Worcester City gave a strong account of themselves in Tuesday night’s pre-season fixture, narrowly falling to a 2-1 defeat against higher-league neighbours Kidderminster Harriers at Sixways Stadium.

The game, played in front of a fantastic crowd of 1,329, saw City take the lead early in the second half through Dan Sweeney, before being pegged back by a penalty and undone by a late Harriers winner.

The opening 45 minutes were evenly contested, with both sides enjoying spells of possession but clear chances proving hard to come by. Haydn Whitcombe was alert in the City goal, dealing calmly with the few efforts that came his way.

After the break, Worcester stepped up the tempo. Kyle Belmonte stung the palms of the visiting keeper with a fierce effort from distance, and the resulting pressure paid off minutes later. Belmonte picked up the ball wide and delivered a pinpoint cross that was met by Sweeney, who powered home from close range to make it 1-0.

City remained on the front foot and looked dangerous going forward. George Walker, for the visitors, showed great determination to chase down a diagonal pass and flash a ball across the face of goal, just beyond the reach of an incoming attacker.

Kidderminster found a way back into the game just past the hour mark, with Morgan-Smith converting from the penalty spot following a foul in the area.

With both sides making a flurry of substitutions, the game opened up. City continued to threaten on the counter, but with ten minutes to go, the visitors struck the decisive blow. A swift move down the right led to a cross into the area, where Willoughby was on hand to head home from close range.

Despite the result, the performance gave plenty of cause for optimism. City matched their National League North opponents for large spells and were backed brilliantly by a bumper home crowd under the lights.

With pre-season preparations continuing to build, there’s plenty to be positive about heading into the new campaign.