Luton 6, Harriers 0

HARRIERS’ weaknesses were horribly exposed by an utterly ruthless Luton side on a sombre Saturday.

Kidderminster had arrived at Kenilworth Road determined to show they were still contenders for the top but in the end they left with their tails between their legs.

For the 203 fans who made the trip to Bedfordshire and had already been to Grimsby only nine days before, they witnessed all the same problems magnified exponentially under Luton’s unflinching magnifying glass.

Harriers’ inability to defend, failure to play consistently well for a full 90 minutes and their poor disciplinary record are crippling their dreams of promotion.

Chey Dunkley’s sending off was a pivotal moment but to blame this defeat on that incident alone would be to ignore all of their on-going issues.

Such an embarrassing loss seemed improbable after an entertaining first half, where Steve Burr’s side had matched their opponents.

Luton had not lost at Kenilworth Road since April, when ironically Harriers won 2-1, but they powered to an eighth straight victory at home to rise ominously to the top of the Skrill Premier.

The Hatters led thanks to Luke Guttridge’s 27th minute strike, when he reacted quicker than the defence after Danny Lewis had athletically saved Matt Robinson’s shot.

That goal was a portent of things to come but Harriers pressed forward only to be denied by keeper Mark Tyler.

The pick of his saves came in the 19th minute when he brilliantly reached Joe Lolley’s well-hit rising shot.

But their good vibes were quickly torn asunder in four minutes of defensive hari-kiri after the break.

Harriers’ inability to defend high balls allowed Jake Howells to cross and Paul Benson to loop a well-placed header home powerfully in the 52nd minute.

The wily veteran striker then raced into the box and was felled by Dunkley, who was shown a straight red card.

There was some confusion as the referee briefly seemed to dismiss Josh Gowling who had been remonstrating with the official.

Howells ended the contest with his firm penalty and piled on more misery in the 70th when he hooked home Benson’s high delivery.

Scott Griffiths and Guttridge added insult to injury as Harriers suffered their biggest league defeat since losing to Enderby Town 6-0 in 1975.

“I am very angry about the result,” complained manager Steve Burr.

“It is hard enough to come to Luton without going down to ten men.

“We were in the game but again we conceded and didn’t defend balls into our box.

“It looked like Chey took Benson down but again we weren’t quick enough to react to a situation.”

With a huge game against Peterborough in the FA Cup and the Carpetmen still in the play-off spots, the club must pull together to ensure this humbling loss is a freak result.

Harriers: Lewis 7, L Vaughan 5, Storer 5, Dunkley 3, Byrne 5 (Angus, 88), GASH 7, Jackman 5, Gittings 5, Lolley 7 (Fowler, 60), Morgan-Smith 5 (Johnson, 66), Gowling 4. Subs not used: Grimes, N Vaughan.

Luton: Tyler, McNulty, Lawless, Griffiths, Mpanzu (Howells, 45+1), Davis, Guttridge, Robinson, Henry, Benson (Cullen, 80), Gray. Subs not used: Wall, Justham, Mawson. Referee: N Kinseley. Attendance: 8,488 (203)