NINE minutes of madness sent Kidderminster Harriers crashing to defeat in yesterday's Nationwide League Division Three clash at Whaddon Road.

After taking a 50th minute lead through Danny Williams they allowed Cheltenham Town to pick up the points with goals from Jamie Victory and Grant McCann.

And to rub salt into their wounds mid-table Harriers had defender Adam Willis sent off during the dramatic closing stages.

Victory equalised on 79 minutes before McCann put Cheltenham in front two minutes later with Willis getting his marching orders a couple of minutes from time for tripping substitute Martin Devaney.

It was Harriers' second defeat in three days and boss Ian Britton accepted that his players got what they deserved for their performance in front of a 4,179 crowd which included 718 away fans.

He said: "I named an unchanged side on purpose because I thought I'd give them a second chance to put things right after Saturday, but they failed the test again. After being 1-0 up we caused our own downfall."

He admitted his patience was now running out and changes were likely for Saturday's home clash against table-topping Oxford United.

"I thought first half we did alright. We had possession and did quite well without any real scoring opportunities. Then we got the goal to make it 1-0 and with 15 minutes left I thought 'that's it now, we'll be alright'.

"But we never passed it at all in the second half and so consequently the ball was in the air all the time. They got two goals, one from a corner and one from a free-kick, so we got what we deserved."

After an uneventful first half Harriers broke the deadlock with a thunderous 30-yard free kick which gave former Worcester City 'keeper Shane Higgs no hope of stopping.

Eventually Cheltenham began mounting heavy pressure and Victory fired home after keeper Stuart Brock had failed to deal with a McCann corner. A minute earlier Brock had pulled off an excellent reflex save to deny substitute Bob Taylor.

Harriers then allowed McCann to score with a 22 yard free kick before their despair was completed by Willis' sending off.

Kidderminster: Brock 5, Stamps 5 (Smith 46, 4), D. Williams 6, H Hinton 7, Bennett 4, Flynn 4, Bishop 4, Shilton 4, Henriksen 4, Willis 6, Coleman 5. Subs (not used): Gadsby, J. Williams, Parrish, Ward.