A solitary second-half penalty from James Roberts was enough for Hereford FC to seal a second victory against Kidderminster Harriers. It was only the second league win under Marc Richards in the league for the Bulls and is enough to take them out of the relegation zone on goal difference.
Following the narrow 1-0 defeat to top of the table Bradford Park Avenue, Richards opted to keep the same starting eleven, despite fans' calls to bring back Martin Horsell in between the sticks. There was a boost on the bench as Eliot Richards was passed fit. The visitors started the day in 5th and were backed by 518 away fans; of note to Hereford fans in the Harriers squad was James Baxendale, who spent a short loan spell at Edgar Street in 2012, and made one appearance - the winger was named among the subs.
After a quiet opening ten minutes, the first opportunity of the game came after a sloppy back-pass was pounced upon by Mike Symons - the beast was one on one with the last defender but never looked like he was going to beat his man and was eventually dispossessed, with the ball falling to Kyle Finn, who struck goalwards but Brandon Hall easily held. At the other end, Kiddy had a great chance to open the scoring when a corner from the right was met by Fraser Horsfall but he failed to hit the target with a powerful header despite being unmarked.
The visitors were starting to dominate possession and chances were following; a neat move on the left hand side saw Ashley Chambers feed Kane Richards on the edge of the box but leaning back, his strike failed to trouble Matt Yates. Soon after, the 'keeper was lucky to see a 35 yard free-kick from Declan Weeks squirm over the bar as he misjudged the swerve of the ball but did enough to direct it off-target.
A strong tackle from Tom Owen-Evans left Billy Daniels in a heep, with the home team nearly benefiting; Kieran Thomas looped a long-ball over the left-back and George Lloyd raced into the box, cutting back on to his left-foot before shooting into the arms of Hall. Daniels was then replaced by the experienced Russell Penn having failed to recover from the knock. Owen-Evans struck off-target with a left-foot shot before Tommy O'Sullivan did find the net, but it was ruled out after Symons had attempted to meet a cross with his hand.
Following the break, Finn found room after Owen-Evans bravely won a header but despite the defence opening up for him, the Coventry loanee's right-foot shot from 20 yards was beaten away by Hall. At the other end, Danny Greenslade was left for dead by Dan Bradley after a switch of play and his powerful left-foot shot was tipped behind Yates. A flurry of subs were to follow as the game entered an uneventful period - Roberts replaced Lloyd and soon after, Richards replaced Finn for Hereford, whilst for Harriers George Waring for Kane Richards, and then Baxendale came on for Bradley.
In 79th minute, Hereford were awarded a penalty which led to the only goal of the game. A well-placed pass by Greenslade was directed to Symons, and he was adjudged to have been fouled by Ryan Johnson. It looked a little soft but the home fans weren't worried - Roberts stepped up and following his late penalty goal against Alfreton, he confidently slotted to the bottom right to make it 1-0.
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Theo Wharton was introduced to sure up the Hereford midfield with O'Sullivan making way as Kidderminster pushed forward; their best chance to equalise fell to Chambers after a through ball by Ed Williams found his run but Yates came off his line superbly to closed down the shot and gather the loose ball. The 'keeper was then on hand to rush off his line to make an attempted tackle after another lofted ball; this time, Yates was adjudged to have fouled Chambers despite looking to have taken the ball cleanly. From the resulting free-kick, Williams could only find the hands of the Coventry youngster and with that chance gone, Hereford's three points were sealed.
It wasn't the most entertaining Boxing Day fixture Edgar Street has seen, but it was an important end result, and one that will boost the confidence of the team. The visitors kept the ball well but defensively, Hereford looked strong, with Josh Gowling using his experience to marshall the back-line. Yates made a number of important saves that will give him a lift after his defensive mistake against Bradford. Next up for Hereford is the visit of Chester City on Saturday; Chester are third in the table although they were comfortably beaten by Southport today 3-0.
Hereford: Yates, Thomas, Cullinane-Liburd, Gowling, Greenslade, Lloyd (Roberts), O'Sullivan (Wharton), Owen-Evans, Dinsley, Finn (Richards), Symons.
Subs not used: Horsell, Dielna.
Kidderminster: Hall, Vaughan, Austin, Daniels (Penn), Horsfall, Johnson, Weeks, Richards (Waring), Chambers, Bradley (Baxendale), Williams.
Subs not used: O'Connor, Phillips.
Attendance: 3,210
Goalscorer: Roberts.