A disappointed Mark Yates has said he can take no positives from his side's latest pre-season fixture with Harriers falling to a 1-0 defeat at Blue Square North side Stafford.

A late Rangers goal just a few minutes from time was enough to condemn the visitors to a single-goal defeat, with Yates' troops rarely at the races.

The entire night's squad featured at some point throughout the evening, but after losing Luke Jones (pictured) to nasty facial injury with less than quarter of an hour gone, few were able to test Steve Bull's charges thanks to some lethargic performances.

Speaking to harriers.co.uk after the game, Yates said: "It was a bit of a disappointment for us as we were nowhere near the standards we've set ourselves earlier in pre-season.

"We'll bin it after tonight and move on, but it's a pretty steep learning curve for some of the players.

"We just never got going and looked pretty tired throughout - we had a pretty tough day in training yesterday so perhaps that can explain some of it, but it's a game probably best forgotten now.

"I'd rather we got this kind of performance out of our systems now, as apposed to when the season starts."

Harriers: Bartlett, Bowler, Creighton, Jones (Riley 13), Ferrell, Bennett, Penn, Russell, McDermott, Richards, Barnes-Homer
Subs used: Knights, Bignot, Smikle, McGrath, Brittain, Addadgio, Coleman, Foley, Griffiths.

Attendance: 250