The victory was just about deserved as Carlisle always looked the more likely scorers. The visitors played some neat football but there was seldom anything on the end of it. The result lifts the Cumbrians off the bottom of the table as the battle to gain some consistency continues.

The first half was fairly even in possession terms, possibly even shaded by the visitors but it was the home team who created the best openings. Kiddy went closest early on as Drewe Broughton's header from a right wing cross floated just wide of Peter Keen's far post. Broughton then blotted his copy book with a series of poor challenges that earned him a booking and he almost received his marching orders from referee David Laws. United lifted their game and Foran wasted the best chance of the half after he was put clean through the Kiddy defence on his left foot. His shot though lacked power and was blocked by keeper Eric Nixon.

Carlisle were celebrating what they thought was the opening goal soon after when a deflected clearance was nodded home by the opportunistic Steve Soley. However a linesman's raised flag indicated Soley had strayed offside and the effort was chalked off. Brendan McGill also tested Nixon with a sharp shot but the veteren keeper clung on to it well as the predatory figure of Foran waited to pounce.

At the interval the physically strong Steve Skinner replaced Steven Halliday. It wasn't immediately obvious if Halli had collected a knock or not.

The second half almost started disastrously for the home team as a quick Kiddy break forced Mark Birch into an uncomfortable header back towards his own goal, Thankfully Keen was able to scoop it away for a corner. With Jan Molby's team pushing forward, it was a bit against the run of play when Carlisle took the lead.

Murphy's corner found Foran lurking near the far post and his firm downward header beat Nixon to register his second goal of the week and brought joy for the crowd of 2,556. Soley followed up the goal with a thumping effort from 25 yards that shaved the outside of the post.

The nippy and impressive McGill then nearly doubled the lead but his cross shot spun across Nixon and went the wrong side of the far post. The game then lapsed into a bit of a trough as United seemed content to hold the shot-shy visitors at bay. It proved a danger sign as the men from the Midlands then raised their game in the final quarter. Carlisle were forced back and seemed to tire. An anxious Roddy Collins brought on Jonny Allan for Peter Murphy.

Harriers went close in the last five minutes with a deflected shot palmed away well by Keen and then a cross floated in from the right was glanced across goal by Mark Blake.

Al's Verdict : Relief all round. Kidderminster offered more of a threat than Bristol Rovers, but not much more. Having scored the goal, we took our foot off the pedal a little and it was a rather nervous finish. However it never really looked as though Harriers would score. Both teams produced some decent passages of play but it was never a classic. Soley has added a bit of much-needed graft to midfield and McGill continues to improve. Murphy has a sweet left foot but doesn't seem able to get into the game enough. Another worrying sign is our continuing inability to put away clear-cut chances. Better teams than Kiddy will punish us for such lapses.