DEFEAT in the military town of Aldershot has split Harriers' barmy army into two camps - those that think Stuart Watkiss should be barracked and those who want to see him soldier on, writes Mat Kendrick.

If only his troops would have stood to attention and defended Omari Coleman's arial raid on 63 minutes or they had been more ruthless in enemy territory, the Aggborough general's position would not be an issue.

But a third defeat to the division's bottom club - coming hot on the heels of setbacks against Crawley and Tamworth - have left Watkiss and his players open to attack from their own fans once again.

In fairness, this defeat did not have the depressing hallmarks of their recent rut, not many of them anyway because, as against Morecambe last weekend, at least Harriers appeared organised and interested.

The 4-4-2 formation Watkiss hit upon the previous weekend after several variations gave them a solid foothold in the game and but for some poor finishing Harriers could have piled even more pressure on the struggling Shots.

Simon Heslop justified his return to the team in place of hamstring injury victim Michael Blackwood and produced an energetic display which lifted him above the standards of his mostly average team-mates.

It was particularly harsh then that the Barnsley teenager was to commit the miss of a match with an early contender for Harriers' howler of the season after eight minutes.

Gareth Sheldon forced a smart save from Aldershot keeper Nikki Bull after good play by Iyseden Christie and the rebound dropped quicky to Heslop, who with the goal gaping, somehow contrived to slash this shot over the bar from six yards out.

After that miss it was nip and tuck as the teams attempted to suss each other out but nerves were evident in both line-ups.

Kidderminster defended stoutly for the most part but a lack of concentration from a throw in just after the hour mark was critical, leading to the only goal of the game.

The visitors failed to pick up their runners, with Gary Holloway popping up unmarked to test John Danby with a shot which the keeper could only force into the air. Tim Sills nodded it back into the danger zone and Coleman was there to head in at the far post.

Harriers huffed and puffed but despite putting the Shots under pressure and creating a couple of genuine openings, they couldn't find a way back into the game.

Christie, who is still showing signs that he is Harriers' best chance of success in this division, caused problems for the shaky home defence and on another day might have had a hat-trick.

Soon after the Aldershot goal he struck a low shot which forced Bull into action, and he would expect to score nine times out of 10 from the type of free header he glanced wide in the dying seconds.

In between those chances came the sending off of Shots full back Darren Barnard for stopping Christie in full flow with a professional foul.

It is unknown what might have been had the powerful frontman continued his run towards goal unimpeded but Kidderminster failed to make the most of the free kick they were awarded and failed to reap the benefits of 11 v 10.

Although manager Watkiss threw on Taiwo Atieno, Laurie Wilson and Lee Thompson in a desperate search for a point, it merely highlighted his problem of his lack of strength in depth with none of his substitutes making a positve impact.

With the clock ticking down, a cracker from Shots striker Sills struck the bar, but Harriers need to raise the bar considerably and consistently if they are to banish the bad feeling still circling the club.