Points Ebb away for wasteful Harriers (From Worcester News)

Points Ebb away for wasteful Harriers

5:21pm Wednesday 3rd March 2010 in

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Harriers 2
Ebbsfleet 2

STEVE Burr’s honeymoon period as Harriers boss didn’t exactly come to an end but their play-off hopes were dented as they were frustrated by gritty Ebbsfleet on Tuesday night.

Brian Smikle’s second half strike ensured Burr’s boys stretched their unbeaten record in 2010 to nine games but this was two points dropped as they wasted enough chances to win 10 matches.

The point keeps them in the hunt for the Blue Square Premier play-off but on a night when Mansfield, Luton and Crawley drew, this was a small setback for the Aggborough outfit.

Harriers’ manager lamented not building on Darryl Knights’ opener: “We got off to a great start and really we had some excellent chances and that would have given us a cushion.

“I’m sure if we had scored a second one I am confident that we would have gone on to win the game.

“Fair play to Liam Daish’s side, they worked very hard and tried to stop us play but we still created a lot of chances.

“I thought we showed a lot of character when we went 2-1 down and I thought the lads stuck to the game plan and we ran out of time in the end.

“With our form and Ebbsfleet’s league position you’ve got to look at this as two points dropped but the performance and the character of the side to get something out of it was pleasing.”

Despite Ebbsfleet’s lowly position in the league, Daish’s battlers went into the match on the back of four consecutive away wins.

But that record looked in danger within five minutes when the rejuvenated Knights grabbed his second goal in as many games.

The former Ipswich man has struggled for goals since joining the club in January 2008, but he opened the scoring when he met Smikle’s left-wing cross with a deft downward header at the near post.

That goal should have signalled a landslide but Harriers were wasteful. Robbie Matthews spurned a golden chance when he shot tamely at keeper Lance Cronin in a one-on-one.

Smikle came close to doubling the lead but he was a fraction too late to meet Lee Baker’s raking low cross and that chance was punished by Moses Ashikodi seconds later.

The Ebbsfleet striker escaped Gavin Caines attentions in the box and met Peter Holmes’ right-wing cross by flinging his right foot at the ball and smashing a superb volley beyond keeper Ross Atkins.

Smikle was again chief culprit late in the first half when he glanced Knights’ cross wide from close range.

That wastefulness gave Ebbsfleet hope and substitute Scott Ginty took advantage of Harriers’ defence backing off and lashed a 20-yard effort beyond Atkins in the 69th minute.

To their credit, the hosts raised their game and substitute Adam Boyes, making his debut for the club after joining on Scunthorpe loan only the day before, replaced Matthews.

He made an immediate impact by releasing Smikle with a smart header, which allowed the midfielder Smikle to round Cronin and score his fourth goal in as many games.

That strike signalled a frenetic end to the game with Harriers coming within a whisker of bagging all three points.

Chris McPhee tested Cronin, who was booked for time wasting late on, much to the frustration of Burr, who had a fiery argument with Daish.

Boyes thought he’d won the game three minutes into time added on. Substitute Marc Goodfellow’s firm low effort was spilled by Cronin and Boyes slid the follow-up goalwards from an acute angle, only for Stefan Bailey to clear off the line.

Former Ebbsfleet man McPhee also thought he’d secured three points in the final few seconds, when he rose well and headed goalwards from a corner but the peerless Cronin was on hand to save.

After game, Burr credited the players for the manager of the month award for February he received before kick-off.

He said: “I was delighted to get the award. I like awards like this but as I said to the lads without their performances in February I wouldn’t have got it.

“Ebbsfleet scored two great goals but how they managed to keep the ball out of the back of the net in the last 10 minutes I will never know.”

Harriers: Atkins 6; Courtney 6; Baker 7; Finnigan 6 (Goodfellow, 60); Caines 6; Riley; McPhee 6; Bennett; Knights 8; Smikle 7; Matthews 6 (Boyes, 62). Unused substitutes: Singh; Sharpe; Bignot.

Ebbsfleet: Cronin; Collins; Pooley; Vieira (Ginty, 18); Ashikodi; Stavrinou (Heeroo, 76); Shakes; Crooks (Salmon, 46); Bailey; Charles; Holmes. Unused substitute: Welsh; Wills. Referee: Bobby Madley (W Yorkshire). Attendance: 1,163 (20)