MAZ Kouhyar sealed a crucial Kidderminster Harriers win on Tuesday – as the promotion clash with Scunthorpe ended in chaos at Aggborough.
The result leaves Harriers five points off top spot with a game in hand – and eight games to play.
But a game that always had the potential to boil over, erupted in stoppage time with both managers being sent off by referee Alex Beckett in stoppage time.
Harriers manager Phil Brown – and his opposite number Andy Butler – were dismissed.
As a result, Kidderminster’s No2 Neil McDonald spoke to the club’s official YouTube channel after the game.
Kouhyar’s goal was the big takeaway of the night – a 50th minute strike when his cross drifted into the net.
Harriers accepted that it was a little bit of luck their display deserved.
But the double sending-off at the end of the game needed to be clarified.
McDonald said: “The ball went out of the ground, and their manager tried to get the ball back, he’s not supposed to do that.
“It’s supposed to be the fourth official that’s getting it.
“So everyone was trying to tell him he’s not to do that.
“And then everybody got involved, and the referee, I suppose, had to send somebody off in the melee.
“That’s the way it was. But it didn’t really affect the players. They kept their concentration and finished the game over the last couple of minutes, which was absolutely brilliant.”
But away from the dismissals, Kidderminster could look back on a victory that may act as a springboard for their promotion hopes.
McDonald said: “It’s a fantastic result against the team that’s top of the league, and we’ve closed the gap, which is what we set out to do.
“We’ve kept another clean sheet against a very dangerous team, and we’ve scored against a team that’s hardly conceded, which is excellent all round.”
📺 Catch up with the action from Tuesday night’s 1-0 win against @SUFCOfficial with Match Highlights from @DAZN_NationalLg…
⤵️ Watch on our YouTube channel#Harriers 🦅
— Kidderminster Harriers 🦅 (@khfcofficial) March 19, 2025
McDonald felt Harriers had the measure of Scunthorpe on the night.
He added: “They didn’t really play that much football, did they? They just tried to go off the big man.
“But I thought our defence dealt with that well, and when they did breach us, our goalkeeper made a couple of really good saves. We thoroughly deserved to win the game.”
Harriers’ unbeaten run has stretched to six games – with only one goal conceded in that time.
They now host Needham Market on Saturday looking to maintain that sequence.
One blow for Harriers was the early loss of wide man Dave Worrall after only 14 minutes.
McDonald said: “Dave’s been playing extremely well out wide, delivering the ball into the box, and that’s why we scored a lot of goals lately.
“But this game was never going to be easy. They’re a tough outfit to crack. But we eventually did it with a little bit of luck, with Maz’s cross-cum-shot. We needed that little bit of luck – and then hang on. You have to battle and put your body on the line, which the players have done. It keeps our really good run going and we’re trying to hunt them all down now.”
