Battling Harriers suffer Wembley heartache (From Worcester News)

Battling Harriers suffer Wembley heartache

9:04pm Saturday 12th May 2007 in Reports By Peter McKinney

Kidderminster Harriers 2 Stevenage 3
FA Carlsberg Trophy Final

HARRIERS' dream of lifting the FA Trophy 20 years to the day they last won it was dashed by a stunning Stevenage fight back at the new Wembley Stadium.

James Constable's brace had blasted high spirited Harriers into a 2-0 lead by half time but Mark Yates' men could not resist Borough's pressure in the second half of a pulsating game in front of a record 53,262 attendance for the final.

Striker Steve Morison was the villain of the piece as he bagged an 87th minute winner to break the travelling army of Kidderminster fans' hearts.

There was no surprises in manager Yates' team selection, bringing in Michael Blackwood for the suspended Jonny Harkness. Otherwise he kept faith with the players that earned Harriers their place at the new Wembley and the history books.

Both teams made bright starts but Borough had the first chance on goal when lively winger Mitchell Cole's chip caught out Scott Bevan, luckily Brian Smikle stretched to hook his effort out of play.

But as Kidderminster's midfield engine room of Russ Penn and Gavin Hurren got to grips with the game Harriers started to dominate.

Harriers seemed to cope with the occasion better than their opponents and Penn took full advantage of the space given to him with a series of driving runs.

He burst into the box and found Constable, whose curling cross/shot was wide of Alan Julian's goal in the sixth minute.

It took a well-timed challenge by Mark Beard to stop Penn in his tracks on the ten minute mark after a typically powerful run into Stevenage's penalty area.

The midfield dynamo then saw his low 20-yard effort fly just wide of the post minutes later.

Iyseden Christie, who started slowly, then began to have an impact on the match. He played a neat one-two with Brian Smikle on the edge of the penalty area but was blocked by Beard.

He had a golden chance to open the scoring in the 14th minute when he was played in by Constable and breached Stevenage's defence. Unfortunately the striker hesitated when he should have pulled the trigger and allowed Borough to block him.

The only threat to Kidderminster's dominance was winger Cole's pacey runs. In the 23rd minute he powered into the box and slipped the ball to Morison but the striker's cross-cum-shot was no danger to Bevan's goal.

Penn was shown a yellow card by referee Mr Foy in the 25th minute after dragging the winger down after another surging run.

Constable then nodded over after Christie headed on Simon Russell's cross.

Kidderminster fans were in good voice as they watched their side have the best of the game but at 0-0 there was always the danger that Borough could edge ahead.

But the 24,000 who came down to support the team were on their feet in the 32nd minute when Constable ended a scoring drought with a cool finish.

Christie controlled Jeff Kenna's free kick, turned sharpy and fired off a goalbound shot, which a sliding Barry Fuller could only clear into the path of Constable, who slotted the ball past a helpless Julian and send Harriers' fans into raptures.

Four minutes later it got even better when Christie's cheeky backheel caught out Borough and allowed Constable to stride away and stroke the ball past Stevenage's 'keeper with aplomb.

At the blow of the half time whistle Harriers' fans could be forgiven for starting to imagine their team winning the first silverware at the new stadium.

However, Borough were not about to give up without a fight and a powerful start to the second half stunned Harriers.

Morison headed down Adam Miller's floated pass and Cole slotted the ball past Bevan in the 51st minute.

Borough were in the ascendancy and the goal meant that the nerves crept into Harriers' game.

Constable was still working hard and it needed a good challenge by Beard in the 61st minute as he tried to get onto Smikle's flick into the box.

Stevenage's towering Brazillian defender, Marcio Santos Gaia, flashed a far post header wide from Steve Guppy's corner.

Former Leicester man Guppy did not have the influence on the game he would have liked and was replaced by the quick Craig Dobson, who would have a dramatic impact on the match.

The winger's pace troubled Harriers slow backline and allowed Borough to pile the pressure on.

By the midway point of the second half Yates's hard working troops were starting to feel the affects of their whole hearted display.

Hurren was booked for a foul on Morison in the 68th minute, as weary legs saw them struggle to get to grips in midfield.

Dobson's pace was exposing Harriers' weakness at the back and he punished the defence in the 74th minute with Stevenage's leveller.

John Nutter's speculative long ball dissected the back four and Dobson raced through to fire past Bevan.

The goal drained the confidence out of Kidderminster but the fans tried to lift their team's spirits with more vocal support.

Yates decided to shake up his side and replaced Christie, who had been quiet in the second half, with Andrew White.

Constable had half a chance to complete a memorable hat trick when he collected White's pass 30-yards out, but his chip was easily taken by Julian.

The hammer blow came in the game's dying minutes when Bevan parried Morison's volley, only for the striker to stroke the rebound into the back of the net.

With four minutes of added time Yates put on Luke Reynolds as the final throw of the dice and Kidderminster went in search of a last gasp leveller.

A golden chance for a dramatic equaliser went begging in the 94th minute when White could only direct Hurren's shot off the left hand post and out of play.

HARRIERS: Bevan 6, Kenna 7, Hurren 7, Creighton 7, Blackwood 6, Whitehead 7, Russell 6, Penn 8, Smikle 6 (Reynolds, 89mins, 5), Christie 7 (White, 75mins, 5), CONSTABLE 9.

STEVENAGE: Julian, Fuller, Nutter, Oliver, Santos Gaia, Miller, Cole, Morrison, Guppy (Dobson, 63mins), Henry, Beard.

Man of the match: Craig Dobson.

Referee: Chris Foy.