Kidderminster Harriers 0(0) v (1)2 Wycombe Wanderers

After their epic cup-tie against Cardiff City in midweek, Harriers gave a very disappointing performance and slumped to their first home defeat of the season against Tony Adams' Wycombe side.

Simon Russell was introduced into the side for his first start, the more experienced Micky Mellon stepped down to the substitutes' bench to make way for him while Adrian Viveash returned in the centre of the defence in place of Chris McHale. Wycombe had a front line that included Nathan Tyson, formerly of Cheltenham, and Ian Stonebridge, once of Plymouth Argyle, both of whom had scored against Harriers when with their former clubs.  Also in the Wanderers side was Keith Ryan who had played for them on their last visit to Aggborough in the 1992-93 season.

Stonebridge almost gave the visitors the lead after a quarter of an hour when he received a crossfield pass from Danny Senda on the left and hit a dipping volley that beat John Danby and crashed back off the post, much to the relief of the home defence.  The opening goal came just a few minutes later; Clint Easton played the ball through the inside left channel for Tyson to run onto and he held off Wayne Hatswell well before slotting a shot from a narrow angle just inside the far post.  Senda could have doubled the advantage shortly afterwards with a free kick from just outside the penalty area that beat the wall and went just over the bar.  At the other end Steve Burton tried a similar trick as the half ran down but his free kick found the side netting.

After the break Tyson continued to have the better of Hatswell in one-on-one situations; he withstood the Harriers captain's challenges to hit a powerful shot that hit the post.  By now Jan Molby had seen enough and made a double substitution and withdrew the ineffective Russell and Frédéric Advice-Desruisseaux and replaced them with Mellon and Richie Appleby; Appleby was soon involved in the action finding Simon Brown with a long pass, the on-loan winger fed it to Jesper Christiansen who cut inside and hit a shot straight at Frank Talia in the Wanderers goal.

An Appleby free kick set up Mellon but his 25-yard attempt was charged down by Stuart Nethercott and Wycombe scrambled the ball away to safety.  The game had become quite dour by now; Wycombe were able to knock the ball around quite easily as Harriers offered little to challenge them, an on-form Harriers side may have given them more of a test but as it was the home team gave their worst performance of the season, and one that was as bad as many from last season too, and never looked like getting back into the match.

In the dying moments Burton crossed from the left and found Hatswell still in attack after having gone up for a corner and he got his head to it well but could only direct it straight at Talia.  In stoppage time Wycombe made certain of the result; another Harriers corner came to nothing and the ball was picked up by Tyson, dispossessing Appleby in the process, and he set off on a surging run to the other end of the field.  Lee Jenkins tried to tackle him but bounced off and Tyson was able to roll the ball across the face of the goal to Shahed Ahmed at the far post who was left with a simple tap-in to end the game.