WHATEVER Harriers lacked in craft they more than made up for in graft as Mark Yates got off to winning ways at Woking.

The new manager's first game in charge after a whirlwind 48 hours in the job didn't boast the prettiest of performances.

But it did feature the three "Rs"' as Kidderminster went back to basics to complete a double over Woking at the Kingfield Stadium.

A newfound Resilience produced a positive Result against the odds and gave a massive sense of Relief to boss Yates and the Harriers board.

After six successive Conference away defeats on the trot, the Aggborough men had forgotten what it felt like to win on the road.

But Yates is adamant the hard work has only just begun if his new team are to stop the rot and start climbing the table.

To the casual observer not much had changed from the side that began the away losing run at Crawley under Stuart Watkiss back in September.

Nor was their a marked difference from caretaker boss Martin O'Connor's Harriers who lost heavily at Altrincham last Monday.

But regular members of Kidderminster's travelling army will have noticed that, even though their team spluttered as an attacking force, defensively they worked their socks off.

Harriers' fighting spirit was typified by Mark Jackson who led by example and showed why the club captain is being courted by a host of suitors including York and Shrewsbury.

Other than a few scares, "Jacko" kept the Conference's top scorer Justin Richards on a tight leash as Kidderminster came under the cosh.

Alongside him, Johnny Mullins made a battling return from suspension with an impressive performance capped by the winning goal.

His sweet 69th minute volley was a lesson in finishing to Woking's misfunctioning strike-force who have now failed to score in a home league match since October.

But even though the Cards goal drought continued it was not for the want of trying as Glenn Cockerill's men pinned Harriers in their own half for large periods.

A mixture of poor finishing and good goalkeeping thwarted Woking as John Danby shook off his bloopers at Alty to bounce back with a well-deserved clean sheet.

The Surrey side had three great headed chances in the first half with Tom Hutchinson blazing over from close range, Danby producing a fine tip over to deny Richards and Jimmy Aggrey rattling the bar from point blank range.

After the break it was a similar story as the Harriers number one threw himself to his left to keep out a goal-bound header from Craig McAllister, while Terry Fleming bravely hurled himself in front of Ian Selley's volley.

Danby also clutched another Richards header late on, while a Hutchinson shot was scrabled off the line after a goalmouth scrable resulted in a drop ball.

Harriers meanwhile were only able to fashion a couple of chances with Gareth Sheldon rolling a gilt-edged opportunity wide after a smart link-up with Iyseden Christie in the first half and seeing a weak shot squirm under keeper Shwan Jalal and trickle wide.

From the subsequent corner, however, Fleming whipped over a dangerous low ball and Mullins stuck out his right boot to divert it into the net from close range.