VERDICT: Poor Poppies are no match for Harriers

Much had been made of a welcome return to Latimer Park for Lee Glover and his players but, by half-time, any hopes of a winning return were well and truly put to bed.

Quite simply, it was men against boys in the first 45 minutes.

Kidderminster started like the strong, powerful they are and the Poppies, to be honest, didn’t start.

It proved to be a lethal cocktail for Glover and his players to swallow as the visitors took their chances and had the game wrapped up long before Kettering finally got going.

It will be a major concern for Glover.

There had been positive signs in last weekend’s FA Cup win at Barwell but this was a big step up and, for the most part, Kettering weren’t up to it.

The cold, hard facts are that it’s just one win from the first nine games and, already, it looks like it will be a season of struggle at the wrong end of the table.

The much-fancied Harriers, led by the excellent Shane Byrne who controlled the game in midfield, flew out of the blocks and took a deserved lead after 10 minutes.

The warning signs had been there just a few seconds earlier when Yusifi Ceesay almost got through on goal. But, when the forward was released by Ashley Hemmings’ pass, he had all the time in the world to take a couple of touches before beating Cameron Gregory with a low finish.

If that was bad, it got worse 18 minutes later.

Kidderminster’s full-time training was there for all to see from their threatening set-pieces and one of them paid off when Krystiam Pearce headed home in a packed six-yard box.

The Poppies, by this stage, had offered nothing and, aside from a spell in which Decarrey Sheriff shot weakly at Tom Palmer, it was one-way traffic for long spells.

But the killer blow arrived on the stroke of half-time and, again, it was all-too easy as Ceesay’s ball into the area found Ethan Freemantle and he was allowed to turn before firing home.

That, unfortuantely, was game over.

The Poppies were better after the break, not that they could be much worse.

And, had Brad Gascoigne scored a free downward header that went over the bar or a clear chance right in front of goal, then things might have got interesting.

But, in general, it was an excellent exhibition of game management from Kidderminster, who rarely threatened until Gregory made a fine save to deny Keziah Martin in stoppage-time.

Overall, this was just a bad day for Glover’s Poppies who were sorely off the pace right from the start.

There’s a quick chance to make amends on Tuesday night. The problem is, however, it’s a home clash with unbeaten league leaders King’s Lynn Town.

Either way, there has to be a reaction because more performances like this one will only result in similar outcomes.

Poppies: Gregory; Reilly (sub Sault, h-t), Gascoigne, Cooper, Sharpe; Hill, Stohrer, Ward; Oluwabori (sub Bennett, 73 mins), Wright (sub Richard-Noel, 80 mins), Sheriff. Subs not used: Toseland, Graham.

Kidderminster: Palmer; Foulkes (sub Lissimore, 90 mins), Pearce, Knight-Percival, Richards; Martin, Byrne; Hemmings, Brown (sub Rogers, 87 mins), Ceesay (sub Margetson, 80 mins). Subs not used: Leak, Hewett.

Referee: Richie Watkins.

Goals: Ceesay (10 mins, 0-1), Pearce (18 mins, 0-2), Freemantle (45 mins, 0-3).

Northants Telegraph man-of-the-match: Shane Byrne - a day when, sadly, no Kettering player did enough the accolade. Byrne, on the other hand, was the best player on the pitch and controlled proceedings from the Kidderminster midfield pretty much from the start.

Attendance: 851.