by Clarkson.
The wall was formed and Lockwood took the kick. It would have been a routine clearance for anyone in the wall so why on earth did Brockie come barging through to punch the ball away only to miss it completely.
It was Dean Smith who got to it and headed the ball into an empty net.
The Reds responded with a mini assault on the Orient goal but first Appleby sliced the ball wide and then Bo bought a one handed save from Morris.
Larkin missed the first of his many gilt edged chances to score when he sent the ball wide after a pin point pass from Danny Williams gave him an easy chance to put the ball away.
Andy Ducros was the next to spurn a chance when he headed wide from Ian Joys pass and then Richie Appleby volleyed the ball well wide.
Bo Henriksen, who until then had been looking a bit more interested than in recent weeks, then ran onto a Andy Ducros pass and with a surge on goal and the crowd open mouthed in anticipation rolled the ball to the feet of the waiting keeper.
Just before the break Danny Williams pushed the ball onto Larkin who then moved inside the area and curled his shot inches wide of the far post again.
HT. 0-1
Within minutes of the restart Orient had a genuine call for a penalty turned down when the ball struck Ian Joy's arm but the ref turned down all of Orients appeals.
It happens to us enough.
After that it was back to normal with chances aplenty going to waste.
Drewe Broughton was being sorely missed, if only we had someone of his height and build ready and waiting in the wings.
Britt tried to change things round a bit by bringing on Tony Bird for, maybe, his last game for us.
The ineffectual Ducros made way for him and he almost opened the scoring for us when he got onto the end of a Larkin cross but his power drive was well saved by Morris.
In the 69th minute came our closest chance of the game and the one that should have gone in.
Bo Henriksen was clattered just outside the area and Richie Appleby took the free kick.
With the Orient defence and their keeper all expecting the ball to be passed to a striker on the far side of the area Richie let fly with a Beckhamesque kick that beat the keeper and crashed against the underside of the crossbar. The ball fell to Dean Bennett whose volley was blocked on the line by an Orient defender.
Orient never really threatened after that, seeming content to hold onto their lead, but we were still finding it hard to do anything positive
Ten minutes from the end Tony Bird had two other chances to go out in a blaze of glory but for the first one Morris rushed out to block the ball with his body at Birdies feet and the Tony showed us why he could never make the breakthrough into a regular spot when he sliced the ball well wide when he was well placed to score.
The game petered out for the last ten minutes with the only thing of note being the reluctance from the bench to replace the struggling Henriksen after he had spent the last part of the half limping badly.
In all, it wasn't the kind of result that we wanted to end the season on but we can't complain.
We've had a roller coaster of a season with the highs of the Christmas period when we watched Hull City, Rochdale and Rushden roll over and die to the lows of the latter part of the term when we found ourselves on the edge of the playoffs only to be left at the altar by Lionel Newton and Jan Molby.
It all looks good for next season if we manage to keep the nucleus of the side built by Jan and due to be passed onto the new manager on Wednesday of this coming week.
Who will this be? wait and see!
FT. 0-1
TEAMS:
Harriers.
Brock, Clarkson, Hinton, A. Smith, Joy, Bennett, Williams, Appleby, Larkin, Henrikson, Ducros.
Subs;
Danby, Shilton, Ayres, Bird, Corbett.
Leyton Orient.
Morris, Joseph, D Smith, McGhee, Lockwood, Newton, Harris, Canham, Martin, Nugent, Hatcher.
Subs;
Barrett, Barnard, Fletcher, McLean, Jones.
CARDS;
Yellow. Harriers 1. Clarkson
Yellow. Orient 0.
Red. Harriers 0.
Red. Orient 0.
Referee; Mr A Kaye (Wakefield).
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