Kidderminster Harriers 2(1) v (2)2 Forest Green Rovers

Football Conference National - Aggborough - 4 November 2006

Attendance: 1661

Individual Stats
Kidderminster
Shots
Fouls
Off.
v Forest Green
Shots
Fouls
Off.
 
On
Off
For
Ag
     
On
Off
For
Ag
 
Scott Bevan 5 0(3) 0 0 0 0 [1] Steve Williams 5 0(1) 0 0 0 0
Paul Bignot 5 0 0 1 0 0 [21/2] Alex Lawless 5 0 0 1 1 0
Michael Blackwood 5 0 1 0 2 0 [11/3] Kevin Nicholson 5 0 0 2 0 0
Stuart Whitehead 5 0 1 0 2 0 [6/12] Mark Preece 5 0 0 2 3 0
Mark Creighton 5 0 1 4 3 0 [5/4] Darren Jones 5 0 0 2 3 0
Gavin Hurren 6 0 1 1 1 0 [4/8] Simon Clist 6 2(1) 1 2 1 0
Simon Russell 7 0 1 1 1 0 [15/17] Les Afful 5 0 0 1 0 1
Russ Penn 5 1(1) 2 4 2 0 [16/10] Michael Brough 5 0 0 1 5 0
Reuben Reid 5 0 0 0 2 1 [23/16] Alex Meechan 6 1 0 4 2 3
Iyseden Christie 7 2 0 6(1p) 2 0 [22/21] Danny Williams 5 2(2) 1 1 3(1h) 0
Craig Nelthorpe 5 0 0 0 1 1 [25/26] Matt Robinson 5 0 0 0 1 0
Jeff Kenna       [2/14] Charlie Griffin 5 0 0 1 0 1
Andy White 5 0 1 1 3 1 [9/18] Mark Beesley 5 0 0 1 0 0
Luke Reynolds 5 0 0 0 0 0 [14/19] Paul Stonehouse      
Brian Smikle 5 0 0 1 0 1 [18/24] Christian Edwards 5 0 0 1 1 0
Steve Taylor       [13/20] Ryan Harrison      
Team Stats
  Fouls Conceded Offside Corners Shots On Shots off
Kidderminster 19 4 2 3 8
Forest Green 20 5 3 5 2
GOALS
Kidderminster Forest Green
23 Iyseden Christie   15 Alex Meechan  
90+ Iyseden Christie Penalty 45+ Simon Clist  
Formations
Kidderminster
   Bevan   
Bignot Whitehead   Creighton Blackwood
     
Russell Penn   Hurren Nelthorpe
     
  Reid   Christie  
Forest Green
   S. Williams   
Lawless Preece   Jones Nicholson
     
Afful Brough   Clist Robinson
   D. Williams   
   Meechan   
SUBSTITUTIONS
Kidderminster Forest Green
58 Smikle Nelthorpe Smikle to right midfield, Russell to left midfield. 74 Griffin D. Williams Griffin to striker, Meechan to attacking midfield.
68 White Reid White to striker. 82 Beesley Afful Beesley to attacking midfield, Meechan to right midfield.
84 Reynolds Bignot Reynolds to striker.  Now 3-4-3. 88 Edwards Clist Edwards to central defender, Brough to central midfield.  Now 5-3-1-1.
BOOKINGS
Kidderminster Forest Green
Creighton 36 Foul
Reid 45+ Dissent
  S. Williams 90+ Unsporting Behaviour  
Referee: P. Gibbs (Birmingham)
Match Report by St@tto

On-loan Iyseden Christie's seventh goal of the season, a penalty two minutes into stoppage time saved Harriers and grabbed a point after sloppy defending had twice gifted Forest Green the lead and looked to have gifted them their first away win since their visit to Aggborough last season.

Mark Yates surprised with his team selection, making changes to the side that had beaten Droylsden in the FA Cup in the previous match; back from suspension came Paul Bignot and Andy White's two goals in the last game were not enough to keep him in the team as his place went to Reuben Reid.

It was a case of after the Lord Mayor's show for Harriers, their performance was nowhere near the levels that it had been to destroy Droylsden's challenge.  It may have been different had Craig Nelthorpe converted a second minute chance after being set up by Simon Russell but delayed too long and allowed Steve Williams to save at his feet.  The visitors took the lead after 14 minutes; the ball was played in to the penalty area from the right causing confusion, Danny Williams' effort was blocked by Bignot and ran to Alex Meechan who stabbed the loose ball under Scott Bevan.

Fortunately for Harriers they were not behind for too long; Reid played the ball out to Russell on the right wing and his lofted cross into the penalty area found an unmarked Christie who guided his header past Williams.  The game was becoming very scrappy and was poor as a spectacle and there was little more goalmouth action at either end.  Russ Penn had a couple of chances that missed the target as did Danny Williams and Simon Clist at the other end.  Rovers regained the lead in first half stoppage time and again it was a poor goal from a Harriers point of view; the ball was not cleared properly and though Bevan did well to save from Danny Williams, Clist was on hand to lash the loose ball into the back of the net.

The second half was just as poor as the first, though again it could have been different if Harriers had converted an early chance; Gavin Hurren picked the ball up deep and ran at the heart of the visitors' defence before firing a 20-yard shot narrowly wide of the far post.  Harriers had the best of the possession in the second period and it looked as though if either side found the net it would be them, although it did not look that likely that it would happen.

A Russell corner twenty minutes from the end found Stuart Whitehead who headed wide of the near post while ten minutes later at the other end the visitors could have sewn the game up against the run of play; sub Charlie Griffin found space on the right and crossed to the far post for Clist who fired straight at Bevan.

In the closing minutes Russell went close to an equaliser with 25-yard free kick that beat the wall, but also the crossbar; and it was not until well into stoppage time that Harriers were handed a lifeline.  Rovers sub Christian Edwards, who had only been on the field for five minutes, hauled Christie down in the penalty area and it was Christie himself who coolly stepped up to despatch the penalty beyond the dive of Steve Williams to grab a point.