Venue: Aggborough Date: 01-01-25 Harriers 0 Rushall Olympic 1 Att: 3402 (away fans: 77)

01-01-25. Kidderminster Harriers 0 Rushall Olympic 1. Match report

The Harriers fail to turn up and defeat ensues

Report: Phil Lench

The Harriers got 2025 off to the worst start possible with this dreary home defeat to bottom club Rushall Olympic. On a day when we were expected to follow up our brilliant Boxing Day win at Hereford FC we, instead, turned in one of our poorest performances of the season missing a host of chances to score, negativity in midfield and a soft goal conceded late on.

With an unchanged line-up from the Hereford game we started really well with some slick passing – possibly twenty five passes without a Rushall player getting near the ball. A few minutes later we came close to opening the scoring when Paul White, the Pics keeper, messed up and allowed Amari Morgan-Smith the get in behind him but our number nine somehow contrived to put the ball against the foot of the post with an open goal to choose from.

For some unknown reason we then decided to sit back and let the visitors onto us and chances to break forward weren’t taken with our play going across field instead of going forwards. Possibly the biggest culprit was Ryley Reynolds who would beat two or three players and then try a failed cross field ball rather than threading it through the opposition defence for someone to run onto.

It took all of forty minutes before we got a second chance to score. Ashley Hemmings sent our first corner of the game in and Tope Obadeyi got a head to the ball but put it wide, wide, wide of the upright.

HT: 0 – 0

It was hoped that a dressing room ‘conversation’ would reap some reward but nothing seemed to have changed. Ten minutes in and Phil Brown made the first change with another coming a few minutes later and on came Reece Devine for Kam Kandola then Maz Kouhyar for Hemmings. The expected improvement didn’t come.

It took until almost the seventieth minute for another chance to appear. Maz went close but his shot was soft and White collected easily. It was all so meh!

Amari had a header saved but the ball then went up the other end from Whites kick and we went to sleep allowing Kian Ryley to carry the ball across the area and roll a low shot into the bottom corner with Christian Dibble wrong footed.

We decided the time was ripe to come alive and began to play as if we believed in ourselves and also to rescue the three points. There was still only the one clear chance to score though when Tope’s cross was met by Kouhyar who sent it narrowly wide of the target.

The defeat dropped us back down to third place when we had been hoping to consolidate our top spot position. We don’t even get an early chance to make up for this defeat either because in three days time we entertain Slough Town in the FA Trophy at Aggborough. We just have to hope that we’ve recovered enough to make up for todays poor showing.

FT: 0 – 1


Goal for Rushall: Ryley 74


The Harriers Online MotM is: Tope Obadeyi

Talk about the game here

Latest table and stats here


Harriers Goals Subs Time Cards
Dibble        
Foulkes      
Richards        
Kandola   52
Downing      
McNally        
Brown   70  
Reynolds   80  
Morgan-Smith        
Hemmings   56  
Obadeyi        
 
Subs:  
Palmer        
Devine   52  
Kouhyar   56  
Kellermann   80  
Davis   70  
 
Rushall Olympic Goals Subs Time Cards
White        
Green        
Hull      
Thomas        
Forde   84  
Cameron        
McLintock        
McAlinden   72  
Ryley      
Martin        
King   93  
 
Subs:  
McGlinchy   93  
Fairnie        
Mantom   72  
Lalkovic        
Barkers   84  
 
Referee:  
Mr Darren Rogers
Warrington