HARRIERS 2 HULL 2

FRUSTRATED Harriers just could not claim their first win of 2001 after bouncing back from a shocking start.

Visitors Hull City showed why they are draw specialists after boss Brian Little ensured very little was going to pass through the defence in the second half.

But in a rip-roaring first period, there was no end to the action as Harriers produced some of their finest football this season.

They forced a string of corners and put Hull's defence under some serious pressure as opposed to some of their ineffective possession football in the past.

But it was just a shame Harriers had handed their opponents a result on a plate after conceding two goals inside 14 minutes.

Hull had not scored in a stunning 463 minutes when Lee Philpott's left-wing cross deflected horribly and keeper Stuart Brock could only palm the ball into the turf.

It bounced up perfectly for the incoming David Brown to head into the unguarded net on four minutes.

Just when things could not get worse, Brock and skipper Ian Clarkson hesitated on the edge of the area and the ball eventually fell for big Kevin Francis to drive home.

Harriers began to show real signs of their intentions and forward John Durnin was denied by the bar on 27 minutes after heading Andy Ducros' cross into the ground and over keeper Paul Musselwhite.

Then on-loan signing Drewe Broughton, making a real difference with his physical presence up-front, nodded Scott Stamps' assist into the hands of Musselwhite.

But Harriers got the lucky break they deserved on 34 minutes when Neil MacKenzie's drive deflected perfectly for Durnin to tap beyond the keeper.

Top-scorer Durnin anticipated the chance very well for his eighth goal in 16 games, while it was typical the influential MacKenzie was involved. The return of Stamps at left-back provided that ideal balance and he helped pull Harriers level, crucially before half-time.

His well-flighted ball into the danger zone was taken down expertly by Broughton who finished every bit as well for his second strike in as many games.

The target man had also come close again when he latched onto MacKenzie's first time cross only to be denied by Musselwhite from close range.

After such a fine first half, the second 45 minutes was never going to reach the same tempo but Little showed his experience by sorting out his beleaguered troops.

Chances were now at a premium although Clarkson put in a nice cross for Broughton two minutes into the second half and Musselwhite had to scramble to turn the header around the post.

And the recalled Dean Bennett struck the top of the bar on 71 minutes after a brilliant run from defence by Craig Hinton.

However, Hinton stumbled moments later and Hull substitute Jason Harris let Harriers off, firing well wide from a difficult angle.

As in the Mansfield game, Harriers' ability to create good chances was impressive but sloppy mistakes are costing them.