A FOURTH consecutive clean sheet and Iyseden Christie's eleventh goal of the season helped see Harriers through to the Third Round of the FA Carlsberg Trophy this afternoon after a fine 1-0 at Exeter City.

Match Summary
It's a case of 'pick your favourite' from the huge number of positives to take from this game - could it be that it's Harriers' fourth consecutive clean sheet? Perhaps it's the fact that the team have now won seven out of their last eight games in all competitions? Perhaps it's yet another goal from top scorer Christie, or the fact that Harriers have now grabbed at least one goal in every one of their last 15 matches? It could even be the fact that club have scooped £9,000 prize money in the space of a week or the tasty prospect that Harriers are through to the last 16 of non-league's top cup competition.

Well, whilst you work your way through that lot to find out what makes you smile the most, spare a thought for boss Mark Yates who was given a real selection headache after today's game. Jake Sedgemore and Brian Smikle were both handed rare starts with Gavin Hurren and Michael Blackwood out through injury, and the pair performed admirably and will give food for thought ahead of next weekend's league game with York.

Today may well have been a game of two halves but Harriers in the truest sense really mastered both, by really running City ragged in the first half, and soaking up everything they could throw back at them in the second period, so much so that the hosts only really had two clear-cut chances all afternoon, and spurned them both.

Exeter will feel aggrieved to be out of the competition but can really have no complaints about the result; it was never going to be a victory by a cricket score as nobody really comes away from St. James' Park with much more than a narrow success, but the visitors fully deserved theirs today.

The first minute had enough action in it for most halves, with both sides going close, Jamie Mackie forcing a save from Scott Bevan immediately before James Constable thumped a 20-yard effort off the crossbar.

In fairness during the first 45 minutes it looked as if City would only score if Harriers handed it to them on a plate and one feared that's what may have happened when they got the 16th minute penalty after Brian Smikle had brought down Jamie Mackie - ex-Harrier Billy Jones stepped up to the spot and for the second time in about a month missed a penalty against Yates' men, sending his shot wide and to the right of Bevan's goal.

Jonny Harkness made sure Paul Jones inside the City goal was kept scrambling with a couple of close free-kicks but the shot-stopper was nowhere near Christie's 32nd minute effort as he was lobbed coolly by the former Rochdale man, his 11th goal of the season for Harriers.

Shortly after Dean Moxey wasted a good chance at the other end, Russell forced a good save from Jones nine minutes from half time as he shot from the edge of the area, whilst three minutes later Harriers' players were convinced they'd scored a second but Danny Woodards had, in the referee's eyes, cleared Constable's header from Harkness' corner off the line.

After the break, whilst Harriers' had chances to further their advantage it was a 45 minutes that probably belonged to the hosts - one can only imagine how frustrated they'll be to have failed to convert almost constant pressure into very little worthwhile.

Before they could really get started in the half, though, Constable found out that it was to be a luckless afternoon in front of goal personally, he followed up his thumping of the crossbar and having an effort cleared off the line in the first period by smacking the woodwork on 56 minutes as Christie gave him the ball from another Harkness free-kick.

Sensing it wasn't going to be their day, the perennially home-strong Grecians made attacking substitutions with namely the lively Adam Stansfield coming on to cause havoc, he forced a last-ditch block from Creighton in front of goal within minutes of his introduction.

Harriers could've made it easier for themselves when they had the ball in their half but when Constable miss-kicked in front of goal and Smikle ballooned over the recycled ball, you sensed it would be backs to the wall until the finish.

And so it proved, and the back four will surely owe Scott Bevan a drink tonight for the way he constantly showed safe hands in his area, continually scooping the ball out of the air to ease pressure, though Stansfield kept him busy until the final whistle, as did a decent effort from former Harrier Bertrand Cozic - how the former didn't score when he was through one-on-one with Bevan in the 88th minute will be a mystery to him, not so to Harriers' fans who saw the former MK Dons stopper make himself larger than life between the sticks as Stansfield send his effort woefully high of goal.

160 or so Harriers fans made up the 2,000+ gate this afternoon and they stayed to applaud and sing off their troops to a man after the final whistle, it seems there's no stopping Mark Yates and his troops when they're in this form.

Exeter: Paul Jones, Woodards, Billy Jones, Todd, Mackie (Stansfield 60), Challinor, Cozic, Edwards, Moxey, Carlisle, Buckle (Phillips, 60)
Subs Not Used: Rice, Taylor, Ada.

Harriers: Bevan, Kenna, Harkness, Creighton, Whitehead, Sedgemore, Russell, Penn, Smikle, Christie, Constable.
Subs Not Used: Steve Taylor, White, Reynolds, McGrath, McGhee.

Attendance: 2,418 (160 away est)

Referee: Roger Vaughan (Somerset)