MotM: 13-04-24 Eastleigh (H) Lambert

[andrewb]

Well, you learn something every day.

Watching the evening KO, I’ve found out that Mr. T (Aaron McLean) is a football pundit, and the pitchside reporter is Jade Goody’s former shag.

i remember watching Harriers playing, i think, Grays Athletic nearly 20 years ago - and Aaron McLean was playing for Grays -he was really good, full of energy as i recall

[Phil]

https://harriers-online.co.uk/khfc/13-04-24-kidderminster-harriers-0-eastleigh-fc-1-match-report/

[Medieval]

Well, you learn something every day.

Watching the evening KO, I’ve found out that Mr. T (Aaron McLean) is a football pundit, and the pitchside reporter is Jade Goody’s former shag.

i remember watching Harriers playing, i think, Grays Athletic nearly 20 years ago - and Aaron McLean was playing for Grays -he was really good, full of energy as i recall

Think that could have been the game when he scored just inside our half at the town end. Had some friendly banter with the crowd also.

[tonythescout]

That greys team were brilliant. Hammered us 5-0’orn5-1 if i recall. Yates was just stood in the dugout in disbelief

[Phil]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFIZJMyNw_g

[Swansea Harrier]

At least we can see that last gasp goal was offside... no complaints there.

Talk about a game being a microcosm of our season - Harriers 0, opposition keeper man of the match, lose by one goal.

I genuinely don't think we've been awful this season under either manager. It's just the fine margins, and you need the quality to make them tell. I look at games like Boreham Wood at home (legitimate equaliser bafflingly disallowed leading to a three point swing against us), Woking away (really soft penalty given to hosts in stoppage time) and Wealdstone away (Pearce hit the bar at the death) to see just how close we were to getting out of it.

But you can't say we've been unlucky. You need the quality in those key moments, like Vokins and McCallum for Eastleigh's goal yesterday. Compare that to Hemmings and Gold fluffing their lines with far easier chances.

I made sure my boys stayed with me to clap the players off and I'm glad many others did too - it was the least they deserved. They've tried their best all season, it just hasn't quite been good enough.

Yesterday didn't feel as bad as eight years ago, mainly because we know what we're going back to. We've looked like we belong, as wins against top 10 teams have shown. But (as I've said on other threads), we need to make sure we bounce back and are better equipped to survive at this level in future.

[TomLong78]

I said when Brown was appointed that him keeping us up would be more of a miracle than the 9 game winning run that took us up in the first place, given our inability to win/score at that stage.

And so it comes to pass that there was not to be the bigger miracle, but the fact that we took it to the 45th game (and didn’t totally subside like Oxford) was a decent effort, even if we did properly run out of steam at the end.

I don’t think anyone can doubt the effort from the players, nor that they care deeply. That was reflected in the acknowledgment the fans gave them yesterday. No anger, just support and thanks. The most positive reception I can remember for a team who has just been relegated.

My instinct is that Brown isn’t the right man for us in NLN, but then that’s also what I thought in January and he promptly won as many matches in his first four games as Russ and Jimmy had done in 28.

Likewise I am struggling a bit with the players I’d like to keep. You can probably argue that on the basis of age, injury record or general capability (or some mix of those categories), most of the squad could be moved on. I think Lambert and Richards are the two exceptions to that, but I also expect quite a lot of players to stay. A lot have decent recent records at NLN level (eg Gold, Phillips), including quite a few who have had a slightly fortuitous promotion out of the division in 2022/23…

If I am honest I am now quite looking forward to this pre-season. Partly because I won’t have to suffer the mental torture of watching us battle relegation (at least for a few months), but it will also be really interesting to see who ends up as manager and in the squad next season (see other threads!).

Onwards and upwards! (Well downwards actually, but you know what I mean…)

[Harry Aire]

It's all been said above. Particularly agree with Swansea's comments.

Just wanted to say I have been impressed with the heart and spirit of this side. I hope those 3000 keep the faith and I was pleased to see so many stay and clap the lads at the end yesterday. They did not deserve that outcome.

[tonythescout]

The miss by Hemmings is awful. How on earth did he not at least get it on target.
But the miss by Gold, wow. Like someone said to me who was stood by me just after he missed, shades of Mark Rawle v Yeovil. Weirdly enough we went down that season then too.
Agree, the players deserved to be clapped off which is why I remained also. There's no egos there, no lack of trying. They have left it all out there. We just arent good enough as a squad. I remember looking at Brown after the final whistle went and I felt for him. He hasn't been let down by his players in terms of commitment or work rate. He just inherited an inferior squad and gave us and them some hope. When you have players missing chances like Gold and Hemmings did, you have no chance.

[garthrockett]

When you have players missing chances like Gold and Hemmings did, you have no chance.

I don't have any problem with strikers missing chances, so long as the team collectively creates at least half a dozen such chances every match and the law of averages takes over.
Alternately we are so cynical we put a single chance away.- as did Endsleigh's McCallum.

Not enough chances, not enough goals.

[Krasnyi]

In fairness to Omatayo he had only been on the pitch a few minutes when he fluffed his chance. At least he was getting on the end of balls into the box. He had a decent track record at Kings Lynn, I think we need to have a go at getting the best out of him next season,

[tonythescout]

He should be scoring them. If not what's the point chucking on a striker when we are chasing a goal if they need time to 'warm up' as you put it?

As you say though, and his is what we can agree on, he had a good record at KL, Him and Phillips could be given a go and be key to us next season.

The amount of home games we dominated and had chances (Rochdale, Bromley) and we didnt take them. Its those sort of games that have bitten us IMO.

[Superkiddy]

I think the chance was missed so poorly which makes it worse, on top of the fact we paid 70,000 of the King's finest for him.

Irrelevant now anyway as even if we won it late on we would still be as good as down.

Shame we are where we are but we have to look onwards and upwards for next season, make the right decision with the manager and hope the manager makes the right decisions with recruitment.

[garthrockett]

Shame we are where we are but we have to look onwards and upwards for next season, make the right decision with the manager and hope the manager makes the right decisions with recruitment.

But as I understand it Dean Holdsworth (as Director of Football) will be making the recruitment decisions?