Harriers secured a first stalemate of the season as they battled with ten men after the sending off of Ashley Hemmings to pick up a 1-1 draw with Chester at Aggborough.

Tope Obadeyi’s second half goal had put Harriers ahead, but the Seals were on level terms not long after courtesy of a penalty awarded for a handball that saw home Captain Hemmings sent off.

Looking for an instant response to the defeat at league leaders Scunthorpe the previous Friday, boss Phil Brown’s preparations were dealt a blow with a double loss through injury. Having picked up injuries in the 2-0 defeat against the Iron, both Paul Downing and Alex Penny were sidelined.

That meant Brown shuffling the pack and handing a first start of the season to defender Reiss McNally, a maiden Harriers start also arriving for summer arrival David Davis, along with Obabdeyi who replaced Seb Thompson in the eleven. For the first time this season there was a place among the subs for Jack Lambert.

Though Harriers made plenty of the early running inside the opening moments, it was the visitors who got the first glimpse of goal with just five minutes played, skipper George Glendon lining up an effort from 18 yards that skewed wildly away from goal without troubling Christian Dibble between the sticks.

The hosts had a brace of chances on Elyh Harrison’s goal with 17 played. First, Hemmings moved into space created by Maliq Cadogan and drove wide, before Cadogan himself took aim with a shot Harrison did well to grasp at his near post.

Four before the interval, Harriers had perhaps their best chance of the half when, from a corner, Obadeyi nodded a header wide of the post with Harrison struggling to meet it.

Attacking their own mass of 300 visiting fans, Chester went close five after the restart when Kevin Roberts struck over, Joe Foulkes then seeing an angled shot blocked into the path of sub Lambert who could only fire over with no real time to shift his feet.

Hemmings, two minutes later, crashed an effort over, and on 66 minutes the deadlock was finally broken, the Hemmings turning provider by lifting a perfect cross into the six-yard box that Obadeyi nodded into the net.

The lead lasted just ten minutes, however, and was levelled in controversial fashion. Piling the pressure on, Chester thought they’d levelled from a corner as Matty Williams headed goalwards, but a block on the line was adjudged to have been made by the hand of Hemmings who was dismissed at the award of a penalty that Charlie Caton duly converted.

Harriers did superbly to shore up at the back to ensure that, at the very least, a point for their night’s work wasn’t placed in jeopardy – only a Declan Weeks effort for Chester coming close to unsettling Dibble.

The Reds now travel to Chorley on Saturday as the National League North season continues.