Woking 3
Harriers 0

AS the dust settled on a disappointing season in the Blue Square Premier Harriers' players trudged off the pitch their heads bowed after a testing campaign ended meekly on Saturday.

All but five players in the squad are out of contract in the summer and many were unsure whether manager Mark Yates wants to keep them for another season at Aggborough.

If the manager was basing his decisions entirely on Saturday's 3-0 loss, which is only the second time Harriers have lost by three goals all season, then there wouldn't be many who will be turning up at the club for training in the summer.

Harriers performed like it was the end of a long hard season and after a decent start collapsed under increasing pressure from up-for-it Woking, nicknamed the Cards.

With Colin Lippiatt stepping down as caretaker manager after the game, Woking's players knew they had one last chance to impress candidates for the hot-seat.

Keeper Chris MacKenzie had an early chance to strengthen his case for a new deal at Harriers in the sixth minute, when he tipped over Guiseppe Sole's bullet header over the bar.

When Russ Penn's low 20-yard shot forced Woking keeper Nick Gindre into a full-stretch diving save, it looked like this match may be above the standard end of season fayre.

But Harriers were struggling to cope with the home side's 4-2-3-1 formation, with the blunt force of striker Marvin Morgan and intelligent runs from midfield causing them all sorts of problems.

There seemed little space in midfield but Woking's best player, Matt Pattison, managed to plough though several poor tackles as he drove forward from midfield and slotted the ball beyond MacKenzie in the 24th minute.

The visitors thought they had equalised in the 30th minute, when Iyseden Christie beat Gindre to Creighton's long ball forward, but his header hit the bar and Woking's keeper punched it away as it appeared to fall behind the line.

Morgan, who was giving Gavin Hurren and Creighton a torrid time, let Harriers off the hook in the 36th minute when he won a 50-50 ball in the box but blazed over the bar.

Harriers could not contain the Cards and continued to be second best after the break.

MacKenzie did well to save Sole's shot from a tight angle and the visitors finally carved out a good chance in the 54th minute.

Stifled by Woking's five-man midfield, Matthew Barnes-Homer and Darryl Knights had little space to operate but they combined well to great effect to play Christie into Woking's area but he shot over the bar as defender Paul Lorraine slid in.

Sixty seconds later Harriers were 2-0 down when Bradley Quamina volleyed Morgan's cross into the back of the net.

Harriers had barely recovered when Morgan caused more chaos in defence and slipped the ball to Pattison, who had time and space to beat MacKenzie with a powerful right-footed effort into the bottom left-hand corner.

Yates shuffled his pack by bringing on Alex Jeannin and Brian Smikle but the hosts were too strong and could have added more.

Alex Jeannin, in his final game before his loan from Oxford expired, blocked Morgan's square ball as he tried to pick out the marauding Pattison.

Woking's wonder winger almost made it a three Cards hat-trick late on when his low 20-yard effort flew the wrong side of the post.

Late chances fell for Christie, who was experiencing a bad day in front of goal. The 18-goal hitman blazed over after good work by Knights and scuffed a volley off target as Harriers huffed and puffed.

It was enough for the travelling army of away fans, resplendent in blonde wigs as part of the final day festivities, to pull their synthetic hair out in frustration as defeat saw Harriers slip to 13th in the table despite gathering more points last season.

Harriers: MacKenzie 7; Hurren 5; Creighton 5; Russell 5; Penn 5; Ferrell 5 (McGrath, 81); Bignot 4 (Jeannin, 56); Bennett 5; Barnes-Homer 4 (Smikle, 61); Christie 4; Knights 5.

Woking: Gindre; Lorraine; Bunce; Quamina; Gason; Morgan (Sam-Yorke, 70); Pattison; Lambu; Maledon; Batt (Gray, 67); Sole (Ruby, 82). Referee: KG Yeo. Attendance: 2,310.

n Harriers' supporters team finished the season in style by seeing off Woking 6-3 on Saturday.

They started slowly and Woking took the lead following a mistake by keeper Dave Ackerley.

This spurred Kidderminster into life and they powered into a 2-1 lead, after goals for Dave Pountney and David Greaves.

Woking levelled the scores from the penalty spot but Adam Matthews scored to restore Harriers' lead.

Greaves extended the visitors' lead early in the second half and despite another Woking goal, victory was sealed when he and Ashley Jarvis hit the back of the net.