Saturday, October 1, 2005

OLD Aggborough favourite Adie Smith rubbed salt into Kidderminster Harriers' wounds as they continued their woeful run of results with another desperate display.

How Harriers could do with Smith back now. The versatile Brummie put his heart and soul into Saturday's clash, reading the game superbly at right-back and then attacking dangerously from a midfield role.

Another popular former player Scott Stamps was his usual solid self at left-back for Tamworth as they moved off the bottom of the table with a ludicrously simple single-goal victory.

Even Graham Ward, who struggled to cement a place at Kidderminster in their Football League days, outshone the home side's struggling rabble in the Nationwide Conference.

Boss Stuart Watkiss did try to shake up his team with four player changes and an ambitious, new 3-4-3 system that sadly was no success from an attacking point of view.

As Harriers fell to a third straight home defeat in another absolute stinker, the return of experienced midfield campaigners Martin O'Connor and Terry Fleming, from injury and suspension respectively, looks ever more crucial to their hopes.

With the team seemingly lacking enthusiasm, tempo and any real pattern to their play, Watkiss has a big challenge on his hands but it is one he does not intend to walk away from.

However, he said: "It's again really difficult to defend from my part and it's a performance that's not good enough. I'm really, really disappointed.

"We didn't create enough chances on Tuesday night at Crawley and it's exactly the same again.

"We changed the formation. We thought it was a formation to generally have a pop at the opposition.

"But, full credit to Tamworth, they outbattled us, which is obviously another concern, and created three or four good chances themselves.

"We go a goal down again at home and you see the lads drain of confidence. Until we can give ourselves a foothold in the game -- a base to build from -- and get away from having to chase the game, it's always going to be difficult."

Harriers' record of conceding the first goal in all six home games this season is quite a startling statistic, especially considering their willingness to play with three forwards. Unfortunately, their strikers -- as promising as they may be individually -- are playing like strangers all too often.

Watkiss added: "The major reason we've struggled of late is that everything that goes into the forwards' feet is breaking down. Then the only option is to go in behind the defence but then you become predictable. It's something we've got to sort out."

John Danby saved from Bob Taylor early on but the West Brom legend was involved again as a grounded Carl Heggs eventually forced the 40th-minute winner home during a goalmouth scramble.

Harriers' best chances saw Aaron Brown block from Taiwo Atieno in the second-half and sub Michael Blackwood glance Simon Russell's cross wastefully wide from close range.

Smith should have crowned his return to Aggborough with a late second for Tamworth but fired over after a determined run through the middle.

HARRIERS: Danby; Jackson, Burgess, Hatswell; Sheldon (Russell 68), Wilson, Heslop, Burton; Atieno, Christie, Thompson (Blackwood 60). Subs not used: Evans, Hurren, Graves.

ATTENDANCE: 1,961.