Histon 1
Harriers 1

HARRIERS came from behind to pick up another point in their quest for promotion from the Blue Square Premier as they drew at fellow play-off contenders Histon.

Defender Keith Lowe struck with 28 minutes gone with a delightful strike from outside the penalty area, after Histon had gone ahead early through Jack Midson’s far post header.

With striker Justin Richards restored to the starting line-up after completing a three-match suspension, Harriers kicked off in glorious sunshine at the Glassworld Stadium, backed by a following of close to 400 fans who’d made the trip down from Worcestershire.

Inside two minutes Darryl Knights showed great trickery out on the right hand side, beating his man to get inside the area where he crossed for Matthew Barnes-Homer who had a shot blocked from close range.

Harriers will have been fully aware at the home side’s dominance from set-pieces so Mark Yates will have been hitting his head up against the tactics board as Histon were gifted the opener with just three minutes played – striker Midson was completely unmarked as Gareth Gwillim’s corner was sent into the danger zone, his free header leaving Adam Bartlett with no chance.

Captain Mark Creighton was then forced to call an early end to his afternoon on 18 minutes. He went in for a poor challenge on Nathaniel Knight-Percival, for which he was booked, but came off worse as he limped off to the sidelines with a foot problem.

Histon had fielded youngster Joe Welch between the sticks with regular stopper Danny Naisbitt out with injury, and Welch was called into action for the first time on 24 minutes as he produced a fine one-handed stop to deny Lowe as he met Lee Baker’s set-play with a header.

It was Lowe who got the away side back on level terms soon after, though, his curling shot on the angle of the penalty area dipped past the ‘keepers grasp as it nestled in the corner of the net to the away fans’ delight.

That boosted Harriers as they finished the half on top, but early in the second period they had to defend as Dean Bennett used his shoulder to deflect a home corner into the waiting arms of his goalkeeper.

Both sides made attacking substitutions with Antonio Murray coming on for Histon and Brian Smikle for Harriers, though it was the visitors who looked the more dangerous as Steve Fallon’s charges gradually became content with a point.

Large spells of the second half were uneventful with the hosts making themselves very tough to break down, but with 83 minutes gone, Richards remained a threat as he muscled in past his man to force a corner – even later on, Langston put in a last-ditch tackle on Russ Penn as the midfielder looked to build on good work by Smikle and Barnes-Homer.

Harriers: Bartlett 6, LOWE 8, Creighton 6 (Jones 19), Riley 6, Baker 6, McPhee 7, Bennett 6, Knights 6 (Smikle 76 6), Penn 6, Barnes-Homer 6, Richards 6. Subs Not Used: Ferrell, Moore, Brittain.

Histon: Welch, Pope, Langston, Ada, Gwillim, Barker, Mitchell-King, Andrews, Knight-Percival, Midson, Wright (Murray 59).

Subs Not Used: Bygrave, Roache, Naisbitt, Oyebanjo.

Attendance: 1,718.

Referee: N Kinseley (Essex)