Harriers pushed league leaders Cheltenham hard but were once again found wanting, slumping to a fifth straight defeat.

Harriers' run of defeats is now their longest in three years since they ended the 2011-12 season with two defeats and started the following season with five more.

Dave Hockaday kept with the same sixteen that had been beaten by Eastleigh last time out, but bringing in Lathaniel Rowe-Turner and Matt Barnes-Homer to the starting line-up and changing to a thee-central-defender formation.

Both teams began the game in lively fashion, but it was the visitors who threatened first; Andrija Novakovich, who was making his first league start, cutting in from the left and beating Dean Snedker with a shot that came back off the far post.

Shortly afterwards former Harrier Danny Wright was left unmarked for a free header butt Snedker was alert to it and pushed it away for a corner.  At the other end Omari Patrick made a strong run through the inside-left channel but shot narrowly wide.

Cheltenham took the lead on 26 minutes; former Harrier Kyle Storer's cross from deep on the right found Wright at the far post who scored with a looping header over Snedker.  The lead was short-lived, however, as three minutes later Kyle Howkins pounced to level the scores after Kelvin Langmead's header had been saved by Dylan Phillips.

Harriers nearly took the lead before the break; Patrick's header from Ben Whitfield's right-wing corner was cleared off the line by Jake Barthram.  In stoppage time at the end of an entertaining half Jack Munns saw his header come back off the crossbar.

After the interval Harriers couldn't match the visitors as well as they had in the first half and The Robins enjoyed far more of the possession.  Harriers were indebted to another man-of-the-match performance from Snedker who made a fine double save from first Wright and then Harry Pell just past the hour mark.

Harriers' skipper Jared Hodgkiss was well positioned to clear off the line from Pell's shot as Harriers failed to clear a corner and on 68 minutes Snedker was on hand again to save from Billy Walters at the expense of a corner.

From that corner, though, Aaron Downes was left unmarked and unchallenged to charge through the penalty area to power a header past Snedker to win the game for Cheltenham.

Harriers were unable to lift themselves again; they toiled fruitlessly for the remainder of the game but never looked like scoring again.  To make matters worse for them their nearest challengers in the league, Torquay, won to leave Harriers six points adrift at the bottom of the table.