Harriers don't do enough to seal the game

The Harriers returned from a gloomy Altrincham today without the win after the home side came from a goal down to record a, by the end, well deserved win.  We took the lead early in the second half with a well taken solo effort from Marvin Johnson but then sat back and allowed Altrincham onto us with disastrous consequences.  First the former Harrier James Lawrie pulled them level and then four minutes from the end the ever lethal Damian Reeves clinched the winner.

It was no more than we deserved with us thinking, once again, that because we score then they won't.  Altrincham had already showed the danger signs in the first half and sloppy second half defending let then take control and no way back for us because we have no real option on the bench.

We started the game with the same team that had started in the previous two games, Grimsby and Wrexham, with the only change coming on the bench where the re-called Reece Styche replaced the makeweight Sam Long.  Altrincham were without Scott Leather following his red card at Wrexham last Saturday but featured three former Harriers, the aforementioned Lawrie along with Jake Moult and Tom Marshall.

The first half settled down after the usual blusterous start when both sides hoofed the ball about and misplaced passes.  Within ten minutes though the home side caused the first panic the the visiting fans when three players took turns to shoot in at Danny Lewis.  Luckily for us Danny was on top form and stopped the successive shots from Peter Cavanagh, Ryan Crowther and then finally Gianluca Havern in a goal mouth bombardment.

That seemed to wake us up and we countered with some smart passing, from Matt Robinson and Jack Byrne, but without ever getting a shot in to test the keeper Stuart Coburn.  Johnson sent a tempting cross in front of Coburn but Craig Reid was an inch too far from it to divert it in but the best was left for Aman Verma who, after making space for himself, fired in a shot the stung the keepers hands and rebounded away to be cleared upfield.

The second period was only five minutes old when Alty went a goal down.  The ball was played out wide to Johnson who then went on one of his mazy runs into the box then let fly with a curling shot that left Coburn rooted as it flew by him into the far side of the goal.

The hundred and eighteen Harriers fans in attendance thought that would be it and we would now go on to seal the game with a second goal but, like the team, we thought wrong.  The goal seemed to spur the home side on and they took control of the game from the restart culminating in the goal that drew them level.

It was Moult that was to set up Lawrie with the chance to score when he played the number seven in out wide for him to advance into the area and then fire past Lewis.  Gary Whild made some changes to the side but by taking off Reece Hales and later on Craig Reid he also lost any threat we had directly in front of goal although it could be said there wasn't much of a threat in the first place.  Reece Styche, on for Hales, made a bit of an effort but never had a sniff of goal.

The referee, Ross Joyce, also chose this time to start booking as many players as he could but most of them he did get right.  Just that it was never a dirty game to warrant six cards in the space of fifteen minutes.

Four minutes form the end and it was game over.

A good run from Adam Griffin down the left ended with him crossing in a pin point ball onto the head of Damian Reeves.  The prolific Altrincham man doesn't spurn that kind of chance too often and left Lewis no chance of stopping it as it bulletted into the net.

We could find no way back and the game stuttered to an end and the Harriers fans drifted away quietly.

 Goals for Altrincham: Lawrie 57, Reeves 86
 Goal for Harriers: Johnson 50

REFEREE:

Mr R Joyce Cleveland