Saturday, December 4, 1999

KIDDERMINSTER Harriers stepped up their Nationwide Conference promotion bid when goals from Mark Druce and Dean Bennett earned them a 2-0 win over title rivals Kingstonian at Aggborough.

It left sixth-in-the-table Harriers five points behind new leaders Yeovil with two matches in hand.

Druce broke the deadlock three minutes after Kingstonian had had midfielder Gary Patterson sent off in the 58th minute for two bookable offences

Bennett sealed the points 10 minutes before the end to make it five home Conference victories on the trot without conceding a goal.

Afterwards Harriers' assistant manager Gary Barnett said: "The result was very important to us and it was a very good performance.

"There was discipline and concentration at the back, plenty of people were brave and wanted the ball in midfield and we had nice imagination from the centre forward and the two wide players. It keeps us well in touch with the club's above us and builds us up for the next few games. Hopefully we can keep that standard up.

"Kingstonian are a very organised and disciplined side and are very physical if they need to be," said Barnett. "But also they can play and have got some very decent players. That's why they will be up there all season.

"We provided sustained football during the first 45 minutes which we haven't done before. We've produced it for 15 and 20 minute spells.

"In the second-half, the goals came and obviously it helped with Patterson being sent off. But, as the saying goes, it can be even harder against 10 men but we were brave and we wanted the ball."

Kidderminster, captained by newcomer Mike Marsh in the absence of suspended Paul Webb, had more than their fair share of possession in the first-half and gave the Kingstonian rearguard several anxious moments.

Bennett went the closest to scoring before half-time with a cross-shot which was pushed away from under the bar by goalkeeper Steve Farrelly.

After the interval Kingstonian finally began to crack, particularly when Patterson was sent off after being booked twice in the space of three minutes.

Leading scorer Druce broke through when Ian Foster set up the chance for him to score his seventh goal of the season with a perfectly placed curling shot into the top corner of the net.

Shortly afterwards Foster missed a couple of chances to increase his side's lead before Bennett made sure of the points with an angled shot which deceived Farrelly at the near post.