Harriers denied a win at the death

The Harriers came very close to their first win of the season today at Gateshead when they took a 1-0 first half lead all the way to seven minutes from the end.  The goal, from Gurjit Singh, came slightly against the run of play but throughout the game the Reds plugged away trying to keep the fifth placed team at bay.  It was a scrappy goal for the Heed in the end having been a Ryan Bowman tap in was helped home by Jordan Tunnicliffe although no blame can be laid at the youngster.

Singh, the Harriers scorer, was taking the place of the suspended Reece Styche and his overall play has surely won him a start next Saturday at home to Forest Green.  There was no Craig Reid in the team and some reports are suggesting that he wasn't at the game at all.  In goal Alex Palmer came in for his first start of the season while Dean Snedker dropped to the bench while Andre Wright swapped places with Tahvon Campbell.  The rest of the team was unchanged from the one that lost at home to Wrexham on Tuesday.

The game started off with Gateshead in control and they tested Palmer early on with Josh Gillies going close with a chance for the home side that Palmer fisted away and then Singh doing likewise to Sam Russell but that one was saved more easily.  We then saw two long range shots from each side when, first, Jamie Chandler blazed one over from twenty yards out before Adam Dawson did likewise for the Harriers.

The goal came soon after on twenty six minutes.  Singh became our leading scorer, with all of two goals, when he curled a shot in from the edge of the area after a mistake from Simon Ramsden set him free.  Russell didn't stand a chance of stopping it.

We could have doubled our lead a minute later when loanee signing Andrew Fox tried his luck from the same point that Singh had scored from but this time Russell was more alert to it and pushed the attempt away.

For the remainder of the half we managed to keep pushing Gateshead back into their own half of the field giving them very little chance to get back into the game.

The second half of the game was more of an exercise in containment with the Harriers holding back the inevitable drive from Gateshead for an equalising goal.  Ryan Bowman was the first to come close to opening the scoring for the Geordies when half-time substitute Jimmy Phillips played him in to lift the ball over Palmer but the Albion loanee managed to push it away.  Soon after Josh Gillies tried his luck too but this time Jordan Tunnicliffe was on hand to put the ball over for a corner.

Midway through the half came a save from Palmer that would surely convince any team that they had the game won, done and dusted.

Bowman, again, was the attacker involved when the ball came in low towards him from Gillies.  A quick flick sent the ball goalwards at the other end of the goal to where Palmer was but out of nothing he dived across the goal to gather the ball against his chest and somehow stop a certain goal.

Luke Maxwell had a chance for us to increase our lead as the clock began to take it's downward course when he tried to lob Russell but the keeper turned it over the bar and then came the cruelest cut.  Gillies and Bowman were again the men involved and again Gillies had been allowed to get to the by-line to put across a ball to the waiting Bowman who this time turned the ball over the line to give his side a share of the points.

It had been another valiant effort from the Harriers that sadly saw us robbed of the win at the end but at the same time could be celebrated as a well won and earned draw.  We now have a short break until the Bank Holiday double header at home to Forest Green on Saturday and at Tranmere on Monday.  If we can take this spirit, and Gurjit Singh, into those two games we might, just might, be looking at a first win of the season.

 Goal for Gateshead: Bowman 83
 Goal for Harriers: Singh 26

REFEREE:

Mr K Evans Manchester