Harriers Women fell to a 2-0 home defeat against local rivals Worcester City Women on Thursday evening, writes Milja Stevenson.

The hosts began brightly and registered their first effort inside the opening minute, as new signing Darcy Cartwright was just unable to reach the end of Mill Rogers’ cross.

The early intensity soon settled, before Worcester threatened in the 13th minute. Jenkins reacted well to palm the visitors’ effort over the crossbar and keep the scores level.

Harriers responded in the 20th minute through Rogers, but her strike drifted over for a goal kick.

Worcester applied further pressure in the 31st minute, forcing another strong save from Jenkins. Grady was then on hand to make an important block before the Harriers defence completed the clearance.

Harriers thought they had taken the lead in the 41st minute when the ball was bundled over the line, but celebrations were cut short as the referee penalised a handball in the build-up.

The visitors capitalised on the setback and broke the deadlock in first-half stoppage time. Maia Clark found space inside the box and calmly placed her effort beyond Jenkins to give Worcester the advantage at the interval.

The second half proved to be a scrappier contest, with Harriers pushing to find a way back into the game. Cartwright came close just two minutes after the restart, but her effort struck the side netting.

A handful of half-chances followed for the hosts, before Worcester eventually doubled their lead in the 74th minute.

Harriers continued to battle despite the two-goal deficit. Cartwright went close again in the 78th minute, while Rogers tested the visitors late on in the 84th minute as the hosts searched for a breakthrough.

There was a positive moment in stoppage time, as defender Tayte Shakespeare made her long-awaited return to action following an 18-month spell on the sidelines with a torn ACL.

McCann came closest to pulling a goal back in the in the tenth minute of added time, but Worcester stood firm to secure their 2-0 win.