Kidderminster Harriers 4(3) v (0)1 Burton Albion

Football Conference National - Aggborough - 22 April 2008

Attendance: 1761

Individual Stats
Kidderminster
Shots
Fouls
Off.
v Burton
Shots
Fouls
Off.
 
On
Off
For
Ag
     
On
Off
For
Ag
 
Dean Coleman 8 0(7) 0 0 0 0 [13/1] Kevin Poole 5 0(6) 0 0 0 0
Paul Bignot 5 0 0 2 3 0 [18/17] John Brayford 5 0 0 0 0 0
Andy Ferrell 6 0 0 1 0 0 [17/25] Paul Hurst 5 0 0 0 1 0
Gavin Hurren 6 1 0 2 0 0 [4/3] Aaron Webster 5 0 0 1 0 0
Mark Creighton 5 0 1 0 2 0 [5] Tony James 5 0 0 0 0 0
Dean Bennett 7 1(1) 0 0 2 0 [19/6] John McGrath 6 2(2) 0 2 1 0
Russ Penn 6 0 1 2 2(1h) 0 [10/2] Andy Corbett 5 0 0 0 0 0
Darryl Knights 9 5(3) 0 0 0 4 [24] Michael Simpson 6 1(1) 1 1 0 0
Iyseden Christie 7 3(1) 0 0 1 2 [23/14] Shaun Harrad 6 2(1) 3 1 3 1
Matt Barnes-Homer 6 0 4 1 0 3 [21/10] Daryl Clare 6 2(2) 2 2 2 0
Simon Russell 5 0 0 0 0 0 [7/11] Keith Gilroy 5 0 0 1 1 0
Jonny Harkness 5 0 0 0 0 0 [3/4] Mark Greaves 5 0 0 0 0 0
Brian Smikle 6 1(1) 0 0 0 0 [14/7] Darren Stride     
Michael McGrath 5 0 0 0 0 0 [15/8] Marc Goodfellow 5 0 0 1 0 0
Neil Howarth      [20/31] Matt Williams 5 1(1) 0 0 0 0
Chris MacKenzie       [1/30] Saul Deeney      
Team Stats
  Fouls Conceded Offside Corners Shots On Shots off
Kidderminster 10 9 5 11 6
Burton 8 1 2 8 6
GOALS
Kidderminster Burton
18 Darryl Knights  79 Shaun Harrad 
21 Iyseden Christie    
42 Darryl Knights    
89 Gavin Hurren    
Formations
Kidderminster
   Coleman  
Bignot Hurren  Creighton Ferrell
   Bennett  
Penn    Russell
   Knights  
  Christie  Barnes-Homer 
Burton
   Poole  
Brayford Webster   James Hurst
     
Corbett Simpson  McGrath Gilroy
     
  Harrad  Clare 
SUBSTITUTIONS
Kidderminster Burton
63 Smikle Christie Smikle to right midfield, Penn to right central midfield, Bennett to left central midfield, Knights to striker. Now 4-4-2. 46 Goodfellow Corbett Goodfellow to right midfield.
81 McGrath Russell McGrath to left midfield. 62 Williams Clare Williams to striker.
90+ Harkness Ferrell Harkness to left back. 68 Greaves Gilroy Greaves to left midfield.
     73  Greaves Goodfellow to left midfield, Williams to right midfield.  Now 4-4-1.
BOOKINGS
Kidderminster Burton
Bignot 90+ Foul   
Referee: Paul Tierney (Lancashire)
Match Report by St@tto

The curtain came down on another season of football at Aggborough with Harriers giving one of their most scintillating displays of the campaign to destroy play-off bound Burton Albion.

The visitors arrived at Aggborough in buoyant mood knowing that a win would clinch their place in the end-of-season play-offs with a game to spare.  Their hopes were seriously dented as they were blown away by a Harriers side that would have been too hot to handle for any side in the league.  The upside for The Brewers, however, was that results elsewhere meant that their play-off spot was confirmed.

Mark Yates made two changes to the Harriers team that had lost at Weymouth, Dean Coleman and Darryl Knights returning to the starting line-up with Chris MacKenzie and Alex Jeannin dropping out.  In fact, Knights was the only on-loan player in the 16.

After an opening period where both sides were feeling each other out Harriers took the lead after 18 minutes; Matt Barnes-Homer dispossessed Paul Hurst near the byline on the right and broke into the penalty area, his cross was blocked but looped up to Knights who headed it back into the net.  At the other end Albion's best chance of the half came shortly afterwards, Daryl Clare's 25-yard free-kick beat the wall but flew straight into Coleman's arms.

Within seconds Harriers had doubled their advantage; Barnes-Homer was again the instigator with a surging run through the inside-right channel before crossing low to the far post, just beyond the reach of Kevin Poole in the Brewers' goal, where Iyseden Christie was unmarked and able to fire in his 18th goal of the season.

Christie could have made it 19 for the season after 27 minutes, Simon Russell's glorious deep cross from the left was nipped away from the leading-scorer's head by a timely intervention by Aaron Webster.  The third goal did arrive, however, four minutes before the interval; Russ Penn's pass split the defence open, Christie's dummy let in Knight's who slotted his shot inside the near post.

After the interval Burton came to life and threw more forward in an attempt to get back into the game.  Four minutes after the break Coleman made a good save to palm away Clare's header from a Marc Goodfellow cross and was relieved to see Shaun Harrad blast the loose ball over the bar.

Midway through the half a long ball through the inside left channel set Knights free but his angled shot to the far post was deflected away for a corner and he was denied his hat-trick.  Shortly afterwards Dean Bennett opened up the visitors again with a crossfield pass that put in Barnes-Homer but under pressure from his marker he fired his shot over the bar.

Burton were reduced to ten men with 18 minutes left when substitute Mark Greaves was lost to injury after they had used all of their subs.  Harriers had also lost a player to injury, Christie taken off just past the hour mark, but his replacement, Brian Smikle, managed to cause the shaky visiting defence problems.  He set up a great chance for Knights to complete his hat-trick but the striker, unmarked in the penalty area, shot weakly at Poole.

Twelve minutes from time Burton gave themselves a glimmer of hope when Michael Simpson's lofted pass into the penalty area fell to Harrad who lashed the ball past Coleman.  That was all that Burton could muster, however, and it was Harriers who rounded off the scoring, Gavin Hurren marking his 100th appearance in a Harriers shirt by heading in Knights' corner in the last minute.