01-01-20 – Report – Hereford FC 2 Kidderminster Harriers 1

Harriers are second best in the two counties derby

Report: Harriershane

488 Harriers fans made the short trek to Hereford’s Edgar Street to see if Jimmy Shan’s men could complete the Derby Double following the victory at Aggborough on Boxing Day.

For the Harriers Richard Peniket was handed a start ahead of Ethan Freemantle whilst the Hereford manager, Russell Slade, opted to keep Reece Styche on the bench with Victor Sodeinde, Alex Bray and Kelsey Mooney starting. Brandon Hall was left out citing illness meaning backup rookie keeper Brandon Powell was handed his full senior debut at short notice.

Harriers had the first sighter of goal when Correy Davidson’s ball was headed off target by Peniket. As a spectacle the game never really got going, descending into a midfield battle with very little quality shining through. Hereford always looked dangerous though with the pacy Sodeinde seeming to target the gaps between Rhys Williams and Cliff Moyo whilst Mooney operated in the half spaces in front of him.

The Bulls probably should have been behind though, were it not for a great save by Powell from a smart Ashley Hemmings effort but the defence managed to clear the rebound ahead of an alert Peniket. The front man was delivered another great chance on the half hour mark, heading wide from a teasing Ryan Johnson delivery.

The triumvirate of Bray, Sodeinde and Mooney always posed a threat on the break but again the Bulls backline managed to hold firm, clearing a Moyo header off the line. The 2500+ in Edgar Street were not really treated to much of a spectacle, so, after five minutes of injury time it was no real surprise that the half ended goalless.

HT: 0 – 0

Hereford started the second half on the front foot and fired a warning shot when Sodeinde had a shot blocked. Five minutes into the half saw a contentious penalty awarded to the home side.

The ball was pumped into the box and Mooney appeared to hold Ryan Johnson, who bowed his head looking for a foul. Of course, Mooney won the header and the ball broke free in the box before Johnson brought the striker down. The referee gave a penalty, obviously, although most of the Harriers opinions post-match were that this was an incorrect decision. We should be used to those, though.

Sodeinde dispatched the spot kick past Will Mannion to hand the hosts the lead.

Five minutes later Peniket should have brought Harriers level following excellent play from Sam Austin, who hung a ball up. Six yards out Peniket rose highest but could only head over the bar from a position you would expect the target man to do better from.

Ethan Freemantle came on for the target man with around twenty minutes to go. Harriers began to push more men forward and this almost yielded an equaliser. The ball in the Hereford box squirted free and to the feet of Ed Williams whose drilled shot rolled agonisingly wide of the post.

Sodeinde continued to operate as an outlet forcing Mannion into a save and also finding the side netting before Hereford doubled their lead from a cross that found its way into the net, via Cliff Moyo.

The captain almost made amends as he attempted to connect with a free kick, clattering into Powell in the process leaving the young keeper needing lengthy attention.

The Harriers did get a goal back as the board went up for six minutes of injury time when an Ashley Hemmings free kick in front of the Harriers supporters hit Jordan Cullinane-Liburd and looped over the keeper and into the net. Despite pushing forward again the Harriers could not fashion that final opportunity to steal a point.

Now that the New Year is here the time is right to strengthen the side. We are weak defensively and short of numbers offensively and now that we’re hovering once again just above the drop zone those new additions can’t come too soon.

FT: 2 – 1

Goals for Hereford FC: Sodeinde 50 (pen), Moyo 79 (og)

Goal for Harriers: Cullinane-Liburd 91 (og)

The Harriers Online MotM is: Ashley Hemmings

Talk about the game here

Latest table and stats here

Hereford FC	Goals	Subs	Time	Cards
Powell
Hodgkiss
Greenslade
Pope
Pollock
Cullinane-Liburd
Thomas
Dawson
Mooney			88
Bray			66
Sodeinde
Subs:
Styche
Allen			66
O’Sullivan
Vincenti			88
Whitlock
Harriers	Goals	Subs	Time	Cards
Mannion
Austin
Davidson
R Williams
Moyo
Johnson
Prosser
Butterfield
Peniket			69
Hemmings
Shenton			59
Subs:
Palmer
E Williams			59
Freemantle			69
Scott
Higginson
Referee:
Mr Dean Watson
Lancashire