HARRIERS faced a tough battle against promotion-chasing Boldmere St Michaels on Sunday, eventually coming away on the wrong side of a 5-1 result, writes Milja Stevenson
It was a scrappy start to the game, with Boldmere settling quicker and taking the lead in the 11th minute through Ackroyd.
Harriers looked to respond soon after, as McCann won the ball well and laid it off to Cartwright, but her curling effort went just wide of the target. The game then moved into a quieter spell, with neither side creating too much.
Boldmere doubled their lead in the 35th minute, as Mitcham headed home from a Cooper free kick. Harriers reacted well to going two behind, enjoying a spell of possession and creating a few chances through McCann and Whittick.
The pressure paid off just before the break, with Seanna McCann doing well to beat both the defender and goalkeeper to tap home from close range in the 43rd minute, halving the deficit going into half-time and keeping Harriers in the game.
Boldmere came out strongly in the second half, looking to restore their two-goal cushion and dominated much of the possession.
Several chances followed before they made it 3-1 in the 69th minute through Straker, whose strike hit the crossbar and bounced into the net. Ackroyd then added her second of the game in the 77th minute to extend the lead further.
The final stages saw Boldmere continue to push forward, and a long-range effort deep into stoppage time made it five, rounding off a difficult afternoon for Harriers.