Kidderminster Harriers 1 Altrincham 3 - Report
Kidderminster Harriers are in severe danger of tumbling through the relegation trap door after suffering a demoralising 3-1 National League defeat against Altrincham at Aggborough.
Desperate Harriers, who have been struggling in the dreaded drop zone for most of the season, were beaten after taking the lead through midfielder Zak Brown in the 20th minute.
Boss Phil Brown’s third-from-bottom battlers have now failed to win in their last five outings with their previous four matches all ending in draws.
Their bitterly disappointing defeat also demolished Harriers’ hopes of improving on their efforts at Altrincham last October when they shared the points in a 1-1 stalemate.
Brown made three changes from the side which drew 1-1 at Wealdstone the previous Saturday with Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Cole Kpekawa returning to the starting line-up with recent loan signing Charlie Weston also being drafted in for his home debut.
Harriers were unlucky in the sixth minute when good work by Emmanuel-Thomas led to Ashley Hemmings having a shot rebound off the base of a post.
They were finally rewarded for their attacking efforts when Brown hooked the ball home after Alty had failed to deal properly with a Jack Lambert corner.
The visitors drew level four minutes later when Regan Linney safely finished off a move involving Chris Conn-Clarke and Lewis Banks.
During the closing stages of the first half Hemmings fired narrowly wide before Harriers’ goalkeeper Christian Dibble was needed to save an effort from Alex Newby. Kpekawa also went close with a header.
Alty went into the lead six minutes after the break when Conn-Clarke fired home after a low cross from Newby, who shortly afterwards went agonisingly close with a shot.
Dibble pulled off a fine save to deny Banks before Con-Clarke completed the scoring by curling a shot into the bottom corner of the net in the 73rd minute.
Kidderminster: Dibble; Kpekawa, Pearce, Penny (Robinson, 79); Hemmings, Brown, Weston, Richards; Lambert (Miller, 79); Emmanuel-Thomas (Omotayo, 79), Morgan-Smith. Subs not used: Preston, Bellis.
Altrincham: Rose, Banks, Jones, Baines, Osborne, Linney (Angus, 64), Conn-Clarke (Hancox, 73), Cooper, Donawa, Wilson, Newby (Roscoe, 80). Subs not used: Kosylo, Mooney.
Referee: Ross Martin.
Attendance: 3,688 (272 away fans).
