HARRIERS slipped to their first home defeat of the season with a 1-0 set-back at the hands of in-form Alfreton Town.

Billy Heath’s men extended their own unbeaten run to ten matches with three points at Aggborough, secured courtesy of Alex Penny’s late own goal.

Though the home side had controlled much of the affair, they were made to rue a series of missed chances, not least Ashley Hemmings who fired over the bar having rounded goalkeeper George Willis.

The defeat left Harriers on a stretch of one win in six in National League North after a flying start in August.

A disappointed boss Phil Brown said: “Frustration is a word that comes out, I’m allowed to be frustrated on the touchline because I’m not playing anymore. The players aren’t allowed to get frustrated, they’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing and it will eventually turn in to a win, for sure.

“If you look at the two sides today, the team that won it has a certain style of football has a certain style of football that was successful today, and the team that lost it has a style of football that will win plenty of games in my opinion.

“Belief is one of the biggest words in football. We can’t lose our belief just because we’ve lost the game 1-0. We have to keep believing that we’re going to win more games than lose more games the way we’re playing.

“The style of football might not be everybody’s cup of tea in National League North but we have to find a way to win games like today instead of losing them 1-0, and the simple fact that we’ve got to be a little more clinical, a little more streetwise and calculated in the final third.”

After Dwayne Wiley headed over with an early Alfreton chance, Ashley Hemmings saw his header turned over the target at the other end.

Amari Morgan-Smith then planted a header wide against his former club, before Willis pulled off an excellent save to thwart Caleb Richards.

Harriers, who went close again through Maliq Cadogan's drive over on 42 minutes, should arguably have broken the deadlock on the stroke of half-time. A breakaway move saw Maz Kouhyar play in Hemmings, who was denied one-on-one with Willis.

As the second half progressed, Harriers lost a lot of the composure and control they’d enjoyed, and Alfreton slowly began to take advantage and asset themselves in the game, Billy Frewster almost finishing from close range after Luke Summerfield had been unseated in possession.

The pivotal moments in the game arrived with around a quarter of an hour to play. First, Hemmings had been threaded through on goal and managed to drag the ball around Willis, only for his final effort to blaze high over the target.

Boosted by that miss, the visitors stole the points with a counterattack that saw substitute Lewis Salmon charge forward and slide a ball across the area that Penny inadvertently diverted past Christian Dibble in sliding in to meet it.

Harriers are back in FA Cup next weekend as they meet league rivals Buxton on Saturday.