Coventry 2 Harriers 0 - the Swain Game

Despite a huge effort and the lucky banana cake baked by captain Mark Creighton's granny, Kidderminster Harriers bowed out of the FA Cup, as they caved into the inevitability of the 62 places which separated them from conquerors Coventry.

The entire Harriers camp will have spent the subsequent hours wondering if they might have written a different story, had they been able to play the first hour like they played the final 30 minutes.

Boss Mark Yates switched to a 4-5-1 to smother the space in front of Coventry and reached base camp – scoreless at half-time – in his effort to guide Harriers up the mountain this tie represented.

But Leon Mackenzie broke their resistance early in the second half and the Blue Square Premier club found it extremely difficult to change the tempo and the direction of their performance after that.

That is not to say Yates did anything wrong.

"Everything went to plan – we got men behind the ball early on because we knew if we opened up here we would get trounced. Then we rode our luck and the keeper kept us in it"

No, that isn't the Kidderminster boss talking but Southend's Steve Tilson after his team's improbable draw at Stamford Bridge.

In other words, Tilson came up with precisely the same conclusion as his Aggborough counterpart for a similar Mission Impossible in Saturday's third round ties. The match stats from the two games were eerily close, too.

Harriers conceded a possession ratio of 58/42 per cent, a 15/4 corner count and lost out 12/3 and 6/2 for shots on and off target. Check the figures from the Chelsea shock and you will find them pretty much the same.

But Southend got a break with a 90th minute equaliser at Chelsea. At the very moment when we were all wondering whether the Harriers might just find a similar moment and claim a headine-making equaliser, Coventry broke away to strike the killer second.

While the rest of us can debate what might have been until the fourth round begins, Yates has to deal with the pragmatics of the challenge and his strategy was sound enough.

But there was a clear sense of unease around Coventry's penalty area when the Harriers did ask them some questions late in the game. That will inevitably be nagging away at the players for a few more days yet.

Yet Yates could find nothing to reproach them for.

He said: "They are beating themselves up a bit in the dressing room, because they do not feel they have played as well as they can. They know they can play better football than that. That sort of performance is not what they are about.

"But you just have to stop for a moment and take a reality check. Look at the stadium we're playing in, the level Coventry play at, who they can leave on the bench.

"The big aim for us was to be in the game for the last half hour. If you go too open too early against players who are fitter and technically better, it is more than likely going to catch up with you."

So it's the FA Trophy and the promotion challenge for Harriers now – and it might be argued that they have already taken from the Cup as much as they could expect.

A run to the third round has been worth more than £60,000 – with a little top-up from Saturday's gate receipts to be added – and has helped chairman Barry Norgrove keep the club going in these worrying times.

Norgrove's trade is building, which isn't exactly flush with opportunity at the moment.

He said: "Everybody's in the same boat, but nobody more than myself as I am a house builder and the industry is flat. Without this FA Cup run, I would have been struggling to keep the club afloat."

Despite the misgivings of the players, this match should have done nothing to dent optimism for what lies ahead.

The stand-out performances naturally came from the men at the heart of the resistance, particularly during a first half which saw the Championship club unleash one wave after another towards Adam Bartlett's goal.

That, of course, is just how captain Creighton likes it and he was an inspirational figure, as Harriers worked their way to half-time with everything intact.

Alongside him ex-Wolves Academy prospects Keith Lowe and Martin Riley were attentive lieutenant, with Bartlett saving wonderfully from Mackenzie after Coventry's best move, the tie was still capable of going the non-Leaguers way at the interval.

But Harriers could not gain a respite from the flow towards their goal and that led to their conceding one corner too many in the 53rd minute. Mackenzie found a yard at the near post and flicked a clever, angled volley into the opposite corner.

That forced Yates' hand, as he reverted to an orthodox two-man frontline and suddenly Russell Penn was surging beyond his midfielder markers to twice threaten Coventry's goal from distance, efforts which would represent his team's best attempts.

Coventry began to look a little nervous and anxious, with Norgrove doubtless dreaming of a televised replay and more cash to fund the club.

With seven minutes remaining, Harriers were undone by a counter-attack, which finished with Leon Best driving a right-foot shot wide of Bartlett.