PENN POINT FOR HARRIERS: Russell Penn fired home an equaliser for Harriers at Burton tonight.

RUSSELL Penn's second-half equaliser was enough to hand Mark Yates' Harriers side a point at Burton Albion tonight after a fiercely contested encounter at the Pirelli Stadium ended 1-1.

Experienced front man Daryl Clare had volleyed the hosts ahead with a well-taken goal just before the interval, but livewire Penn made no mistake from short-range when he blasted the visitors level.

The game was keenly fought from start to finish with very little to tell from the two sides - Burton perhaps shaded the first period but Harriers were still unlucky to have gone into the break behind with Penn and Luke Reynolds, in for his first start of the campaign, in amongst the chances.

Gary Rowett had skied an early chance for Albion in the opening minutes but Clare made no mistake in making sure his side went into the break with a one goal lead when in the first minute of stoppage time at the end of the first half, he pounced only a perfectly lofted ball from Keith Gilroy to power past Scott Bevan.

Bevan again had to be on his guard just after the restart - he kept the visitors in the game with a fantastic save within a minute of the second period in tipping Shaun Harrad's shot over the bar.

An equalising goal for Harriers almost came from the most unlikely of sources in loan defender Scott Cowan with 54 minutes gone - he got a strong header onto the end of Jake Segdemore's free-kick that Kevin Poole was only just able to save on the line.

Just a couple of minutes later though, youngster Penn took his chance perfectly when Jeff Kenna's dangerous through bounced into his path off a Burton defender - the ex-Scunthorpe starlet smashed the ball into the back of the net to the delight of the vocal travelling support.

After the scores were levelled the hosts rarely posed much of a threat with the Harriers' defence doing well to restrict them to chances from distance - Reynolds and Michael Blackwood will feel unlucky not to have put the visitors in front with their late chances, with Brian Smikle also proving to be an annoyance to Nigel Clough's men throughout the night.

It was a deserved point for Harriers that was well fought for - the momentum is now arguably back at Aggborough going into the next game away at Northwich this coming Saturday.

Harriers: Bevan, Kenna (Hurren 77), Creighton, Whitehead, Sedgemore, Lee, Cowan, Blackwood, Smikle, Penn, Reynolds (White 90)

Subs not used: Sturridge, Russell, Taylor.

Burton Albion: Poole, Rowett, Tinson, Austin, Webster, Fowler (Stride 63), Gilroy (Holmes 84), Corbett, Ducros, Clare, Harrad (Shaw 74.)

Attendance: 1,830.

Referee: Oliver Langford.