STEWART Hadley quickly went from villain to hero on Monday after his early goal sent Harriers on the way to a 3-0 win over Plymouth.

A training ground accident on Sunday saw Hadley's misplaced boot leaving boss Jan Molby needing three stitches on a cut above his eye.

But the hard-working 27-year-old front-man was soon back in his manager's good books after a fine Division Three display alongside Andy Ducros.

With only five minutes gone, Hadley nipped in to head Harriers in front and he gave Plymouth skipper Craig Taylor problems throughout.

The joint top-scorer said: "It was good to get an early goal. I managed to get the ball before the keeper though he caught me on the hip.

"We need to start well because once we do, we get that confidence and there's been a lack of that in the last couple of months.

"In the first half, we battled and outplayed them.

"The second half was harder and the lads were a bit tired but I don't think they had the opportunity to score. We could have had five or six but three's enough."

Hadley's partnership with Ducros will certainly be giving Molby food for thought.

Hadley added: "I was pleased with my performance. My main job up there with Andy was to battle.

"We've played the last few games in the reserves together and seem to work well. He's a good player with the ball. When he drops off the centre-halves, he causes them all sorts of problems.

"Drewe (Broughton) has been suspended and now we will see what formation the manager wants to play. We want to finish this season on a high.

"A lot of our players have played in the Third Division before but as a team it's different. It hasn't been the best season but it's still a start for us.

"I'm not sure whether the fans are happy with the displays but we are not and we hope to put it right next season."