Another taxing afternoon but plenty of positives in defeat
By Matty Paddock - 19/07/2025
Posted 3 months ago
HARRIERS were beaten 3-0 by a clinical League 2 outfit in Shrewsbury Town on Saturday.
A smart early strike from John Marquis broke the deadlock early, the forward opening the scoring inside three minutes. Marquis latched onto a loose ball and arrowed home a well-placed effort beyond Christian Dibble.
Jason Adigun showed bright intent in response, getting into good positions and linking well with Kurt Willoughby on the right-hand side. One neat exchange between the two saw a cross cleared behind at the near post.
Dibble had to be alert at the other end, first closing down Marquis quickly to block with his leg before producing a solid save to keep out Luca Hoole’s low effort from the angle.
Reece Devine also played his part defensively just before the break, doing enough to pressure Hoole into heading wide at the far post before another shot from the same man was dealt with by Dibble.
Harriers came out positively after the restart. Adigun forced Toby Savin into a sharp save from distance, before Joe Foulkes’ header in the area gave Willoughby a sight of goal — his snapshot on the turn well saved.
But it was Shrewsbury who found the killer instinct late on. A George Nurse drive from outside the area flew and swerved beyond Dibble for 2-0 on 80 minutes, before Max Mata turned in a third from close range shortly after.
There was still time for a couple more Harriers opportunities — Amari Morgan-Smith heading over from a Dan Broni-Phillips cross and Player D dragging a low effort wide.
Another tough test against good opposition for Harriers as pre-season rolls on.
This article is about: Match
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