15-02-25. Alfreton Town 0 Kidderminster Harriers 2. Match report

Harriers promotion bid back on track

Report: Harry211

Kidderminster Harriers ended their wintery winless spell with a professional win against Alfreton Town, providing green shoots of hope for their promotion hopes. A goal in either half from Reiss McNally and Amari-Morgan Smith made for a comfortable win, with the Derbyshire side not laying a glove on the visitors.

McNally turned in the ball from a few yards out on thirty six minutes after Alfreton failed to clear a corner from Caleb Richards. Then with minutes to go Morgan-Smith fired a penalty high into the net after Reece Devine was fouled in the area.

Phil Brown kept the same side to start the game at the Impact Arena. Jim Kellerman and Zak Brown retained their midfield partnership, while McNally kept his place at right wing back. For the home side striker Sam Osborne made his debut, with ex-Harrier Gerry McDonagh partnering him up top.

The wet and bitterly cold conditions dictated much of the play, after the game only went ahead following a 2pm pitch inspection. It produced a scrappy affair with plenty of grit on show and the Harriers largely had the better of it. The game’s first chance saw Zak Brown force a smart save from Jake Askew with a drive from twenty five yards out that threatened to cause a repeat of Hereford’s screamer.

Meanwhile Ashley Hemmings and Devine were causing endless problems for Alfreton down the left. Hemmings made himself a nuisance, hitting the base of the post with a shot across goal after twenty minutes, and later forcing Askew into a save with a curling free kick before half time.

Morgan-Smith, who has found North Street a happy hunting ground in recent years, thought he gave the away side the lead after half an hour, with a tap-in from five yards out but his celebrations were cut short by the linesman’s flag.

However they didn’t have to wait long for a goal. Richards, newly on corner duties, saw his ball scrappily met by Alfreton who couldn’t stop McNally turning the ball in from close range.

HT: 0 – 1

The second half saw Alfreton try to fight their way into the game, but despite pressure, could not force a serious effort on Christian Dibble’s goal. Meanwhile the Harriers’ main chances came from counter attacks into the opposition half.

Hemmings put a shot onto the post when through on goal from the left and both Maz Kouhyar and Devine caused panic in the Alfreton ranks but lacked the pace to trouble Askew.

But it was Morgan-Smith who managed to double the lead. A period of pressure led to a Harriers man being felled in the area when seemingly moving away from goal. After several minutes’ delay while stewards dealt with crowd disruption he fired the ball high into the goal.

Two then nearly became three as Jim Kellermann, who had one of his best games in a Harriers shirt, forced a save after bursting forward from Alfreton possession.

The game was otherwise ably seen out by Harriers, who now climb to fifth in the table. The hope is that with an impressive draw on Tuesday as well as the Alfreton result that it will provide a basis for Phil Brown’s side to resume their promotion battle at Marine AFC this coming Tuesday evening.

FT: 0 – 2

Goals for Harriers: McNally 36, Morgan-Smith 83 (pen)

The Harriers Online MotM is: Jim Kellermann & Paul Downing

Talk about the game here

Latest table and stats here

Alfreton Town	Goals	Subs	Time	Cards
Askew
Solademi
Newall
Lund			65
Anson
Wiley
Osborne			88
Cantrill
McDonagh
Abbey			59
Salmon
Subs:
Clackstone
Hunt
Whitehouse			88
Waldock			59
German			65
Harriers	Goals	Subs	Time	Cards
Dibble
Devine			91
Richards
Kandola
Downing
McNally
Brown
Kellermann
Morgan-Smith
Hemmings
Kouhyar			84
Subs:
Palmer
Lutz			91
Robinson
Davis			84
Reynolds
Referee:
Mr Thomas Wilson
Kingston upon Hull