Match report Vs Gainsborough TrinityVenue: AggboroughDate: 02-12-17Att: 1381 (away fans: 21)

02-12-17 - Report - Harriers 3 Gainsborough Trinity 0

The Harriers enter the play off at last

Report: Phil Lench

The Harriers moved into the National League North play off places this afternoon after this comfortable 3-0 win against Gainsborough Trinity. It took a while for the scoring to open against Trinity’s five man rearguard but it finally got breached by Joe Ironside two minutes into the second half. For the remainder of the half began most were expecting Gainsborough to crumble but to their credit they didn’t and kept the score down to just the three goals.

It could have been more were it not for some carelessness in front of goal from the Harriers but, in response, Brandon Hall had very little to do in the Reds goal.

With us looking like a full strength team again after the reduction in numbers on the bench in recent weeks we welcomed James Pearson back into the side following illness just before the mid week trophy win and also Joel Taylor returning to the side too, after around three weeks out injured and ill. Also back was Yan Klukowski after he also missed the Boston game with a slight groin injury.

Gainsborough arrived here in seventeenth place in the table, and improving, but today they came up against a team that were too strong for them. After a tentative start we should have opened the scoring in the twentieth minute after Elton N’Gwatala rushed his shot slightly and sent the ball over the bar then a few minutes later he hit the upright after some good work in the build up. James O’Connor had a rare foray up front and even came close the getting his first goal in Harriers colours when he got on the end of James McQuilkins pin point cross to head the ball goalwards but the Trinity keeper Henrich Ravas was equal to it and stopped the ball well. 

We kept probing the visitors defence looking for a way through and, again, we could have scored through Ironside, Andre Brown and Elton again but the Trinity goal was leading a charmed life and all our attempts to score seemed to go either just wide or just over. Then again it could have just been lax finishing.

HT: 0 – 0

It took just a few minutes into the second half for the Reds to open the scoring. Gainsborough were still settling into their stride following a half time substitution when Joe Ironside chased a Declan Weeks through ball down and took it towards the keeper. Ravas tried to get to the ball first but Ironside was quicker and sidefooted the ball into the net.

Man of the Match Sam Austin could have got his first goal of the season when he sidestepped a defender to position himself in front of the goal then saw his shot crash against the bar. When Manny Sonupè came on a few minutes later, for the below par Andre Brown, we began to up our game a little more. Straight away Manny began to find spaces that hadn’t been there before as the visitors began to experience his pace.

On the hour mark we had gone two up. A McQuilkin corner that had came to nought was recycled back in and, in the melee to reach it, the keeper dropped the ball kindly for Fraser Horsfall to poke it over the line and his first goal in Harriers colours.

We then seemed to sit back as we have in most games recently and invited Trinity onto us. As we all know that tactic can have disastrous consequences as the opposition tend to take advantage and score two goals in the dying minutes of the game to snatch the full amount of points from our grasp. This time they just didn’t have the quality or nous to do that but they did come close when the forced Hall to tip the ball over the bar following a snap shot from Liam King.

In between our second and third goal came what was possibly one of the shortest substitution moves in recent times. Yan Klukowski had come on for Ryan Croasdale (in itself a strange move) but then challenged for a ball on the touchline in front of the East Stand. The referee rushed over to him and told him to go off for treatment that the fans on that side was for a broken earring but turned out to be uncontrollable blood loss from his ear.

Full back Joel Taylor came on for him in another strange move that saw him go into midfield and Austin stay at the back when the obvious move would have been to send on the natural midfielder Liam Truslove instead.

Thankfully we put the game to bed with ten minutes left on the clock. A move started and finished by Declan Weeks was helped on by Sonupè who had collected Weeks initial pass out wide then played it back for the busy little midfielder to finish with a crisp strike into the bottom corner of the net.

A late flurry by the visitors saw them trying to gain a consolation goal but we remained strong and with the final whistle we had risen to sixth place in the table. Our highest so far in this lack lustre, so far, season. 

With a bit of luck, and a fair wind, we could climb further on Tuesday evening when we travel up to Harrogate Town for a league game but that one may be a little tougher than today.

FT: 3 – 0


Goals for Harriers: Ironside 47, Horsfall 61, Weeks 81


The Harriers Online MotM is: Sam Austin

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Latest table and stats here


HarriersGoalsSubsTimeCards
Hall    
Pearson    
Austin    
Croasdale 71 
Horsfall  
O’Connor    
Weeks   
McQuilkin    
Ironside    
N’Gwatala    
A Brown 57 
 
Subs: 
Williams    
Truslove    
Sonupè 57 
J Taylor 76 
Klukowski  71 – 76 
 
Gainsborough TrinityGoalsSubsTimeCards
Ravas    
Hare 46 
Davie    
Miller 69 
Stainfield    
Jacklin    
Richards    
S Clarke 69 
Jarman    
Worsfold    
King   
 
Subs: 
Bateson 69 
Lacey 46 
Simmons 69 
M Taylor    
Wells    
     
Referee: 
Mr Aaron Jackson
Liverpool