Weymouth 2
Harriers 1

HARRIERS will be glad to see the back of bogey side Weymouth after a last gasp winner enhanced the Dorset club's chances of staying in the Blue Square Premier on Saturday.

For the fourth time this campaign the Aggborough side could not get the better of the Terras as their seven-game winning run was stopped in its tracks.

Harriers though should have avenged being dumped out of the FA Trophy by Weymouth in January, after Simon Russell had fired them into the lead only to crumble under a flood of attacks by the home team.

It was the visitors who had more cutting edge, with the lively Russell curling a 20-yard effort off target and Matthew Barnes-Homer flashed a low effort just wide of Stephen Henderson's right post.

Weymouth winger James Coutts was the home side's most dangerous player and steered an effort off target after neat build-up play by Stuart Beavon in the 20th minute.

Harriers' top-scorer Iyseden Christie wasted a good chance in the 28th minute when he profitted from a slip by Weymouth right-back Trevor Challis, but as he drove into the box his control let him down and allowed defender Scott Doe to block.

Towering striker Matthew Bailey came close to breaking the deadlock when he flung himself at Beavon's deflected shot, but was a fraction too late to connect.

Harriers stepped up a gear in the second half and Christie and Barnes-Homer signalled the visitors' attacking intent by shooting over.

Christie came close when he raced onto Russell's clever lofted pass and fired in a first-time left-footed effort which fizzed the wrong side of the post.

The visitors' dominance was confirmed on the hour mark when Barnes-Homer backheeled the ball into Russell's path and he drove into the box and drilled a low effort into the bottom left corner.

But instead of signalling more goals Harriers sat back and invited Weymouth to pile on the pressure.

Keeper Chris MacKenzie, back in the side after a five-game absence with injury, flapped at James Coutts' cross and conceded a corner.

The defence failed to pick up Chris Blackburn and he head Simon Weatherstone's set piece into the back of the net.

The goal stunned Harriers and breathed life back into Weymouth, who then pinned the visitors back in their own half as they desperately searched for a winner.

As Harriers creaked Beavon headed wide and saw a goal-bound effort blocked by Gavin Hurren.

With Harriers' defence all at sea Beavon had waded through several inneffective tackles and teed himself up for a goal-bound effort, only for Hurren to appear from nowhere to block it.

MacKenzie made a fine point-blank save to deny Beavon from Weatherstone's lofted free-kick near the end, but Weymouth had the last laugh late on.

Substitute Stuart Douglas had made his presence known to Harriers with a heavy foul on Paul Bignot moments earlier and did even more damage in the 88th minute.

MacKenzie missed Weatherstone's in-swinging free-kick and Douglas bundled the ball into the back of the net to continue Harriers' Weymouth hoodoo.

Harriers: MacKenzie 5; Hurren 7; Creighton 6; RUSSELL 8; Penn 6; Ferrell 6 (Knights, 74); Bignot 6; Bennett 6; Barnes-Homer 6; Jeannin 6; Christie 7.

Weymouth: Henderson; Critchell; Blackburn; Doe; Challis; Coutts; Weatherstone; Browning (Crittenden, 62 ); Robinson; Beavon; Bailey (Douglas, 70).

Referee: Ian Cooper (Kent). Attendance: 1,205.