Grays 3
Harriers 2

HARRIERS are going to have to learn to cope with being one of the division’s most feared sides after missing a chance to break into the top six of the Blue Square Premier on Sunday.

The Aggborough side’s excellent recent form and results against promotion hopefuls Burton and Rushden Diamonds have caught the attention of the league and means that they are now marked men.

On Sunday, Grays chairman and manager Mick Woodward paid Harriers the ultimate compliment by selecting a 4-5-1 formation in order to squeeze the life out of their more attack minded 4-4-2.

Mark Yates’ team are one of the most potent in the division, scoring 15 goals in eight games, but their midfield was starved of the ball and the service to strikers Justin Richards and Matthew Barnes-Homer was cut.

Yates’ troops also gifted Grays three simple goals when they were caught out in the second half.

In recent seasons Grays has not been a happy hunting ground for Harriers, with defeats of 3-0 and 5-1, but they went into the match on the back of an impressive four-game unbeaten run.

From the start, Grays’ extra man in midfield allowed them to get hold of the ball and leave the visitors chasing shadows in a one-sided first half.

Whenever dangermen Russ Penn and Martin Brittain got on the ball they were surrounded by three Grays players, leaving the visitors’ attacking options limited to free-kicks and long balls.

Loan front man Danny Kedwell, who scored a hat-trick against Harriers last season, also did his best to unsettle the backline and he was denied by the lightening reactions of keeper Adam Bartlett in the 15th minute.

The forward burst into the box and met Sam Sloma’s cross with a powerful header but the shot-stopper tipped it over the bar.

Grays defender Stuart Elliott saw a 20-yard blockbuster fly wide of Bartlett’s left-hand post.

Yates’ side seemed to have weathered the storm and went into the break on level terms.

They started the second half strongly but were caught out by Stuart Thurgood’s opener in the 53rd minute.

Mark Creighton did not clear Ishmael Welsh’s cross and Thurgood beat Bartlett with a low volley which flew into the bottom right corner.

Penn saw a low strike hit full-back Fabian Wilnis in the box but keeper Ross Flitney managed to get hold of the ball.

Richards levelled the scores with a classy finish in the 59th minute.

The big striker, sporting a Mr T style mohican, used his power to bring Brian Smikle’s flick under control in the box, turn smartly and shoot beyond Flitney.

Harriers sensed the tide had turned and but for the wastefulness of Richards, they could have taken the game away from the hosts.

The striker showed good skill to bring down Brittain’s cross but with just the keeper to beat he blazed over the bar.

Grays capitalised on some good fortune and an error by Penn to retake the lead.

The midfielder made the wrong decision when blocked in his own half by a wall of Grays players. Instead of clearing the ball, he gave it away with an attempted disguise pass and Thurgood slipped the ball to Sloma on the left wing.

He slalomed past a sliding Brittain and off-balance Keith Lowe, before rifling the ball into the roof of the net in the 68th minute.

With their confidence visibly rocked by Grays’ second goal, Harriers found themselves trailing 3-1 in the 72nd minute.

The defence was sliced open by Jamie Taylor’s simple diagonal pass and substitute Barry Cogan applied an emphatic finish.

It took a timely sliding challenge by Elliott to put off Richards as he raced onto substitute Darryl Knight’s clever pass, while from a corner Penn’s low shot hit Creighton.

But the best chance fell to Richards in the 81st minute.

Knights, who had made an impressive cameo, struck a low shot that Flitney could only direct into the path of Harriers’ five-goal top scorer, only for him to shoot over an open goal.

Knights once again was influential and he saw another good effort cleared behind by defender Jon Ashton for a corner.

From Ferrell’s set-piece Luke Jones headed the ball across the face of goal and Barnes-Homer bundled it into the back of the net.

But it was too little too late as Harriers’ hopes of a first away win of the season faded away in Essex.

Harriers: Bartlett 7; Baker 6 (Bennett, 80); Ferrell 6; Creighton 6; Jones 6; Barnes-Homer 8; Penn 6; Richards 6; Smikle 7; Brittain 6 (Knights, 72); Lowe 6.

Grays: Flitney; Kedwell; Wilnis; Stuart; Ide (Taylor, 68); Molesley (Cogan, 60); Sloma; Ashton; Campana (Welsh, 46); Thurgood; Elliott.

Referee: GJ Sutton. Attendance: 525.

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