Hinckley United 0(0) v (1)1 Kidderminster Harriers

Harriers brought the curtain down on their pre-season programme with a third away win that maintained their unbeaten sequence.

The visitors dominated the game against a Hinckley side that had won three friendlies this week.  Harriers had the ball in the net after just five minutes but the goal was ruled out because Jeff Kenna's 25-yard shot had deflected in off Matthew Barnes-Homer who was in an offside position.  Harriers, showing only two changes from the side that drew with Walsall in midweek, needed just eleven minutes more to break the deadlock; a well worked free-kick on the left wing saw Kenna play the ball into the feet of Michael Blackwood who knocked it back to the full back who had continued a run into the penalty area and drilled it through the legs of home keeper Sean Bowles.

Harriers created a string of chances and should have had the game sewn up by the interval.  Kenna was involved again with a corner from the left that found the head of Jon Munday who had got up well only to see his header crash back off the crossbar.  Blackwood picked out Justin Richards with a cross from the left but the striker was slow to react and could only direct it straight at the keeper with his shin.  Right at the end of the half Barnes-Homer started a move on the right, playing the ball in to Russ Penn who played a neat 1-2 with Richards before shooting straight at Bowles.

After the break Harriers continued to create chances; Barnes-Homer set up Richards with a pass through the inside-right channel and got to the byline before pulling the ball back into the goalmouth where Brian Smikle somehow managed to guide it across the face of goal and wide of the far post.

Hinckley did manage to threaten on a couple of occasions, the best chance fell to Colin Marrison who was allowed a free header at the far post from a cross from the right but he headed wide.  United suffered a setback on 73 minutes when striker Gez Murphy had to be stretchered from the field after injuring a leg in a clash with Scott Bevan who had raced out of the penalty area to clear.

Iyseden Christie made his first appearance of the summer on the hour and almost marked his appearance with a goal with his first touch but steered his shot wide.  He was involved again with ten minutes left, beating the offside trap he broke towards goal before rolling the ball square to Richards who fired over.  Bowles was called into action late on when, after being set up by Penn, Amar Boukhalfa curled a shot towards the top corner that the keeper did well to tip away for a corner.