Paul Stephen reports from Field Mill

Mansfield signed off the season with a draw this afternoon after surrendering a three goal lead to a resurgent Harriers side in the second half.

Hat-trick hero Jake Speight ensured that the home side went into the half time break with a commanding lead only to see it eroded by defensive mishaps during a forgettable second half performance.

The pacy winger also finished the game as Stags' top scorer for the season after surpassing Rob Duffy's 16-goal haul with his well-taken trio of strikes.

David Holdsworth made two changes to the side defeated at Oxford last week. Skipper Luke Foster, who was ineligible to face his former club, returned to the heart of defence as did Gary Silk who missed out on the trip to the Kassam Stadium with a hamstring strain. Interestingly, none of the players who are out of contract this Summer, including the likes of Blair Sturrock, Luke Jones and Jon Challinor, were included in the 16-man squad.

Steve Burr's Kidderminster side came to Field Mill two places below us and in the hope of sending their fans home to Worcestershire tonight with something to smile about after losing both of their last two fixtures.

The home side were kicking towards the North End for the first half sporting next season's eye-catching new home kits. They started brightly and Luke Foster shot over from 20-yards four minutes in before Somner's fierce drive was blocked by Harriers' captain Tom Sharpe only a minute later.

Kiddy tried to make inroads down the flanks early on and tested Marriott just before the ten minute mark when Darryl Knights picked out Dean Bennett on the left wing with his pinpoint cross-field pass. Bennett laid it off for Lee Baker who whipped over a powerful cross that Stags' custodian dealt with well.

Stags should have gone 1-0 up with just 12 minutes on the clock when Jake Speight turned and broke into the right side of the area from the bye-line. He twisted and turned past two defenders before dragging his shot wide from six yards out albeit from a tight angle.

Robbie Matthews registered the visitor's first shot on target with a snapshot from the right hand corner of the area on 17 but it was easily collected by Marriott. Stags went one better though and found the back of the net barely a minute later following Jake Speight's curling effort from 18 yards out.

Gary Mills picked out the pacy forward from near the centre spot with a perfectly weighted ball to put him clean through on goal. He pulled the trigger from the edge of the 18-yard box and shot to the right of the advancing Harriers' 'keeper Dean Coleman to put Stags in the lead in spectacular style and register his 15^th goal of the season.

The restless Jake Speight got himself on the score sheet again only six minutes later when he cut inside from the right flank. After collecting the ball near the half way line, he turned and then careered down the wing at speed before heading towards goal. He had Rob Duffy unmarked near the back post to pass to but managed to squeeze his shot between Coleman and Chris McPhee from the edge of the six-yard box to double his tally for the afternoon and become Stags' joint-top scorer for the season with 16 goals.

The home side were in the ascendency and Duffy headed Burgess' cross narrowly wide of the left hand post on 35 before Jake Speight secured his hat-trick in comical fashion a minute before the break. He got the faintest of touches on to a hopeful forward ball from the midfield which Coleman looked to have covered but allowed to slip through his fingers on the edge of the six yard box. He sprawled across the box to prevent the ball trickling across the line but alas couldn't get there in time to hand Speight his 17th goal of the season.

The second half started at a quick tempo and Kidderminster were handed a lifeline just five minutes in after Harriers' winger Brian Smirkle had been given space to cross from the left flank. It fell to Jack Byrne at the back post where there was little in the way of marking and Byrne was able to nod his effort into the top right corner completely unchallenged by any amber shirts.

Kiddy didn't rest on their laurels and were well and truly back in the game with a second goal on 53. Darryl Knights was the man left unmarked this time and was fed the ball near the penalty spot where he turned and buried a shot beneath Marriott who had dived to his left in vain.

Stags pushed forward as they attempted to wrestle back the initiative and prevent the embarrassment of losing a three goal lead. Duffy headed Briscoe's cross wide shortly before Holdsworth decided to withdraw the Mansfield winger for Stevie Istead in the 59^th minute.

Duffy did well to meet Ryan Williams' cross in the 64^th minute but frustratingly he could not direct his header the right side of the crossbar.

Kiddy nearly got an equaliser six minutes later when Darryl Knights was allowed a free shot on goal from the edge of the six box yard after Stags' defence failed to deal with a low cross from Lee Baker.

Jake Speight draw a fine save from Coleman at the other end before Kiddy eventually found the net for a third time in the 73^rd minute. A red shirt played a hopeful ball into Stags' crowded area where it bounced off Foster's knee and fell into the path of Chris McPhee who hit it perfectly from 18-yards out and on the volley. It was a photo finish as it sailed into the top corner to level the scores in a most impressive fashion.

Stags' defence was all at sea and were struggling to cope with a rampant Kidderminster who had started to sense victory. Marriott pulled off a good save to keep out McPhee on 75 before Foster's timely challenge prevented the Kiddy forward from having another go just two minutes later.

Having led for most the game, Matt Somner was unfortunate not to restore the home side's advantage on 82 when his goalbound header was cleared off the line. Not content with sharing the points, Holdsworth withdrew Duffy for Jon Shaw with five minutes remaining to try and find the decisive winning goal.

Kiddy battled away for a draw though and could not be broken leaving Stags to rue some poor defending and settle for a single point at the final whistle. 

Of course, this afternoon concluded our home programme of fixtures for the season which resulted in 9 wins, 8 draws and 5 defeats for the Stags here at Field Mill.

Attendance: 2,734 (144 away)

Sponsors' man of the match: Jake Speight

Team: Marriott, Mills, Garner, Foster, Silk, Briscoe (Istead '59), Somner, Burgess, Williams, Duffy (Shaw '85), Speight (Perry '90 + 2)