GARY Whild hailed the maturity of academy prospect Luke Maxwell after the teenager put an eye-catching display in yesterday's 3-0 loss to title chasing Bristol Rovers.

For 45 minutes a vastly inexperienced Reds side matched the visitors, with the 17-year-old standing out.

But once Rovers stepped on the gas and were willed on by their 2669 supporters, who outnumbered the home crowd, Harriers flagged.

Pirates dangerman Ellis Harrison opened the scoring five minutes after the break.

Harriers soaked up increasingly heavy pressure but Harrison made it 2-0 after an uncharacteristic error by Jared Hodgkiss.

Substitute Matty Hall then bagged a third to give the game a one-sided look.

"Luke has stepped up every time we have asked him to improve his game," said the Kidderminster manager.

"He was great for an hour and showed a lot of composure for a young lad.

"He has got a good future in the game hopefully."

Former Kidderminster forward Nathan Blissett also made his first appearance since being sold to Rovers and put in a robust display.

Whild added: "I thought Nathan was excellent and I said to Mark Creigton that I wish he was playing for us because he was a constant problem for our back four.

"He didn't get on the score sheet but his work rate and effort was terrific."

He continued: "Bristol had a fantastic following but in fairness to the lads I thought they put a real good shift for an hour but once the first goal went in, it was always going to be hard for us to get back into the game.

"It was a shame, I thought 3-0 was an unfair scoreline.

"It was disappointing when we have worked as hard as we did to deal with high balls into the box that we did give away a couple of silly goals."

Meanwhile, the club apologised to season ticket holders who were asked to move from their seats in the East Stand to accommodate away fans.

A statement said: "This was a late decision taken on security advice and the club would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused."