Harriers 2
Histon 0

MATTHEW Barnes-Homer's brace ensured Harriers bounced back from two Blue Square Premier defeats by seeing off their promotion rivals on Tuesday night.

A goal in each half for the forward ensured that the Aggborough side got back to winning ways and lifted them into the play-off places.

Manager Mark Yates made two changes to the side which lost 1-0 at Barrow on Saturday.

Midfielder David McDermott was handed a rare league start after Russ Penn sustained a knee injury at the weekend.

With captain Mark Creighton missing because of a hamstring injury, Luke Jones was drafted into the centre of defence.

The visitors made a strong start and forced keeper Adam Bartlett into several fine saves early on.

First the shot-stopper dived down to his left to palm away Antonio Murray's low shot, before Jack Midson saw his follow-up header come off the post.

Minutes later the keeper dived to block Joshua Simpson's shot.

But Harriers started to impose themselves on the game with the cutting edge provided by the lively McDermott and Darryl Knights.

Knights flashed a low shot wide as the home side buzzed around the jittery visitors.

Andy Ferrell also tried his luck with a 25-yard effort that was only just over the bar.

Matthew Barnes-Homer fired the hosts ahead in the 18th minute and endeed his mini-scoring drought.

The fleet-footed forward had not scored since the win over Salisbury at the start of December but when Dean Bennett's header hit the bar he coolly slotted the ball beyond keeper Danny Naisbitt.

Harriers, who had successfully snuffed out direct Histon's threat then bossed the rest of the half.

The best chance fell to top scorer Justin Richards in the 40th minute when McDermott flashed a low ball across the box.

All it needed was for Richards to tap it in to make it 2-0 but inexplicably he stepped over the ball and the danger passed.

Harriers were pegged back by the visitors after the break but a combination of grit and poor finishing saw them hang on.

Adam Langston saw a header tipped over by Bartlett in 57th minute.

Histon striker Danny Wright missed a glaring chance when he raced through on goal but with just the keeper to beat he blazed over the bar.

Bartlett tipped a Murray shot onto the bar, before Martin Riley and Jones cleared the ball away.

But as the game went on Harriers grew in confidence and Barnes-Homer made sure of the points when he slotted the ball beyond the keeper in the 93rd minute.

Harriers: Bartlett; Ferrell; Jones; Knights (Smikle, 84); Barnes-Homer; Richards; Armstrong; McDermott; Riley; Bennett; Lowe.

Unused substitutes: Bignot; Baker; Moore; Smikle; Brittain.

Histon: Naisbitt; Mitchell-King; Langston; Bygrave; Murray; Midson; Knight-Percival; Oyebanjo; Wright; Simpson; Gwillim.

Unused substitutes: Pope; Kennedy; Andrews; Barker; Welch.

Referee: GJ Sutton (Lincolnshire). Attendance: 1,277 (43)