HARRIERS 0 WEYMOUTH 2 HARRIERS can kiss goodbye to a serious promotion challenge unless they start to show a greater determination to fight back after falling behind.

During a goalless first half against Weymouth at Aggborough on Saturday, Mark Yates' mid-table troops looked fully capable of picking up maximum points.

But once they went 1-0 down shortly after the interval they lacked the kind of battling spirit necessary to haul themselves back into the game.

Indeed, their sad shortage of true grit allowed grateful Weymouth to notch a second goal and condemn injury-hit Harriers to their fourth home Blue Square Premier defeat of the season.

For Yates and his assistant Neil Howarth it was a frustrating afternoon watching their players fail to respond to the Terras' 53rd minute deadlock breaker.

"When you're playing at home and you're a goal down you need a few characters to stand up and be counted and show that bit of quality that, at the moment, they aren't doing," said disappointed Howarth.

Yates and Howarth now have the task of making sure a similar situation doesn't arise on Saturday when Harriers hope to launch a money-spinning run in the FA Cup by beating Blue Square North outfit Vauxhall Motors in a fourth qualifying round clash at Aggborough.

Howarth said: "We've got some massive players out injured but you never hear myself or the manager use that as an excuse. We still believe we have got a good enough squad to do something this season and things have got to start improving.

"The players have got to look at themselves. We are low at the moment but come next game we won't be."

The tone of his after match comments were totally different to what looked like being the case after Harriers produced a first half display which should have earned them decent interval lead.

Front-runner Matthew Barnes-Homer, in the starting line-up for the first time this season, looked the most likely player to score, but he failed to find the kind of finishing touch which has led to James Constable notching ten goals so far this term.

Leading marksman Constable, however, was denied the opportunity to add to his impressive tally after being ruled out because of a hamstring injury.

Weymouth took full advantage of Harriers failure to hit the target in the first period by taking the lead through skipper Ashley Vickers.

He forced the ball home after being the quickest to respond to a corner from Paolo Vernazza which may well have been less effective if Harriers'central defender Mark Creighton had been playing instead of serving a one-match suspension.

Weymouth sealed the points on the hour mark when Aggborough captain Stuart Whitehead had to shoulder the blame for Gavin McCallum being able break away and fire past goalkeeper Chris MacKenzie.

Harriers even failed to rise to the challenge when Weymouth had Vernazza sent off in the 82nd minute for a second bookable offence, leaving Jason Tindall's men to hold on comfortably for their third away win of the campaign.

Harriers: MacKenzie 6; Bignot 5 (Christie, 61, 5), Whitehead 5, Munday 6, Harkness 5; Bennett 5 (Smikle, 86), Penn 5, FERRELL 7, Blackwood 5; Richards 5, Barnes-Homer 6 (McGrath, 72, 5), Subs not used: Coleman, Hurren.

Weymouth: Stewart; Doe, Roberts, Vickers, Bernard; Crittenden, Vernazza, Robinson, Coutts, Louis (Beavon, 90), McCallum. Subs not used: Challis, Platt, Phillips, Douglas.

Referee: Dean Mohareb (Cheshire).

Attendance: 1,374 (105 away fans).