The Harriers slipped slowly to their first defeat under Gary Whild today and are now also slipping slowly away from any chance of a play-off spot with this narrow, but emphatic, defeat at home to third placed Grimsby Town.
On a chilly early summers day it was plain for all to see that the Harriers had neither the quality of players or the quality of skill that Grimsby had and we never really looked like scoring once Town had taken the lead with a well taken goal after Alex Rodman spotted Danny Lewis off his line. His lob from outside the area was the only goal of the game.
The Harriers started the game with Chey Dunkley returning from injury meaning that Mickey Demetriou moved back into the left back position while Amari Bell moved into the place that the injured Josh Gowling would normally occupy. Up front Josh O'Keefe replaced the suspended Callum Gittings while Nick Wright came on for his first start since his return to us. On the bench was Adrian Cieslewicz coming back from injury and also Aman Verma hoping to make another debut for us since he left us three years ago.
The game started scrappily, in fact it was scrappy throughout, and it was the visitors who were the first to gain a scoring chance but Ross Hannah wasted a free kick after a foul was awarded to them on the edge of the area. Soon after Lenell John-Lewis broke through but he couldn't quite connect to the ball as Danny Lewis saved at his feet with the Grimsby fans calling, hoping, for a penalty.
Our first effort on goal came soon after when Amari Morgan-Smith played in Michael Gash but the central striker sent his shot just over the bar. A minute later and it was an early 'game over'.
Without there seeming much danger the Harriers failed to put a challenge in as Rodman saw Danny off his line and sent a super lob over his head and into the goal. Danny has been guilty of straying to far off his line in recent games and today he paid the price.
Our best chance of the first half came Nick Wrights way when he picked up a pass and ran towards the Grimsby goal with the ball but sadly he left it too late to shoot and the Grimsby keeper, James McKeown, saved it easily enough. Wright turned provider later on when he sent over a cross for Bell to head goalwards but the keeper was alert to it and pushed it against the post and then back into his hands. Lee Vaughan had our last chance of the half with a shot from outside the area that McKeown also pushed away effortlessly.