Droylsden F.C.-The bloods on the net!

KIDDERMINSTER HARRIERS 3 – 1 DROYLSDEN

BLUE SQUARE PREMIER - Tuesday 18 September 2007

Report by Gary Owen

The Bloods went to sleep for two crucial moments early in the second half and paid the price by conceding two goals from which they never recovered.

This followed a first half during which the hosts enjoyed much possession, but Paul Phillips in the Droylsden goal remained largely untested.

Indeed, it was the visitors who came closest to breaking the deadlock on 27 minutes, when Jody Banim had the ball at his feet and beat 3 Harriers' defenders before seeing his left-footed angled drive beat Dean Coleman, only to rebound to safety off the inside of the far post. Those efforts bounce off the inside of the post and go in when you're at the top of the table, but when you need it to – well, lady luck often desserts!

Just five minutes later, Harriers took the lead. Firstly, some great defending by Kevin Lynch blocked Dean Bennett's shot, but the ball fell kindly to Jonny Harkness, who beat Phillips from 16 yards.

However, The Bloods struck level four minutes from the break when Chris Denham cut inside, beating 3 defenders, before seeing his shot also cannon off the foot of the post. This time, however, the ball fell to Banim, who won the race for the ball and converted from an angle.

Droylsden could have taken a 2-1 advantage at the break, but Gavin Salmon deflected Daniel Warner's cross away from the path of Lynch who had a clean strike at goal from inside the box.

A closely fought second half looked on the cards, until Harriers struck twice within the space of six minutes to kill the game.

Firstly, Justin Richards flicked on a free kick for James Constable to turn and volley, giving Phillips no chance, leaving the Bloods' central defenders looking at each other for blame, with neither the first nor second ball won.

Then, on 55 minutes, Mark Creighton side-footed home a rather soft goal from a Harriers corner kick.

Banim continued to take the fight on behalf of the Bloods, and he almost connected with a dangerous cross by Denham. On 70 minutes, he looked to have won his side a penatly kick when his standing foot appeared to be taken from him, but a corner kick was scant reward.

With nine minutes remaining, Banim forced Coleman into a smart save to turn the ball around the foot of his left hand post, and from the resultant flag kick, the Bloods had the ball in the net, only for the referee to award a free kick for a foul on Coleman.

At the death, Phillips tipped over a Richards piledriver after he had sold a dummy to Warner, and Gavin Hurren saw red for an apparent stamp on Ged Murphy, but the statistics will show this as the Bloods' eighth consecutive defeat, leaving many of the faithful searching the record books, but the focus has to now all be on Moss Lane on Saturday, in a must-win game for Dave Pace's men against fellow strugglers, Altrincham.

KIDDERMINSTER: Coleman, Kenna, Harkness, Creighton, Whitehead, Constable (Barnes-Homer, 82), Richards, Penn (Hurren, 78), Blackwood (Russell, 76), Ferrell, Bennett.

Subs not used: McGrath, Bignot.

DROYLSDEN: Phillips, Halford (Talbot, 85), Warner, Cryan, Burke, Morris (Tandy, 70), Murphy, Lynch, Denham, Banim, Salmon (Fearns, 82).

Subs not used: Pritchard, Senior (G/K).

ATTENDANCE: 1,305

REFEREE: Mr. Simon Hooper (Swindon ,Wiltshire)