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

Football Conference National - Nene Park - 15 November 2008

Attendance: 1319

Individual Stats
Rushden
Shots
Fouls
Off.
v Kidderminster
Shots
Fouls
Off.
 
On
Off
For
Ag
     
On
Off
For
Ag
 
Dale Roberts     [19/1]Adam Bartlett     
Brendan Moloney     [16/21]Keith Lowe     
Michael Corcoran     [24/3]Lee Baker     
Curtis Osano     [2/18]Martin Riley     
Chris Hope     [5]Mark Creighton     
Curtis Woodhouse     [8/4]Andy Ferrell     
Rob Wolleaston     [17/16]Martin Brittain     
Luke Boden     [22/10]Russ Penn     
Daryl Clare     [10/11]Justin Richards     
Michael Rankine     [14/9]Matt Barnes-Homer     
Marcus Kelly     [23/14]Brian Smikle     
Lee Phillips     [9/6]Luke Jones     
Andy Burgess     [11/7]Stefan Moore     
Clayton Fortune     [12/8]Darryl Knights     
Lee Tomlin     [15/20]Dean Bennett     
Joe Day     [26/12]Dean Coleman     
Team Stats
  Fouls Conceded Offside Corners Shots On Shots off
Rushden1125110
Kidderminster921157
GOALS
Rushden Kidderminster
   41Justin RichardsPenalty
Formations
Rushden
  Roberts  
MoloneyOsano HopeCorcoran
  Woodhouse  
Wolleaston   Kelly
  Boden  
 Clare Rankine 
Kidderminster
  Bartlett  
LoweRiley CreightonBaker
     
BrittainPenn FerrellSmikle
     
 Richards Barnes-Homer 
SUBSTITUTIONS
Rushden Kidderminster
63BurgessBodenBurgess to right midfield, Wolleaston to right central midfield, Woodhouse to left central midfield.70BennettBrittainBennett to right central midfield, Penn to right midfield.
69TomlinKellyTomlin to left midfield.82KnightsPennKnights to striker, Barnes-Homer to right midfield.
80PhillipsCorcoranPhillips to striker, Osano to left central defender, Hope to central defender, Moloney to right central defender.  Now 3-4-3.90+JonesBarnes-HomerJones to defensive midfield.
BOOKINGS
Rushden Kidderminster
Moloney 87 Dissent
Burgess 90+ Dissent
 Bennett 74 Foul 
Referee: Mark Brown (East Yorkshire)
Match Report by St@tto

Harriers moved up to fourth in the Conference with a well deserved victory over old foes Rushden at Nene Park to maintain their recent good form against The Diamonds. The last five league meetings between the clubs have ended in Harriers victory and Rushden have only scored once in those games.

There were no changes to the Harriers side that had defeated Cambridge in the FA Cup; Luke Jones was available after suspension but had to settle for a place on the bench while his deputy Martin Riley kept his place in the starting line-up.

Harriers dominated proceedings in the first half but could have gone behind as early as the tenth minute when Marcus Kelly's cross from the right found Michael Corcoran arriving unmarked at the far post but he headed over the bar.  Harriers got on top with leading scorer Justin Richards a constant thorn in the side for the home team.  On 24 minutes Russ Penn's pass set Lee Baker free on the left, his cross found Richards whose header was tipped over the bar by Dale Roberts in the Diamonds' goal.  From the resultant corner Martin Brittain's cross picked out Richards at the far post but he headed down and wide.

Richards turned provider latching on to Adam Bartlett's long clearance, pulling it back to Matt Barnes-Homer but he mis-kicked and Rushden were able to clear.  Shortly afterwards Richards was again at the centre of things, jinking his way into the penalty area only to see his shot beaten away by Roberts.  A long ball forward to Andy Ferrell was knocked on to Mark Creighton whose surprisingly deft flick sent Ferrell into the penalty area, his low cross from the byline was fired over the bar by Richards.

The breakthrough finally came four minutes before the interval; Brian Smikle's cross from the left was handled by Curtis Osano and referee Mark Brown had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot.  Richards stepped forward to take the kick and kept his composure to despatch it beyond the dive of Roberts to record his 12th goal of the season.

The second half didn't live up to the expectations created by the first; Rushden, as expected, threw more men forward but they had little guile and resorted to punting long balls forward that Harriers' centre halves Creighton and Riley were able to deal with with ease.  Early in the half Adam Bartlett had to be alert to tip the ball over the bar after Rob Wolleaston whipped over a dangerous cross from the right that almost caught him out.  At the other end a Brittain cross from the right was headed over by Barnes-Homer.

The home team created the best of the chances in the second half but never really looked like getting back into the game; indeed, neither side managed a shot on target in the second period.  The closest they came to leveling the scores arrived 15 minutes from the end when Rushden sub Andy Burgess crossed from the right, Keith Lowe got to it first but his header was poor and fell at the feet of Michael Rankine who blasted the ball over the bar.  In the last minute a Daryl Clare free-kick hit the wall and ran to Rankine whose cross to the far post was headed well wide by Chris Hope.