Kidderminster Harriers 1(0) v (2)5 Swansea City

Harriers heaviest defeat of the season left them rooted to the foot of the table after yet another abject display against a team that played an hour with just ten men.

New signings Liam Burns and Blair Sturrock were surprisingly left on the bench as Stuart Watkiss recalled Abdou Sall and Chris McHale to the side and gave Jamie Gleeson his first start of the season as key players Simon Weaver, Wayne Hatswell and Dean Keates all sat out the game through suspension.  A more defensive shape to the midfield with Tom Bennett, captain for the day, sitting deeper just in front of the back four didn't help as The Swans took the lead after just 37 seconds.  Andy Gurney's right-wing cross after Harriers had conceded a needless free kick evaded the home defence and Paul Connor nipped in to head past the stationary Ryan Clarke.

Harriers' afternoon soon got worse; another free kick, this time on the left, taken short and crossed by Roberto Martinez caused confusion in the goalmouth with four Harriers players missing it completely before it was stabbed in by Izzy Iriekpen.  Every game that Harriers have been trailing at half time in this season they have gone on to lose, and as they have only scored more than one goal on two occasions things looked bad for the outcome.  Swansea were able to take things easily, allowing Harriers to have as much of the possession as they wanted; the new midfield formation didn't seem to be working to well for Harriers as the players didn't seem to know what they were doing. Shell-shocked by two goals in the opening nine minutes heads dropped and it didn't look as though there was a way back into the game for Harriers until they were thrown a lifeline after 29 minutes when Andy Gurney scythed down Simon Russell in midfield and was shown the red card for his trouble.  Despite having the extra man Harriers didn't threaten and didn't manage a shot at goal in the first half.  Late in the period they created a couple of half chances, City only half cleared a corner and Bennett's cross from the right was just a fraction too far ahead of Sall and soon after a Jon Beswetherick cross from the left fell invitingly for Gary Birch but he didn't get a touch and the visitors were able to clear it for another corner.

There was a lucky escape for Harriers in the second half, Connor played the ball through the heart of the Harriers defence for Lee Trundle to run on to; just as the big striker got into the penalty area he was brought down by McHale but referee Mark Cowburn waved play on, perhaps feeling that Trundle was looking for the penalty.  Harriers' best chance so far came soon after, a Beswetherick cross from the left found an unmarked Birch at the far post but he blazed his shot wide across the face of goal.

Harriers' performance in the second half was not as bad as in the first but they were allowed to play by a Swansea team comfortable defending a two-goal lead.  Birch wasted another chance when he headed wide from another Beswetherick cross and Russell had a shot blocked by Andy Robinson when Beswetherick's corner from the right found him unmarked beyond the far post.

Beswetherick was involved once more as Harriers clawed themselves back into the game eight minutes from the end, his cross found Sturrock, on as a substitute for Ian Foster, and his glancing header looped beyond the reach of Willy Gueret.  Harriers now had the chance to get themselves a point out of the game but the result was put beyond their reach when City were awarded a penalty when Burns, on for Sall, hacked down Marc Goodfellow.  Robinson took the spot kick and sent Clarke the wrong way.

In stoppage time Nugent was allowed an unchallenged run at the centre of the Harriers defence before rolling the ball to Goodfellow to his left and he drilled a shot across Clarke, who got a hand to it, and inside the far post and then to rub salt into the wounds Robinson added a fifth after an exchange of passes with Nugent on the right wing and a low shot from the edge of the penalty area inside the near post.  The final three goals came in the space of just four minutes and thirteen seconds, Harriers going from chasing an equaliser to being completely routed.