Harriers away form numbs Nuneaton

The Harriers good away form continued at Nuneaton tonight although, sadly, there wasn't a repeat of our previous 6-1 win at Curzon.  The two first half goals we did score looked to be setting us up for another big haul but that never materialised against a Nuneaton side waiting to be scalped.

On a warm summers evening, for once, and a good Harriers crowd roaring them on the Reds kicked off towards the sparsely filled home end.  There were more down the side but it seemed the low numbers reflected the poor form of their team so far this season.  Ex Harrier Kelvin Langmead was at the centre of defence for them but there was no sign of our former keeper Dean Snedker.  We had the ex Nuneaton winger Tyrell Waite in our lineup hoping to pay back their fans for the bad press he had been getting off them.

With one change to the team that had started against Chorley on Saturday Tyrone Williams continued to replace Jared Hodgkiss following his injury four days previous.  We started off with a little more energy and pace than we have in our two home games this season and it was obvious that we had come with the intention of going home with all three points and so it proved when we swept into a seventh minute lead through James McQuilkin.

The ball was played out wide to Waite who then took the ball on towards goal then almost lost it due to poor ball control but eventually saw enough space to fire a shot goalwards.  His shot was blocked but fell just right for McQuilkin to fire home via the upright and into the net.  That was McQuilkins first goal of the season but with his work rate it surely won't be the last.

Another one looking ready to score goals was Emmanuel Dieseruvwe who seemed to be seeing more of the ball this time out and also making better use of it.  Last week his boots appeared to have been coated with butter but tonight the ball was sticking to his feet and he was beginning to realise he wasn't alone out there.

Nuneaton had just seen a rare attempt on goal through David Morgan that the Harriers keeper Sam Hornby had pushed around the post and then up the other end Dieseruvwe came close, but not close enough, to opening his account for the evening when he struck from distance only to see it go just wide of the post.  No need to worry though because minutes later he got our second goal of the evening when, from a corner, there was a scramble in front of the Nuneaton goal and the tall Does He Hoover bundled the ball home.

We tried to go for a third goal but the usual hesitancy and poor control in front of goal began to let us down and finally half time arrived much to the relief of the hosts.

At the start of the second period of the game it was still the Harriers in charge and we should have extended our lead further when Tyrell Waite found himself clear on goal with just the keeper to beat.  Elton N'Gwatala had played the ball through for him and he approached the goal from his right but, as the keeper Callum Burton, tried to narrow the angle Waite panicked and shot straight into the side netting rather than try to change direction around the keeper and slot into an empty net.  This composure in front of goal is something that is sorely lacking throughout our team.

The Nuneaton manager, Kevin Wilson decided enough was enough and withdrew the diminutive Shaquiri MacDonald from the scene and replaced him with the more effective Joe Ironside.  Straight away the hosts lifted their game and gave notice that they weren't going to accept defeat just yet by testing Hornby for the first time in the game.

With the Harriers seeing less of the ball we became more reliant on the speed of our breakaways.  Against the slow to turn Langmead that was never going to be too hard and Arthur Gnahoua tried his luck from outside the area only to see Burton hold onto his shot well.  Minutes later he was withdrawn from the game having, again, failing to repeat his form from last season.

McQuilkin was still buzzing around bee like and his strike on goal went narrowly past the post when, with again, a little more composure would have seen him hit the target.

Nuneaton had what was their best chance of scoring soon after when full back James Clifton managed to break through the Reds defence and fire goalwards on the angle.  Hornby had it covered but still produced an excellent save to tip it around the foot of the post.

With time ticking away the Harriers seemed to have settled for the two goals.  All the subs had been used up by then and, as is usual, someone gets injured with Jordan Tunnicliffe needing extended treatment and eventually limping off the pitch.

The three minutes of injury time was played out by the corner flag.  We moved up to fourth in the table and the Harriers fans went home happy.

 Goals for Harriers: McQuilkin 6, Dieseruvwe 37

REFEREE:

Mr J Hull Greater Manchester