Kidderminster Harriers suffer draw against Southport
Kidderminster Harriers' play-off hopes were bruised when they had to rely on a second-half equaliser from Jack Byrne to earn a frustrating draw against relegation-battling Southport.
Midfielder Byrne struck in the 77th minute after the Sandgrounders had taken a 27th-minute lead through striker Danny Hattersley.
The deadlock pushed Harriers down from fifth to eighth in the Skrill Premier table, one point adrift of the play-off spot currently occupied by Grimsby.
Gary Whild, who has masterminded two wins and three draws since taking over as Aggborough manager earlier this month, said: "I was frustrated rather than disappointed.
"I think overall, especially in the second half, we did enough to score two or three goals.
"We went behind to a sloppy goal and then showed a bit of character, because we haven't been in that situation since I came back in.
"We created a few more chances which, on another day, we may have taken, but it was important not to get beaten."
Harriers, who triumphed 2-1 at Southport in October, fell behind when poor defending allowed hot-shot Hattersley to knock the ball in from close range.
A few minutes later tempers became frayed in a flare-up involving a number of players which led to Aggborough central defender Josh Gowling being booked along with the visitors' Toto Nsiala.
Whild's men, although not at their best, looked more likely to score after the interval with Byrne trying a couple of efforts from distance which were not too far away from the target.
He finally hit the mark with a carefully placed shot from the edge of the area after an excellent cross from Mickey Demetriou had given the visitors' defence cause for concern. It was Byrne's fourth goal of the season.
A few minutes later, Kidderminster's leading marksman Michael Gash had an effort hit the post before Southport in their turn were unlucky not to grab a dramatic winner four minutes into stoppage time when Danny Fitzpatrick's shot slammed against the upright.
The lucky let-off left Harriers with just one defeat in their last eight outings.
Whild said: "Every little point you can get from a game is important. We are disappointed because we want to win our home games, but unfortunately it didn't drop for us."
Kidderminster: Lewis; L Vaughan, Grimes, Gowling, Demetriou; Byrne, Jackman (Wright, 61); Gittings; Malbon, Gash (Blissett, 81), Morgan-Smith. Subs not used: N Vaughan, O'Keefe, Bell.
Southport: Hurst; Daly, Nsiala, George, Fitzpatrick; O'Sullivan, Brown, Ledsham, Osawe (Brodie, 90); Walker (Mukendi, 89), Hattersley. Subs not used: Challoner, Rutherford, Joyce.
Referee: Craig Hicks (Surrey)
Attendance: 1,818 (71 away fans).
