KIDDERMINSTER Harriers were ripped apart by a dominant Grays Athletic side at Aggborough tonight, with Mark Yates men falling to their biggest league defeat in recent memory.

Dennis Oli, Michael Kightly, Glenn Poole, Stuart Thurgood and Gary Hooper all grabbed a goal apiece as Mark Stimson's men inflicted an evening of true misery on just above 1,200 supporters, Harriers lowest league gate of several seasons.

The Essex outfit were largely dominant throughout and as such it wasn't really until the last ten minutes of the first half before Harriers really started to create any chances.

Simon Russell excited the crowd with a dazzling and darting run along three-quarters of the pitch in the opening minutes - He was eventually crowded out by the back-tracking Grays defence, and moments later it was they who took the lead.

A long ball along the ground from the back fell safely into the arms of John Danby, who unwittingly kicked his booted his clearance straight into the back of the prowling Aaron Mclean. Knowing he was in an offside position, McLean merely held Danby at bay as team mate OLI snuck in from an angle to tuck the ball into the empty net.

Oli and McLean pulled Harriers in every direction for the duration of the game, and although Harriers did create their own catalogue of chances, Ashley Bayes in the Grays goal did well to deny the likes of Gareth Sheldon, Terry Fleming and substitutes Lee Thompson and Gavin Hurren.

Whilst the hosts saw their efforts either saved or fly high or wide, Grays more or less scored from every attack, or at least certainly looked like doing so.

With just over half an hour gone, McLean swept a cross-field ball to the unmarked KIGHTLY who had all the time in the world to pick his spot from a beautiful angle and smash the ball past Danby to double the score.

Minutes later Harriers looked their most dangerous when Jon Newby intercepted a back-pass from a Grays defender. The on-loan Bury man cleverly drew Bayes out of his goal before looking to square the ball to Sheldon who had an open goal in front of him. Harriers' night was summed up when Newby could only find the side netting.

Within two minutes of the re-start Gray had their third goal as Glenn POOLE steered a fine 25-yard free-kick past the near-static wall and Danby to push Grays even further out of sight.

They certainly weren't done though, and how McLean failed to get on the score sheet will remain a mystery. He peppered Danby's goal with headers and shots from long range and close distance, some finding the crossbar, some smacking past the post yet not finding the back of the net.

Thompson went closest for Harriers on 57 minutes when Bayes kept out his bullet header from Russ Penn's cross with a fantastic parry.

Grays were awarded a penalty on 72 minutes as Danby brought down substitute Mark DeBolla who'd been put through on goal thanks to a wonder ball from McLean. Danby was flashed a yellow whilst THURGOOD stepped up and put away the spot-kick.

The misery was eventually capped by a superb individual goal from substitute HOOPER just one minute from time. Picking the ball up just inside the Harriers half, Hooper ran through the Harriers defence and held off the attentions of Hurren in front of goal before superbly lifting the ball past Danby and into the back of the net.

Harriers: Danby, Mullins, Rea, Burgess (Hurren 36), Harkness (Thompson 45), Sheldon, Penn, Fleming, Blackwood, Russell, Newby.