Kidderminster 2 Swansea 0

Report By Clive, Gareth and David Hughes

We commented in the Tranmere report that we couldn't get into a pub for a drink well today we did, and coming out into the cold air had thoughts of going back in. Read the report and decide if we made the right decision. Injuries again dictated team changes, as we lined up Freestone Byrne, Jones, Tate & Hylton Maylett, Britton, Martinez & Robinson. Trundle & Nugent. A pretty dismal first half was punctuated by a couple of Robinson free kicks. The opening 20 mins was mostly the Swans without troubling Kidderminster. Much the same can be said for Kidderminster who came more into the game on the half hour mark again without any trouble for our defence. Plenty of huff & puff but NO football. We did pressurise in the last 5 mins but never had the cutting edge to covert it into a goal. Half time chat was that we only needed to step up a gear and the game was there to be won. Well a gear change did happen but we went into reverse. Abysmal is to good a word for our second half showing. Kidderminster came out a completely different team and were in overdrive. They closed space and players down, while we stood and watched waiting for things to happen. Coates replaced Maylett to try and bring some industry to the game. Even though they now totally dominated the game, there was as yet no chance of them taking the lead. That is until we gifted them the opener. Rog came out towards the right hand corner of the area to pick up a ball, problem was he picked up, fumbled as the ball went past him to be put into an empty net by Foster. It was a goal that matched our second half display comical. Thinking that we might react to the jolt lasted about 30 secs as we gave the ball away from the kick off. Kidderminster were now rampant as any semblance of shape we might have had disintegrated. We were chasing shadows all over the pitch. With only Robinson giving us an outlet with his runs from midfield, things got from worse to worse. Kidderminster soon nullified these as due to his lack of pace only resulted in him picking up defenders until he was overpowered by 3 to 4 players. Where was the support? With no thoughts that we could ever get back into the game Kidderminster got a deserved second, when a cross from our left was met centre goal be Christianson who directed his header into the corner of the net. There was no way back not even with a miracle. We played out the rest of the game a total shambles. The highlight, being 2 mins from the end, when Nugent went in late on the keeper but not making any contact. It was the Swans fans that led the chant of 'Off' 'Off'. After 2 mins of added time the game was brought to a thankful end. A couple of half applause from players on the half-way line were met with boos, but to his credit Alan Tate did come half-way down the pitch to applaud the fans. Very little can be taken from this performance. Robinson & Britton battled throughout although Britton tired visibly. Coates did add something when he was brought on. Roger apart from his give away goal did pull off a couple of good saves. Tate did try and keep the defence together. Jones and Byrne kept going but their inexperience showed. Now the questions, as MANY MANY heart searching questions MUST be asked. Why did we play such a young inexperienced back four who had not played together before. Howard was an option to add experience. Why especially in the second half were we outrun by Kidderminster who looked yards fitter. What was our game plan as the team had no shape. We have heard that the emphasise in training is 5 a side matches. This may well be true as today we played 5 a side on a full pitch. We continue to try and play 3 yard touch passes from the edge of our area, WHY The game is 11 players v 11 players, why were Kidderminster able to put 3 players onto every 1 of ours. Why when we were not even chasing the game at 2-0 did we not throw Corbisiero and Pritchard on just to get some experience. To do nothing was a crime. It has been patently obvious that we lack strength in the team, the spine is weak. We need a strong centre half, a destroyer in midfield and a strong partner up front for Trundle. In saying a partner for Trundle. On today's showing he does not deserve his place. Whilst he is a game winner, he must get more involved when things aren't going so well. The performances (hidden by the cup run ) over the last 4 months have been unacceptable. The current thought is that players cannot dig deep to improve performances. 3 wins in 17 league games 9 without scoring. So to end with most of the comments have been 'on pitch' What is happening off it. We have seen very little that looks as it has come from the training ground. The club has taken great strides, but we could end the season in exactly the same position as last season. Whilst the skill factor of the squad has improved, where are the battling qualities. The pre-match huddle shows unity. Unity should result in support play for team mates. Have we got unity. The words of Brian Flynn last night were 'This is a must win game' Sorry Brian words are cheap. We can read and we can see. Today made those words laughable. Where on earth do we go from here. Back to the question at the start of the report. The answer is ??????? One more positive 750 approx fans there today, and another face to a name on the Internet. Dave Williams from Shropshire

Report From Pink Football

Kidderminster 2- 0 SwanseaKidderminsterteam sheetBrock, Hatswell, Gadsby, Stamps, Hinton, Murray, Rickards, Bennett, Keates, Foster (Parrish 84), Christiansen (Williams 88). Subs: Danby, Sall, Henriksen. Swanseateam sheetFreestone, Byrne, Hylton, Tate, Jones, Britton, Martinez, Maylett (Coates 58), Nugent, Trundle, Robinson. Subs: Murphy, Howard, Corbisierso, Pritchard. Attendance:Kidderminsterscorers and times:Foster(59), Christiansen(66).Swanseascorers and times: It was a day of firsts for Kidderminster as they hauled themselves away from the edge of the relegation zone with a crucial win.

This was their first victory of 2004 and it saw them grab their first goal for 374 minutes to end a run of eight league games without success.

And the goals came from two recent recruits - Ian Foster and Jesper Christiansen, who chalked up their first goals.

Jan Molby will be breathing a huge sigh of relief after his side halted a desperate run that had seen them plummet to within a point of the relegation places. They had been right out of luck in front of goal and had managed only two strikes since Christmas but the turning point came when fortune smiled on them in the 59th minute.

Swansea keeper Roger Freestone should have had no trouble picking up a loose through ball from Adam Murray but somehow managed to lose it and allow Foster to run on and roll it into an empty net.

Foster's return to Kidderminster, on loan from Chester City, had raised the eyebrows of some home fans earlier in the month - but suddenly the striker released at the end of last season was the darling of Aggborough. And seven minutes later, Kidderminster struck again following a fine move that had the visitors defence bemused.

Murray sent Scott Rickards scampering away down the right and his pinpoint cross was headed home in style by Christiansen for his first goal in English football following his new year transfer from Danish club Odense. The goals sealed an excellent second half display from the home side who thoroughly deserved the points for a gutsy performance.

But it could have been so different after a stuttering first half that saw Swansea produce the more thoughtful football.

The visitors now looked to have blown their chances of making the play-offs and will be disappointed they did not hit the mark after being in control for the first 45 minutes.

Leon Britton, Roberto Martinez and Lee Trundle all came close but the best efforts were produced by Andy Robinson whose smart free kicks were thwarted by home keeper Stuart Brock.

The first from 20 yards in the 26th minute saw Brock make a superb one-handed save as the ball arrowed towards the top corner. The second ten minutes later was five yards further out and this time Brock needed a little good fortune as he managed to scuff the ball around the post after seeing it late.

Why not check out the latest Vetch Verdict on the BBC site?