HARRIERS 1 Exeter 2
Kidderminster Harriers were left licking their wounds after being battered into submission for a second time this season by Exeter City, writes Mat Kendrick.
Just as at St James's Park back in August, Kidderminster competed well only to end up empty-handed against the aggressive Grecians.
Boss Stuart Watkiss quipped that the Aggborough treatment table resembled "Emergency Ward 10" after injuries to three of his players changed the course of the game completely.
And the frustrated manager could soon be heading for an on-field emergency of his own if he is unable to patch up his shallow first team squad, either with quick-fix remedies or temporary reinforcements.
Having coped with the departure of Simon Russell, who left the field with a badly broken wrist in the first half, Harriers were truly hamstrung when Gareth Sheldon and Martin O'Connor limped off 10 minutes into the second half.
With all due respect to their replacements, Laurie Wilson is still a long way from exerting the same kind of influence as the experienced O'Connor, while Lee Thompson has yet to show Kidderminster what he is capable of.
It was no coincidence that the enforced changes resulted in disruption in the Harriers ranks and led to Exeter's brightest spell of the match.
By then Watkiss's troops had given themselves the foothold their spirited display deserved by taking a 49th minute lead through Simon Heslop's first goal in senior football.
Picking the ball up deep into enemy territory, the 18-year-old midfielder cleverly worked space for a shot before dispatching a left foot drive past keeper Paul Jones from the edge of the box.
It was just reward for Harriers who had edged the first half in terms of possession and chances with Taiwo Atieno and Mark Jackson going close with headers and Sheldon having a low drive pushed around the post by former Exeter team-mate Jones.
But Alex Inglethorpe's promotion chasers have a reputation as one of the strongest sides in the division, and although they didn't live up to that in a football sense, their physical approach is certainly successful at this level.
Along with the casualties who departed the action early, the visitors left several other Harriers nursing knocks, including skipper Jackson who played most of the match with his head bandaged following a bruising aerial challenge.
Exeter's direct approach brought the equalising goal on 58 minutes when Andy Todd climbed highest in a crowded six-yard box to glance Jon Challinor's long throw past a stunned Dan Lewis.
It was harsh on the young stopper who again justified his place between the sticks ahead of regular number one John Danby.
He produced a couple of decent saves, including a second half stop from Challinor one from substitute Steve Flack's late volley and a tip over from a Billy Jones cross which looped up dangerously off O'Connor's boot.
There was nothing he could do about Exeter's winner however, which again came from the Grecians' effective tactics of getting the ball forward early.
A quick counter attack moved the action to the edge of the Harriers area where Terry Fleming was last man, covering his defensive colleagues who had pushed forward for a Kidderminster corner.
But as one of the smallest men on the pitch, Fleming misjudged the bounce and instead of heading the ball clear, simply contrived to tee it up for Tony Scully who rasped an unstoppable drive beyond Lewis.
Despite it being a bruising encounter, Premiership referee Mark Halsey tried to let the game flow and did not feel the need to brandish a single card.
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