Kidderminster Harriers: Reds beat Gateshead 1-0

The win takes Harriers back into second in the table after their surprising home defeat to Kettering Town ten days prior had seen them drop a place to third.

But Montrose's scrappy finish off his thigh in the 83rd minute from a Ashley Hemmings corner was enough to secure the points in what had been a tight, entertaining affair at Aggborough.

The victory leaves Kidderminster four points behind table-topping Gloucester City but have two games in hand on the leaders.

The Reds have another week off league duty this weekend due to their FA Trophy second-round clash at Stamford.

It was a frantic start to the game, with chances at either end and both goalkeepers being called into action early doors.

Keith Lowe forced Harrison Male into a great diving save at one end before Luke Simpson repeatedly denied the home side, not least Greg Olley who was foiled when through one-on-one.

Sam Austin and Amari Morgan-Smith then missed the target before the keepers again were called upon, both proving to be incredibly difficult to beat.

Morgan-Smith then had two more bites of the cherry before the break, the latter effort being a header that was only a fraction wide of the target as it remained 0-0 at the interval.

The hour mark had come and gone before either goal was truly threatened again, when Austin somehow couldn't find the net after a goalmouth scramble in the Gateshead box.

Centre-half Montrose’s goal came with seven of normal time to play and was a victory for being in the right place at the right time.

Hemmings corner found the skipper in the air and the ball hit his upper leg before trickling over the line in a bizarre phase of play but it mattered not as players celebrated wildly.

Gateshead rallied and there were chances for an equaliser, not least two minutes after the goal when Danny Greenfield took aim with a rising shot that whistled past the top corner of the goal.

Harriers held firm for a crucial three points on the road.