Hinckley 1
Harriers 2

TEN-MAN HARRIERS held their nerve to see off a spirited Hinckley side and progress into the fifth round of the Setanta Shield at the Marsden Stadium on Saturday.

The Aggborough side survived a scare when substitute Iyseden Christie bagged a 90th minute winner.

Despite James Constable giving Harriers the lead, the Blue Square Premier side had struggled to cope with the plucky North Division battlers after captain Stuart Whitehead was shown a straight red card in the second half.

Manager Mark Yates made eight changes to the team that defeated Guisele 2-1 in the FA Trophy mid-week, handing a start to second choice keeper Dean Coleman and giving defender Jon Munday his first since August.

Experienced right back Jeff Kenna also made his first start since going under the knife for a hernia in October, while top scorer James Constable returned to the side after serving a three-match ban.

There was a flurry of chances in the opening ten minutes, with Munday forcing keeper Sean Bowlers into a good save.

Coleman did well to dive at burly striker Leon Kelly's feet after he beat Harriers' off-side trap.

Full back Jonny Harkness also saw a dripping 30-yard effort saved by Hinckley's in-form stopper.

Harriers took the lead in the 24th minute when top-scorer Constable slotted Matthew Barnes-Homer's low cross from the right beyond Bowles.

Winger Simon Russell also saw a 30-yard effort saved by Bowles.

But an error by the Worcestershire side's defence allowed the hosts to grab a leveller in the 34th minute. Harkness mis-controlled a long kick forward and the alert Owen Story pounced on the ball and beat Coleman with a fierce effort.

Harriers were left with a mountain to climb in the 55th minute after Whitehead was sent off for bringing down substitute striker Harry Harris.

The captain had misjudged the bounce of the ball and as Harris sped past him the defender brought him down.

Despite the setback Harriers battled away and Smikle had a good chance to score when he race into Hinckley's box, but Bowles dived at his feet to deny him.

Yates threw on Russ Penn and Iyseden Christie to give his side a lift in the 71st minute.

The ploy proved to be effective as Christie set up Barnes-Homer for a shot and Penn saw a fierce effort fly just wide.

At the other end Hinckley were looking for a second goal, but the excellent Coleman tipped over Harris' looping header and got to Calum Lloyd's shot.

But Harriers had the last laugh when he raced onto Smikle's pass, held off Michael Byron to grab the winner.

Harriers: COLEMAN 8; Kenna 7; Harkness 6 (Bignot, 78mins) ; Hurren 7; Whitehead; Russell 6 (Penn, 71mins); Constable 6 (Christie, 71mins); Smikle 7; McGrath 6; Munday 7; Barnes-Homer 6
Hinckley: Bowles; Roma; Lenton; Lavery; Byron; Jackson; Story; Storer; Kelly; Johnson; Lloyd
Referee: Dean Mohareb. Attendance:474