Grays Athletic 2(0) v (0)2 Kidderminster Harriers

Football Conference National - The Recreation Ground - 10 September 2005

Attendance: 1316

Individual Stats
Grays
Shots
Fouls
Off.
v Kidderminster
Shots
Fouls
Off.
 
On
Off
For
Ag
     
On
Off
For
Ag
 
Ashley Bayes 60(2)0000[1]John Danby 50(1)0000
Cameron Mawer 500100[20/2]Wayne Evans 500100
John Nutter 501100[3/5]Wayne Hatswell 600210
Joe Bruce 500120[18/4]Mark Jackson 701200
Jamie Stuart 500100[4/6]Daryl Burgess 500110
John Martin 501300[10/7]Martin O'Connor 500020
Dennis Oli 501411[7/8]Terry Fleming 500020
Stuart Thurgood 502110[6/18]Taiwo Atieno 71(1)2010
Gary Hooper 74(1, 1w)1020[8/9]Iyseden Christie 820114
Tony Battersby 500030[9/14]Gareth Sheldon 600122
Glenn Poole 50001(h)0[23/17]Wayne Graves 500000
Lee Matthews     [5/3]Steve Burton 500000
Aaron McLean 501000[11/10]Lee Thompson     
Dean Brennan     [15/12]Laurie Wilson 501020
Nicky Eyre     [16/15]Simon Russell 51(1)0100
Bertie Brayley 500000[21/13]Daniel Lewis     
Team Stats
  Fouls Conceded Offside Corners Shots On Shots off
Grays101647
Kidderminster126544
GOALS
Grays Kidderminster
53Gary Hooper 48Iyseden Christie 
90+John Danby Own Goal 63Iyseden Christie 
Formations
Grays
  Bayes  
MawerBruce StuartNutter
     
OliThurgood MartinPoole
     
 Hooper Battersby 
Kidderminster
  Danby  
EvansJackson BurgessHatswell
     
 FlemingO'ConnorGraves 
     
 AtienoChristieSheldon 
SUBSTITUTIONS
Grays Kidderminster
46  Oli to striker, Hooper to right midfield. 44WilsonO'ConnorWilson to central midfield.
69BrayleyPooleBrayley to left midfield. 64RussellGravesRussell to right midfield, Wilson to left central midfield, Sheldon to left midfield.  Now 4-4-2.
70McLeanBattersbyMcLean to striker. 86BurtonSheldonBurton to left midfield.
BOOKINGS
Grays Kidderminster
Bruce 29 Foul  Fleming 31 Dissent
Burgess 45+ Foul
Atieno 77 Dissent
Wilson 90+ Foul
 
Referee: S. Tomlinson (Hampshire)
Match Report by St@tto

Harriers were seconds away from a third consecutive win after goals from Iyseden Christie had set them on the road to victory at league leaders Grays but then John Danby threw Grays debutant Bertie Brayley's corner into his own net.

Until then Harriers had more than matched their high-flying hosts and should have come away with all three points.  As expected, Stuart Watkiss made changes to the team after his disappointment at the performance against Canvey Island; Gareth Sheldon came into the attack, helped by his four-goal haul in the midweek friendly at Tamworth, while Wayne Graves made his first start in place of the injured Simon Heslop.

The sides appeared evenly matched and slugged the opening exchanges out in midfield.  The home side had a good early chance when the Harriers defence opened up in front of Gary Hooper but he was denied by a late block by Mark Jackson.  Harriers' best chance of the half came from a route that has proved successful twice this season already - a Wayne Hatswell cross for Taiwo Atieno - this time it was a deep free kick from halfway that Hatswell launched forward and Atieno header was acrobatically tipped over the bar by Ashley Bayes in the Grays goal.

Hooper was a constant threat to Harriers in the first half; he sold Hatswell a dummy that left the defender trailing in his wake but his 25-yard shot was held by Danby low down to his left and then in the last few minutes of the half he chipped a dangerous ball back into the goalmouth for John Martin who headed over the bar.  Harriers were dealt a blow shortly before the interval when Martin O'Connor suffered a recurrence of his hamstring injury and had to be replaced by Laurie Wilson.

Wilson was instrumental in Harriers taking the lead three minutes after the break a surging run carried the ball forward before slipping it to Sheldon on the left wing who beat beat the full back before crossing to the far post where Atieno rose to head back across the face of goal and Christie was on hand to turn the ball in from close range for his second goal in as many games.

The lead didn't last long, however, as Harriers were pulled wide open by Tony Battersby who broke clear on the left, enticing Danby out of his goal, and rolled the ball across the penalty area to Hooper who had a simple task to roll the ball into the empty net.  Ten minutes later Harriers were back in front; Sheldon's long throw from the left was flicked on by Atieno and Christie, unmarked at the far post, was left with another tap in for his second of the game.

As the game wore on it looked as though Harriers would be able to inflict Grays' first defeat of the season; they perhaps should have gone further ahead when Christie turned provider for Atieno with a defence-splitting pass but Atieno's shot from 25 yards went wide of Bayes' left-hand post.  The home team kept plugging away, though, and Hooper went close again, his header from John Nutter's left-wing cross crashed against the far post.

A frenetic finale to the game saw Aaron McLean, on for Battersby, lash a shot wide after Steve Burton had been caught in possession and then Nutter blazed one over the bar after Harriers had been unable to clear their lines.  Just when it seemed that Harriers had weathered the storm and won the game Bertie Brayley, on as a sub and making his debut, swung a corner over from the right and Danby, under no pressure managed to get both hands on it and then fumble it into the net for a dramatic equaliser.