Kidderminster Harriers show off fighting spirit to new boss Phil Brown

Bottom-of-the-table Harriers captured three priceless points thanks to two goals from Ashley Hemmings and one apiece for Amari Morgan-Smith and substitute Gold Omotayo.

The visitors’ goals came from Josh Stokes and Cian Harries.

It was only Harriers’ third home league victory in a season in which Brown has the challenging task of trying to keep the Aggborough strugglers in non-league’s top flight.

Their well earned triumph, in front of a 3,000-plus crowd, also avenged their slender 1-0 defeat at Aldershot in November.

Harriers made a handful of changes from the side which won a dramatic penalty shoot-out in the FA Trophy fourth-round clash against league rivals Altrincham the previous Saturday when Brown was watching from the Aggborough stands.

Sam Bellis, a 21-year-old striker signed on loan from Barrow until the end of the season, went straight into the team for his debut while Reiss McNally, Zak Brown and Morgan-Smith returned to the starting line-up.

The Shots went into the lead on six minutes when Stokes calmly finished off a neat build-up by Olly Scott and Lorent Tolaj.

Stunned Harriers quickly set about trying to repair the early damage and a menacing cross by Hemmings led to a collision between Morgan-Smith and goalkeeper Jasper Sheik before the threat was cleared well away from danger.

Worse was to follow for the hosts, however, when Aldershot went 2-0 ahead on 25 minutes when Harries confidently netted from the spot after Tolaj had been brought down inside the box.

Harriers reduced the deficit five minutes later when Hemmings scored a coolly-taken penalty after Morgan-Smith had been bundled to the ground just inside the area.

It was all square at 2-2 in the 38th minute when Hemmings struck again, this time by smartly finishing off a cross from Caleb Richards.

The lively first half drew to a close with midfielder Brown having a couple of quick-fire shots on goal blocked inside the box.

Harriers took just three minutes of the second period to forge into the lead when Morgan-Smith scored with a perfectly-timed header following a cross from Alex Penny. It was the striker’s 50th goal for the club.

Shell-shocked Aldershot were regularly being pushed back and Sheik was their hero when he saved a Hemmings penalty on 66 minutes which was awarded after Morgan-Smith had been brought down.

The scoring was completed on 78 minutes when substitute Omotaya slid the ball home after Hemmings had had a slow shot pushed away by Sheik.

Kidderminster: Dibble; McNally, Preston, Penny (Pearce, 77), Richards; Lambert (Lissimore, 86), Byrne, Brown; Hemmings, Bellis, Morgan-Smith (Omotaya, 77). Subs not used: Oxlade-Chamberlain, Hesketh.

Aldershot: Sheik, Harfield, Harries, Widdrington, Frost (Jones, 81), Tolaj, Stokes, Glover, Scott, Barham, Mullins (Thomas, 69). Subs not used: Weston, O’Keefe.