Saturday, January 31, 2001

KIDDERMINSTER Harriers boss Jan Molby was left fuming at referee Richard Beeby as his side crashed to a 4-0 defeat at Plymouth Argyle last night.

Molby was unhappy at the home side's first and last goals while he also believed midfielder Neil Mackenzie had a perfectly good goal ruled out in first-half injury time.

He said: "When you are not winning games, things go against you.

"The first goal was a diabolical one to concede. The referee has moved the free-kick forward for kicking the ball away, but having said that we should still have stopped it.

"Neil Mackenzie has actually scored - the players confirmed the ball was a yard over the line.

"For the third goal the lad has miskicked his shot but has still had another chance to shoot and score, while the fourth one was the one tackle Mark Shail has got through all night. It was never a penalty in a million years.

"But Plymouth played very well. I thought at the start of the season they would be an excellent side and they proved that tonight."

If there was any consolation for Harriers, who have now gone seven matches without a win, 4-0 was a flattering scoreline for the home side and in the scheming Mackenzie they had arguably the best player on the pitch.

But they didn't take some good early chances and seven minutes before the break, Kidderminster conceded a free-kick 40 yards out and Dean Bennett was booked for kicking the ball away.

Mr Beeby construed that as dissent and moved the free-kick 10 yards further forward and into shooting range, and Craig Taylor's low drive evaded Stuart Brock's grasp.

But in stoppage time Mackenzie struck a fierce shot against the underside of the bar, and despite Harriers appeals Mr Beeby waved play on.

Plymouth stepped up a gear after the break and in the 62nd minute, striker Ian Stonebridge outpaced Shail down the right to thump home the second.

With 11 minutes left Harriers' defence allowed Stonebridge to mis-kick his first effort before driving home his second from the follow-up.

There was still time for a Mackenzie free-kick to hit the post before Plymouth set the seal on victory in injury-time. Shail was unluckily adjudged to have pushed substitute Steve Guinan and Paul Wotton thumped home the resulting penalty.

Kidderminster: Brock 6, Clarkson 6, Stamps 5 (Horne 46, 5), Hinton 6, Smith 7, Bennett 6, Shail 5, Durnin 6, Mackenzie 8, Doyle 6, Broughton 6. Subs not used: Clarke, Bird, Ducros, Corbett.