Harriers 1
Crawley 0

DEFENDER Gavin Caines grabbed Harriers’ 89th minute winner after being pushed up front in the closing stages of Saturday’s Blue Square Premier clash against Crawley Town at Aggborough.

It was his second goal of the season and fully justified Mark Yates’ decision to give the determined centreback a chance to shine in attack.

The Aggborough boss, who had watched his side spurn a hatful of chances, said: “We kept hammering away but hadn’t got the goal our play deserved.

“I toyed with the idea of starting Caines up front but Aaron Farrell had trained well all week and he knew the opportunity was there for him.

“I thought he was excellent and he can be well pleased with his debut. I just felt we needed a bit of presence up there for the final ten minutes and fortunately it came off.”

Hero Caines said it was not an entirely new experience for him to try his luck up front.

He added: “I’ve played there a couple of times. He throws me up there now and again to get a goal and it was pleasing to get one.

“I’ve been up front in the last ten minutes in a couple of games now and not really got a chance to score. It was nice to land one on my feet about six yards out and make sure it got in the back of the net.

“We were disappointed to have lost against Luton the previous Saturday and we trained hard all week, so it was nice to get a result.

“It was a good performance by the boys. We defended well in the back four and were solid. We did what we had to do.”

Harriers, without suspended Robbie Matthews and injured Chris McPhee, made an uncomfortable start, however, and were heavily indebted to goalkeeper Dean Coleman in the 12th minute when he just managed to push a shot from Barry Cogan onto the post.

After that Yates’ men began creating a series of chances which they failed to take, the worst coming just after the half hour mark when Farrell, in the starting line-up for the first time, missed the target from close range.

After latching on to a strong cross from Lee Baker he directed his header firmly into the ground which led to the ball bouncing harmlessly over the bar.

It was a frustrating miss which arrived shortly after Crawley had felt they should have been awarded a penalty when Caines appeared to bring down Callum Willock just inside the area.

By half time, Harriers should have been comfortably ahead and looked as if they would pay a hefty price for firing blanks, particularly as they failed to engineer as many clear-cut openings after the interval.

Indeed, a goalless draw seemed be on the cards until Caines made the most of his newly acquired attacking duties to finish off a deflected shot from substitute David McDermott.

Delighted Yates said: “The result was the best of the season so far. We’ve got a few out and people were questioning whether we had strength in depth. You see the type of football they were playing and I’m pleased as punch for them. Some of the stuff we played was outstanding.

“They showed we’re a good passing team and that we’ve got players here who can play good football and win matches.

“I’m just pleased we played so well without two big players. When you have a small squad two players can make a difference and we showed we do have that depth.”

Harriers: Coleman 7; Courtney 7, Riley 7, Caines 7, Baker 7; Bennett 6, Finnigan 6 (McDermott, 64. 7), Smikle 6; KNIGHTS 8; Farrell 6 (Sharpe, 85), Barnes-Homer 6. Subs not used: Hayward, Dolman. Hadley.

Crawley: Rayner; Rusk, Wilson, Quinn, Rents; Forrest (Malcolm, 46), Hutchinson (Smith, 62), Pinault, Cogan; Killeen, Willock (Louis, 69). Subs not used: Jordan, Giles. Referee: Darren Drysdale (Lincs).

Attendance: 1,276 (33 away fans)