An Amari Morgan-Smith penalty was the difference as Merthyr fell to a strong Kidderminster Harriers side under the floodlights at Penydarren Park.

The home side made two changes following the 6 - 4 defeat to Spennymoor, with Brandon Smalley stepping in for Adulai Sambu and Morgan Lewis making way for new signing Will Spiers, who has joined the club on a short term loan from Cardiff City. Jack Evans captained the team after being announced as vice captain alongside Tom Handley.

An impeccable minute's silence was held to remember the 59th anniversary of the Aberfan Disaster, with credit to the large away following in taking part.

It was a positive start to the game, with both sides looking to get the ball down and play football. Merthyr in their changed 4-2-3-1 formation started strong, with new boy Will Spiers catching the eye early on with some lovely touches.

The first real chance of the game fell to the home side, after a strong challenge on Jack Evans in the middle of the park was left for advantage, with the ball finding it was out to Rees on the left. He played a pinpoint cross field ball to Twamley who took on the defender and managed to get his shot across goal, which Dibble was able to parry away, with Rees’ resulting shot just flashing right of the post.

The visitors started to get a foothold in the game, with Reynolds continuing to put in dangerous balls into the Merthyr area from the right hand side and Kalambayi winning the majority of his aerial battles. Willoughby tested Cogman after connecting to a floated cross from Davies, and was again called into action from Kandola after the home side gave away possession due to the Harriers continued high press.

Merthyr were unlucky not to score in the 22nd minute, when Rees cut inside the edge of the area after good work from Smalley but his shot was at the legs of Dibble. Kidderminster were keen to attack as quickly as possible and Davis tested Cogman straight after. It was an end to end game which couldn’t be summed up better than on 25 minutes.

Jarvis was put through on the right and was able to whip a ball across the goal mouth, a ball that was begging to be put into the back of the net. Kidderminster were down the other end in a flash, with Reynolds put through clear on goal and Cogman able to get his body in the way. The rebound was picked up by Willoughby on the edge of the area and his curled shot was inches wide. The away team were certainly on top and everything seemed to be coming back to a busy Merthyr defence, particularly from playing out from the back. Kidderminster hit the post from a long throw-in and Willoughby’s close range header hit Williams on the back (luckily) but their late dominance in the first half didn’t pay off as it was 0 - 0 at the break.

It was Twamley who was the first to test Dibble early in the second half but his shot was easily saved. Smalley called him into action again after good work from Spiers, who was able to get his volley onto target following Rees’ flick, with Dibble producing a great save low to his right. Despite this, it was the visitors who were unlucky not to break the deadlock. Mooney picked up the ball in midfield and unleashed an unbelievable curling strike with his left foot from about 25 yards out, which crashed off the bar and rebounded off Cogman to stay out. That would have easily been the goal of the season at Penydarren Park if it had gone in.

It felt like it was only a matter of time before Kidderminster scored due to their relentless pressure and it came on 79 minutes, with both of their substitutes having a hand. A bouncing ball in the box was controlled by Obi, who was moving away from goal and was brought down from behind by Ryan-Phillips. Up stepped Morgan-Smith who slotted past Cogman. 1 - 0 Kidderminster.

Cawley Cox and Morgan Lewis were brought on to replace Handley and Spiers as the homeside went in search of the equaliser. Six minutes of injury time were added on and Merthyr threw everything at their opponents, which ended with four consecutive corners. Cogman came up for the corner, with Cox going close first with a looping shot at the back post that was tipped over by Dibble, before pulling off a fantastic fingertip save immediately after to deny a Ryan-Phillips header which was dipping below the crossbar. Rees went close late on but his shot was inches wide of the post, which was the last kick of the game.

An entertaining game despite the result and a performance that the home side can be proud of against a full time outfit in Kidderminster. Next up is a trip to Victory Park, as the Martyrs take on Chorley FC.

Gavin Burns