HARRIERS 1 CARLISLE 2

RED cards, penalties, goals, great saves. Kidderminster Harriers are certainly proving good entertainment value.

Though Harriers' first-half display was unquestionably woeful, at least the manner of defeat did not rank alongside last month's Macclesfield game.

It must be remembered they have still only lost three Division Three matches this season, two of them at Aggborough.

And they will certainly learn from their latest loss if they do not hide behind the controversial display of Lancashire referee Mark Cowburn.

The good news is boss Ian Britton was not about to do that and acknowledged his players' flaws.

Harriers were simply beaten by their own lack of discipline and a poor first half where they were largely out-played by impressive Carlisle.

The youthful visitors looked hungrier, slicker, quicker and meaner against a side possibly suffering another bout of complacency when faced by lowly opponents.

Keeper Stuart Brock, whose shot stopping kept them in the game, tipped over a Ryan Baldacchino drive on just three minutes.

Harriers quickly forced a strong spell of their own with Sam Shilton shooting over two minutes later.

But that was put to an end when Carlisle star man Leon Osman's tricky run was halted by a rash dive-in from defender Lee Ayres.

Whether there was much contact was debatable yet Craig Farrell, on loan from Leeds, kept his head to bury the spot-kick on 15 minutes.

The excellent Osman, borrowed from Everton, was only denied by Brock's smart save soon after a dazzling Baldacchino run.

He did even better to tip over Brian Shelley's stinging 30-yarder on 24 minutes as Carlisle threatened to steam-roller the Harriers who had won their last four games.

Three key incidents in the first half ensured the home side were always going to have a mountain to climb.

First, striker Drewe Broughton fluffed a close-range finish and scuffed his John Melligan set-up straight at keeper Matt Glennon on 40 minutes.

Two minutes later, Harriers defender Scott Stamps was mysteriously booked for dissent with referee Cowburn failing to move the ball forward 10 yards.

But, on the stroke of half-time, Stamps could have few complaints when his two-footed challenge on Osman resulted in a second yellow card.

Though 10-man Harriers certainly improved in the second period, they could have been further behind but for misses from John Sutton and Farrell, while Brock saved well from Osman.

There were growing signs of a comeback before skipper Sean Flynn thundered home a superb dipping 25-yard left-foot half-volley on 66 minutes.

Harriers now pursued a victory and Ayres headed too close to Glennon after a cross from the inspirational Flynn.

But it all went sour in the last six minutes with substitute Will McDonagh pinching a winner.

The Irish youngster looked offside as he dived to touch home an effort from Osman who was let in by Kenny Coleman's error.

An unseemly injury-time dust-up after McDonagh's bad challenge on Sam Shilton led to red cards for both goal-scorers.

Flynn, earlier booked for a foul, reacted angrily to the foul, confronting McDonagh and receiving a second yellow.

The drama did not end there as a mystery penalty went Harriers' way, possibly for a push by Peter Murphy on Broughton.

But the recalled Ian Foster, who earlier gave the ball away leading to the second Carlisle goal, was denied by the diving Glennon.

The visitors' keeper had ironically fallen out with former Harriers manager Jan Molby at Hull City this season. If only he hadn't.

HARRIERS: BROCK 8; Coleman 5, Ayres 5, Stamps 4; Hinton 5, Melligan 7, Williams 5 (Parrish 56, 5), Flynn 6, Shilton 5; Broughton 5, Foster 5. Subs: Sall, Danby, Doyle, Joy.

CARLISLE: Glennon; Shelley, Taylor, Murphy, Byrne (Maddison 81); McGill, Osman, Summerbell, Baldacchino (McDonagh 72); Farrell, Sutton (Foran 59). Subs: Keen, Kelly.

ATTENDANCE: 3,009.

SHOTS ON: Harriers 6, Carlisle 10.

SHOTS OFF: Harriers 6, Carlisle 8.

CORNERS: Harriers 10, Carlisle 14.

GOALS: Farrell 15, Flynn 66, McDonagh 84.

YELLOW CARDS: Harriers 2 (Ayres, Brock), Carlisle 2 (Foran, Maddison).

RED CARDS: Harriers 2 (Stamps, Flynn), Carlisle 1 (McDonagh).

SHUTTLE STAR MAN: Stuart Brock. An excellent display of shot stopping from the keeper that was only marred by an unpleasant bust-up with team-mate Lee Ayres.