Saturday, March 6, 2004

KIDDERMINSTER climbed to their highest position in the Division Three table since late August after destroying York City at Aggborough on Saturday.

Their biggest win of the season hoisted them nine points clear of relegation and into 15th place thanks to goals from Ian Foster, Dean Bennett, Mark Yates and Adam Murray.

It was Harriers' third win in their last four outings and puts them on 41 points for the season.

Director of football Jan Molby said: "Going past 40 points is always psychologically important because now you feel we are on the home stretch. I think 50 points absolutely guarantees you are playing in his division next season.

"It was only eight days ago that everybody was fearing for our lives. We are still not out of the woods and we have been nine points clear before. But I think now, as a whole, we are a much better team than we were six weeks ago."

Harriers went ahead in the tenth minute when Foster scored from the penalty spot after Murray had been brought down by Dave Merris.

York keeper Mark Ovendale pulled off an excellent save to keep out a fierce drive from Foster before Molby's men made it 2-0 in the 35th minute.

John Williams knocked the ball through to Murray who produced a perfect pass for leading scorer Bennett to notch his seventh goal of the season.

The Minstermen grabbed a goal back in the 41st minute following another penalty award after Harriers keeper Stuart Brock had flattened Lee Nogan while trying to punch the ball away.

After being booked Brock pushed away Justin Walker's spot kick, but the York penalty-taker managed to knock the ball back for Richard Cooper to head in from close range.

Harriers roared back to make it 3-1 on the stroke of half time when Yates turned the ball in after Adrian Viveash had headed on a Dean Keates corner.

They added to York's misery in the 67th minute when Murray finished off a neat build-up between Williams and Foster.

It left the Minstermen without a win in their last nine outings and enabled Harriers to gain revenge for their 1-0 defeat at Bootham Crescent earlier in the season.

Delighted Molby said: "We did what we had to do, but I don't think we showed as much energy as we did on Tuesday against Northampton. That was always going to be the case because Tuesday took a lot out of the players, but we had more than enough energy to win comfortably.

"The players have now realised how hard they need to work. By the time we go to Leyton Orient on Saturday they will all have their energy back."

Molby also praised Foster and Yates who have recently returned to Aggborough to help in the battle against relegation.

He said: "We all know what it takes to put together a good team, but when you are bottom of the paying league you have to wait for opportunities and keep going back to the likes of Foster and Yates.

They are all short-term solutions until maybe people we want to sign permanently come up or even if we decide to go with some of them longer term."