Rushden & Diamonds 2(1) v (0)1 Kidderminster Harriers

Football Conference National - Nene Park - 28 December 2009

Attendance: 1425

Individual Stats
Rushden
Shots
Fouls
Off.
v Kidderminster
Shots
Fouls
Off.
 
On
Off
For
Ag
     
On
Off
For
Ag
 
Dale Roberts 5 0(1) 0 1 0 0[1] Dean Coleman 6 0(5) 0 0 0 0
Curtis Osano 5 0 0 0 2 0[2] Duane Courtney 5 0 1 2 1 0
Kurt Robinson 5 1(1) 0 1 1 0 [3/23] Danny Andrew 5 0 2 0 0 0
Simon Downer 5 0 0 1 1 0 [6/5] Gavin Caines 5 0 0 2 0 0
Jamie Stuart 5 0 0 0 1 0 [5/6] Martin Riley 5 0 0 1 1 0
Paul Terry 5 0 0 1 2 0 [24/8] Dean Bennett 5 1(1) 1 0 1 0
Max Porter 5 0 0 0 0 0 [4/7] Chris McPhee 5 0 1 3 0 0
Aaron O'Connor 5 0 0 0 0 1 [7/10] Darryl Knights 5 0 1 2 2 0
Craig Farrell 6 2(2) 0 0 0 2 [9/18] Aaron Farrell 5 0 0 0 0 0
Lee Tomlin 6 3(1) 1 3 5 0 [10/21] Robbie Matthews 6 1 0 1 3 0
Mark Byrne 5 1(1) 0 0 3 0 [20/14] Brian Smikle 5 0 0 1 0 0
Rob Wolleaston 5 0 1 1 0 0 [8/3] Lee Baker     
Nick McNamara      [14/15] Liam Dolman     
Cliff Akurang      [25/19] Nathan Hayward     
Jefferson Louis 5 0 0 0 0 0 [27/24] Damian Spencer 5 0 0 3 1 0
Joe Day      [13/12] Jasbir Singh     
Team Stats
  Fouls Conceded Offside Corners Shots On Shots off
Rushden 15 3 4 7 2
Kidderminster 9 0 5 2 6
GOALS
Rushden Kidderminster
15 Lee Tomlin 68 Robbie Matthews
57 Lee Tomlin   
Formations
Rushden
   Roberts  
Osano Downer  Stuart Robinson
     
  Porter Terry Byrne 
O'Connor    Tomlin
   Farrell  
Kidderminster
   Coleman  
Courtney Caines  Riley Andrew
   Bennett  
McPhee    Smikle
   Knights  
  Farrell  Matthews 
SUBSTITUTIONS
Rushden Kidderminster
55 Wolleaston Porter Wolleaston to right central midfield. 46 Spencer Farrell Spencer to striker.
84 Louis Tomlin Louis to striker, Farrell to inside left.     
BOOKINGS
Rushden Kidderminster
Tomlin 60 Dissent
Terry 90+ Foul
   
Referee: James Adcock (Nottinghamshire)
Match Report by St@tto

John Finnigan suffered his first defeat as Caretaker-Manager as a lacklustre performance from Harriers saw them slump to their first defeat at Rushden since November 2002.

Unchanged from the side that had beaten Chester City on Boxing Day Harriers never got going and looked as if the Christmas turkey was finally taking its toll.

In wintry conditions both sides were sluggish from the start and although Harriers had an early opportunity, Aaron Farrell's low cross from the left cut out by Dale Roberts in the home goal before Robbie Matthews could reach it, it was the home side that took the lead after just 14 minutes.  Reacting to a long ball through the middle Dean Coleman and his defenders made a mess of dealing with it; Coleman first handling, and then fumbling, the ball outside the penalty area let in Lee Tomlin who was left with an easy tap in to the unguarded net.

With the linesman's flag raised for Coleman's handball Harriers breathed a sigh of relief when the referee over-ruled him and allowed the goal to stand rather than sending-off the keeper.  Harriers' defending didn't get much better throughout the half as the home team enjoyed the better possession; Aaron O'Connor made a surging run on the right, holding off Gavin Caines easily, before seeing his low shot parried by Coleman.

After the break the game continued in much the same vein.  After 57 minutes the Rushden advantage was doubled; picking up the ball on the edge of the penalty area Tomlin showed great control to lift it over his nearest marker before despatching a powerful shot beyond the reach of Coleman and into the top corner of the net.

Harriers finally woke up midway through the half. A strong run by Dean Bennett fed the ball to Matthews who found himself in far  too much space just inside the home penalty area and turned and hit a low shot just inside Roberts' right-hand post to record his fifth goal of the season.

With a goal giving them some confidence Harriers now pressed for an equaliser but were let down by poor finishing.  within a minute of pulling a goal back they had a great chance to level; substitute Damian Spencer was brought down just outside the penalty area to win a free-kick.  Unfortunately, however, Darryl Knights' kick was poor and hit the defensive wall and defected away for a corner.

Dean Bennett brought a save out of Roberts and another free-kick in a goal-scoring position was blasted over the bar by Danny Andrew as Harriers wasted every chance to draw level that they created.  Defeat saw Harriers slip back down the table, overtaken by the Rushden team that they had themselves leapfrogged over two days earlier.