30-12-23. Kidderminster Harriers 1 Boreham Wood 2. Match report

The all important three points game turns out to be another defeat

Report: Phil Lench

Week in week out we get told that we go into every game looking to get those all important three points that could help save us from relegation but now that the Christmas games are over we’re no better off than we were back in September following defeat at Eastleigh and our first time in twenty third place.

Now, almost four months later, we’re still in twenty third place having risen to twenty second on one occasion – against Altrincham in late October. In that time we’ve picked up  just three wins plus four draws giving us only thirteen points from a possible forty one.

How many more ‘all important three points’ can we collect in the remaining nineteen games? Sorry Russ and Jimmy but you are the weakest link. Goodbye!

There’s no guarantee that a management change will save us from a return to the National North but something has to change very soon if we have any hope of getting those ‘all important three points’ on a more regular basis.

Again today, in search of the magic three points, we started well but then faded out following a string of mis-placed passes between Sam Robinson and Ryan McLean, that led to McLeans substitution at the break, and a change of formation that did give us a more penetrative look in the second half.

The only bright spark of the half was Jack Lambert who, as early as the seventh minute, went close with a long range shot. In fact all of his shots – I didn’t count –  came from long range but very few of them were actually on target.

As is our wont when we look as if we might get a strong , early, foothold in a game, we shoot ourselves in the foot and give a goal away against the run of play. This time we allowed Lee Ndlovu far too much space in front of goal and with no defender near him a fired in an angled shot across Christian Dibble and into the goal. Ashley Hemmings responded with a shot but it was weak and failed to trouble Nathan Ashmore overmuch in the Boreham goal.

Then in the seconds before the break, again against the run of play, we decided it was time for a bit of comedy and again the ball was played in from an angle going straight through to a waiting Ndlovu in front of goal. Sam Robinson went down to try and stop the ball going in while Dibble looked on but not doing much. The ball went under Robinsons legs and into the net to look all the world like an own goal.

Two down and heads dropped but all was ok because just a few minutes later we’d pulled a goal back when Gold Omotayo got on the end of Robinsons cross to nod the ball beyond Ashmore.

The Harriers fans sensed hope. 

HT: 1 – 2

The change of AMS coming on in place of McLean and Bailey Hobson dropping a little further back into midfield seemed to give us more chances in front of goal but still we couldn’t really make the much needed breakthrough.

Again Lambert had a ten gallon hatful of long range chances but none of them came off. He did  see one brilliant shot hit the upright and rebound across the goal instead of taking a quick swerve into the net.

We did get a couple more chances for Gold this half with him seeing far more of the ball than he did in the first half. One of them drew another good save from Ashmore playing a similar barnstorming game in goal like Collin Andeng Ndi for Southend before Christmas.

We continued to slog away in search of, at least, a draw but poor shooting was to be our downfall along with a baffling substitution when Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain – missing from the squad for weeks was bought on in place of Shane Byrne for no real reason apart from RP thinking he was being pro-active. Surely a better choice would have been Kai Lissimore with more fire in his belly than the Ox would ever have?

With time running out came a last throw of the dice as Dibble came up for a ninety fifth minute corner. The ball was played in and suddenly the ball was in the back of the net to a massive outburst of relief for the 2625 Harriers fans inside Aggborough. Wait, the referee has spotted a non existent infringement and ruled the goal out much to the relief of the sprinkling of noisy Boreham Wood fans expecting their guaranteed three points.

It was, once again, a disappointing end to a game that needed those  ‘all important three points’ that would help save us from what now looks to be the inevitable.

FT: 1 – 2

Goal for Harriers: Omotayo 47

Goals for Boreham Wood: Ndlovu 27, 46

The Harriers Online MotM is: Jack Lambert

Talk about the game here

Latest table and stats here

Harriers	Goals	Subs	Time	Cards
Dibble
S Robinson
Richard
Penny
Pearce
McLean			46
Hobson
Byrne			77
Omotayo
Hemmings
Lambert
Subs:
Palmer
McNally
Lissimore
Oxlade-Chamberlain			77
Morgan-Smith			46
Boreham Wood	Goals	Subs	Time	Cards
Ashmore
Coxe
Ilesanmi
M Robinson
Clayden			53
Sass-Davies
Whelan			84
Sagaf
Ndlovu			73
Marsh
Sousa
Subs:
Abayomi
Balanta			84
Clarke			73
Staunton			53
Referee:
Mr Michael Crusham
Wigan