Williams Nets Winner As Bradford Are Beaten

Bradford (Park Avenue) were undone by two moments of solo brilliance from Kidderminster Harriers’ Ed Williams, condemning them to their second consecutive defeat. 

Chances were few and far between in the first-half, with both sides cancelling each other out.

The best opportunity of the half was squandered by Jake Beesley, who lifted the ball over the head of Harriers stopper Brandon Hall but found the wrong side of the post.

Williams did manage to wriggle away from Nicky Wroe, but a deflection took the sting out of his shot and made the stop a straightforward one for Steven Drench.

James O’Connor then had to be alert to thwart Beesley, launching himself in front of a powerful drive before hacking clear.

Lewis Knight proved to be a thorn in Kidderminster’s side throughout and he was very unlucky not to register an assist in the 24th minute. He accelerated away from Sam Austin but could only watch as his dangerous delivery eluded the outstretched leg of a sliding Oli Johnson by mere inches.

The visitors struggled to carve Bradford open and frustration was etched upon the faces of Neil MacFarlane’s men. Billy Daniels and Fraser Horsfall both tried their luck from distance but failed to trouble Drench.

HALF-TIME: Bradford (Park Avenue) 0-0 Kidderminster Harriers

The second-half was a considerably more entertaining affair and Bradford nearly broke the deadlock just a minute after the restart. Conor Branson cut in from the right and weaved his way past two Harriers players but fired wide when space opened up for a shot.

Ashley Chambers then nearly scored in a similar scenario, cutting in from the flank but failing to find the target with his effort.

Luca Havern was then forced to hook the ball off the line after O’Connor directed a header towards goal in the midst of a scramble in the box.

Although Kidderminster enjoyed opportunites in the early stages of the second-half, it was the hosts that took the lead. Knight’s delivery was nodded into the path of Branson by Beesley, enabling the midfielder to rifle past a stationary Hall.

Oli Johnson nearly doubled Bradford’s lead on his return to the starting eleven, blasting over the crossbar after latching on to a superb delivery from Knight.

Johnson then rattled the post after Jamie Spencer had surged forward and pushed the ball into the forward’s path.

The Harriers equalised with nine minutes remaining on the clock through Williams, who cut in from the right, darted into the box and curled into the bottom corner.

The visitors then took the lead in the late stages as Williams glided past three players before finding the bottom corner, grabbing his second of the game and tenth of the season.

FULL-TIME: Bradford (Park Avenue) 1-2 Kidderminster Harriers

Bradford (Park Avenue): Drench, Ross, Lowe, Wroe (Boshell 58′), Killock (c), Havern, Spencer (Toulson 90+3′), Branson, Beesley (Nowakowski 88′), Johnson, Knight.

Unused substitutes: Atkinson

Kidderminster Harriers: Hall, Vaughan, Austin (Taylor 80′), O’Connor, Horsfall, Digie, Weeks, Daniels, Williams, Ironside (Richards 65′), Chambers (Baxendale 90+1′)

Unused substitutes: Higginson, Palmer.

Referee: Nathanael Cox

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