Altrincham 2(1) v (0)2 Kidderminster Harriers

Football Conference National - Moss Lane - 11 April 2009

Attendance: 1142

Individual Stats
Altrincham
Shots
Fouls
Off.
v Kidderminster
Shots
Fouls
Off.
 
On
Off
For
Ag
     
On
Off
For
Ag
 
Stuart Coburn     [1]Adam Bartlett     
Chris Lane     [2/21]Keith Lowe     
Greg Young     [5/15]Craig Armstrong     
James Smith     [22/6]Luke Jones     
Mark McGregor     [4/18]Martin Riley     
Ben Wilkinson     [17/4]Andy Ferrell     
Shaun Densmore     [21/16]Martin Brittain     
Robbie Lawton     [7/10]Russ Penn     
Colin Little     [9/26]Chris McPhee     
Michael Welch     [18/7]Stefan Moore     
Matt Doughty     [3/14]Brian Smikle     
Chris Denham     [10/5]Mark Creighton     
Joe O'Neill     [12/8]Darryl Knights     
Dale Johnson     [14/9]Matt Barnes-Homer     
Rod Thornley     [26/17]David McDermott     
Richard Acton     [23/25]Michael Carr     
Team Stats
  Fouls Conceded Offside Corners Shots On Shots off
Altrincham177745
Kidderminster125559
GOALS
Altrincham Kidderminster
38Michael Welch 49Martin Brittain 
90+Colin LittlePenalty73Matt Barnes-Homer 
Formations
Altrincham
  Coburn  
LaneSmith McGregorYoung
     
DensmoreLawton WilkinsonDoughty
     
 Little Welch 
Kidderminster
  Bartlett  
LoweJones RileyArmstrong
     
BrittainPenn FerrellSmikle
     
 McPhee Barnes-Homer 
SUBSTITUTIONS
Altrincham Kidderminster
30  Lane to left back, Young to left central defender, McGregor to right central defender, Smith to right back.63Barnes-HomerMooreBarnes-Homer to striker.
58JohnsonMcGregorJohnson to striker, Welch to right central defender.69CreightonRileyCreighton to left central defender.
59ThornleyWilkinsonThornley to striker, Lawton to central midfield, Lane to right back, Smith to left central defender, Young to left back.  Now 4-3-3.75CarrBrittainCarr to right central midfield, Penn to left midfield, Smikle to right midfield.
79DenhamLaneDenham to striker, Young to left central defender, Smith to central defender.  Now 3-3-4.     
BOOKINGS
Altrincham Kidderminster
Wilkinson 15 Foul
Coburn 48 Handball
Johnson 62 Foul
Young 76 Foul
Lawton 90+ Dissent
 Bartlett 63 Unsporting Behaviour
Jones 90+ Dissent
 
Referee: Mark Brown (Hull)
Match Report by St@tto

Harriers stretched their unbeaten run to twelve games but were denied all three points by Colin Little's penalty four minutes into stoppage time at sunny Moss Lane.

Mark Yates changed the side around again, resting weary legs for the third away game in five days; Mark Creighton and Matt Barnes-Homer were left out of the starting line-up along with the suspended Lee Baker and Justin Richards with Martin Riley and Luke Jones starting at the heart of the defence with Craig Armstrong at left back and Chris McPhee partnering Stefan Moore up front. There was also the return from injury of Andy Ferrell.

Despite the changes to the line up Harriers played some excellent football in the first half, dominating possession and enjoying the best of the goal scoring chances.  As early as the sixth minute they should have taken the lead when Martin Brittain's corner from the left was met by the head of Riley only to be cleared off the goal line by Matt Doughty.  Keith Lowe brought home keeper Stuart Coburn into the game with a 25-yard free kick that beat the wall but was a relatively easy catch.

Harriers had their first warning that they should be capitalising on their chances on 26 minutes when Robbie Lawton broke through the middle onto a through ball only to loft his shot over the bar.  the opening goal came seven minutes before the interval;  a low cross from the right by Shaun Densmore was not dealt with by the Harriers defence and makeshift striker Michael Welch nipped in to force the ball over the line.

Before the break Harriers could have been back on level terms, however, as they continued to create chances; Brian Smikle made a good run on the left into the penalty area, getting to the byline before pulling the ball back for Russ Penn whose shot towards the far post was hacked clear.  Then, in the last minute of the half, Brittain's corner from the right found an unmarked Jones at the far post who headed wide.

Smikle shot narrowly wide after good build up play by Riley and Chris McPhee shortly after the restart but Harriers didn't have to wait long for the equaliser.  Coburn was penalised for handling outside the penalty area and from the free-kick Brittain curled his shot over the wall and into the top corner.

At the other end the home team were coming more into the game, changing their tactics to a more direct style, pushing extra bodies forward and launching plenty of long high balls at the Harriers defence.  On the hour a ball through the middle set up Little whose lob was tipped away acrobatically by Adam Bartlett for a corner.  Eighteen minutes from the end Alty thought that they had regained the lead; Dale Johnson's low cross from the left was turned in at the far post by Rod Thornley at the far post but he was ruled to be offside.

Straight away Harriers took the lead; Russ Penn made a strong run through the middle before knocking the ball out wide to Brittain who took on Greg Young and left him for dead before crossing to the near post where Barnes-Homer headed in to record his 20th goal of the season.  Barnes-Homer did have the ball in the net again but play had already been stopped as he was offside.

It looked as though Harriers were going to hold out to take all three points until; deep into stoppage time they conceded a needless corner from which Michael Carr was adjudged to have barged Johnson from behind and referee Mark Brown had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot.  Little stepped up to take the penalty and sent Bartlett the wrong way to level the scores and give the home side a point that they didn't really deserve.