Kidderminster Harriers Reserves 1(1) v (2)2 Hereford United Reserves

Harriers suffered their first defeat of the season after a hard-fought game against Conference side Hereford United.

The visitors signaled their attacking intentions straight from the kick-off; Daniel Carey-Bertram shot from the half-way line but Steve Parker was not troubled by it and less than a minute later Carey-Bertram had tried his luck again from closer in.  Harriers were looking dangerous also in the opening stages; Frédéric Advice found James Dyke on the right wing, he in turn played the ball on to Simon Russell and after a good turn on the edge of the penalty area hit his shot against the post.

United took the lead in the tenth minute; Andy Williams made a strong run into the penalty area on the Harriers right and pulled the ball back to the near post where Carey-Bertram flicked it over Parker.  At the other end Harriers soon went close to an equaliser, Daniel Ludlow creating the opening for James Olsen who hit his shot straight at the legs of Ben Scott in the Hereford goal.

Hereford could have increased their lead with a free-kick from Mark Robinson from 30 yards out that beat the wall but Parker got down to his right to gather it.  Advice started the move that led to the Harriers equaliser, he found Jermaine Hollis on the right wing who got to the byline and pulled the ball back for Advice who had continued his run and tucked the ball inside the near post.  The scores were level only for a minute and a half, however, United won a corner on the right that Harriers could not clear properly and the ball was played back into the penalty area to Williams who appeared to be in an offside position and with the Harriers defence motionless who easily slotted the ball past Parker.

The second half saw Harriers dominate possession and withstand with ease pressure from the visitors who changed their formation on a number of occasions in an attempt to build upon their lead.  Scott did well to keep Harriers at bay as they pressed for an equaliser, Russell crossed from the right to Stephen Thompson who was well place but the keeper tipped his header over the bar for a corner.

Harriers should have got themselves level; as the game wore on Russell became more influential and after a run through the heart of the Hereford defence he set up a great chance for Advice but the Frenchman fired his shot out of the ground.  Advice and Russell then combined to set up Hollis but his shot from the edge of the penalty area skimmed the top of the crossbar.  In the closing moments United could have put the result beyond doubt when Matt Barnes-Homer received the ball in space on the left but he dragged his shot wide across the face of goal.