Harriers struggle once more at Tamworth

At the end of a fine spring day Kidderminster Harrieres visited the Lamb to take on Tamworth in the Blue Square Bet Premier League.  After Anthony Malbon passed a late fitness test, Harriers boss Steve Burr started with the same side that had won away at Braintree 4-1 the preceding Saturday - with the same players also on the bench.  Not in the line-up at all was Lee Hendrie who had left the club during the preceding afternoon to sign for Chasetown.

Harriers were the first to make in-roads into the home sides defence.  They won a corner inside the third minute and Malbon flashed a header past the far post.  The same striker came close again a few moments later when he latched on to a flick through a gaping hole in the Lambs defence only then to fire the ball over the bar.

In the thirteenth minute Marvin Johnson forced a good close range save from Jon Hedge and from the resultant corner the visitors somehow managed not to score.  No fewer than four players had the ball at their feet only a few yards from goal including Malbon, Steve Guinan and Jack Byrne.  Nevertheless the Lambs managed to block all attempts to bury the ball.

On sixteen minutes Jean-Paul Marna slipped the ball across the box for Kyle Patterson to strike but his shot came back off a covering Harriers defender and the chance was gone.  A couple of minutes later Patterson again fired diagonally across the box from the right hand side but failed to test Tony Breeden and the keeper was happy to watch it easily miss his far post.

The Harriers produced the best move of the game on twenty three minutes.  Good interplay between defence and midfield saw the Aggborough outfit break quickly down the left flank until the ball finally presented itself to Guinan but he missed a golden chance by putting the ball over the bar from a yard out after Johnson's low ball from the left appeared to have set him up perfectly.

Luke Jones placed a header off target and won a corner after twenty six minutes.  The corner was met by Tom Marshall but his effort was ruled out for a push on a Tamworth defender.

A storming run and left foot strike from Patterson on twenty eight minutes apparently clipped the top of the bar.  Although the crowd (and the Harriers fans) thought Tony Breeden had managed to get his fingertips to it, the referee denied him the glory of the save.  Kidderminster, who had had the majority of possession and created the majority of chances in the first half, missed another two chances in quick succession just past the half hour mark.  First Guinan flicked the ball back across the face of goal but found Hedge in the way then when Malbon followed up the ball was somehow blocked on the line and cleared to keep the scores level.

Shortly afterwards Paul Green tried his luck from distance but only managed to clear the bar.  Then Marna went through on the right of the box but miss hit his shot and Breeden had an easy save to make.

Whilst Harriers had largely dominated the first half, the second seemed a lot more even.  In the fifty third minute Patterson's run was blocked and the ball bounced off Marna into the grasp of Breeden.  Meanwhile at the other end Kyle Storers fiercely driven shot was blocked by the dive of Sam Oji.

In the fifty seventh minute Dick Tait crossed but Scotty Barrow headed the ball directly at Breeden.  Then Malbon got the better of former Harrier Franky Francis on the right wing and shot strongly at Hedge who pulled off a solid save.

Shortly after Charlie Reece, on for the now injured Francis, struck for goal from twenty five yards but found the Kidderminster defence in the way and, when Green followed in, his appeals for a penalty were quickly waved away by the referee.

Nick Wright then entered the fray to take up a position on his old hunting ground.  After seventy minutes had elapsed Jack Byrne, who had another good game for the visitors, struck a fine shot over the bar from distance.

Then Malbon put the ball into the Tamworth net with another elegant volley from thirty yards but the whistle had been blown for a foul long before his shot had been executed.  At the other end Marna missed the chance to chip Breeden from the left and from a similar position substitute Danny Thomas forced the keeper to tip his low shot around the far post for a corner.

Paul Green was penalised for a push on Rowe on eighty minutes when in a great position for Harriers to capitalise with the spot kick.  However Dave Hankin strangely decided to play the ball short to Storer and the home defence easily blocked Storers attempt on goal.

Then a challenge on Barrow by Hankin just inside the Kidderminster half resulted in Hankin receiving the only booking of the game after eighty two minutes.

Tamworth were visibly tiring towards the end of the match as Wright made headway from a Tamworth corner bursting up field and sliding the ball through to Rowe in the right channel.  Unfortunately though Rowe's effort did not trouble Hedge as it seered over the bar and wide from what was probably one of the best chances of the second half.

Ex Lamb Daniel Bradley struck for goal from twenty five yards out just as the board went up to show four minutes added time.  Hedge spilled the effort but was protected by his defence as Wright tried to get to the rebound and in doing so claimed an unlikely penalty.

As the seconds ticked away the referee spotted a Harriers infringement on the left of their own D and Barrow lined up his dead ball but could only find the wall and when the ball came back out to Tait he struck it over the target.  The referee then blew the whistle to end an entertaining nil nil draw.

Harriers did not seem to miss Lee Hendrie too much and in fact throughout most of the game the visitors were pacey and bright.  However Steve Burr's boys were plagued by the same old disease that they had been suffering from of late - an inability to bury their chances.

Whilst Guinan and Malbon are great forwards in their own right and have some wonderful strengths of their own, we now seem to be struggling when faced with teams who have two burly centre halves - our forwards not having the same presence previously afforded by Jamille Matt.  Nevertheless a solid performance probably deserving of a win rather than a draw.

REFEREE:

Mr R Merchant Staffordshire