04-12-21 – Preview – FA Cup 2nd rd – Kidderminster Harriers Vs FC Halifax Town

Preview: Phil Lench

What promises to be our biggest game of the season, so far, takes place at Aggborough tomorrow afternoon when we take on FC Halifax Town from one division higher than ourselves in the FA Cup 2nd round. With lots of interest from both sets of fans, TV cameras present and a four o’clock Sunday afternoon kick off it all promises to be an exciting day.

We got to this stage by beating higher placed, than Halifax, Grimsby Town in the 1st round with an Ashley Hemmings penalty to give us a 1-0 win. We were the better team by far that day and we seem to be confident that we’re going to be the better team again. On the same day that we were progressing into the 2nd round Halifax were putting seven past Maidenhead Utd but letting in four at the other end.

Halifax sit in third place in the National League following a storming 3-2 away win at Torquay Utd last Saturday after taking a 3-0 lead but then coming close to giving it all away by letting the Gulls score twice in injury time. The previous week they lost at home to the inconsistent Wrexham AFC and so, in theory, also making Halifax equally inconsistent. 

They have a smattering of injuries with Tom Bradbury on the way back from an ankle injury, Jamie Allen also has the same injury while Jay Benn is recovering from a hamstring injury and to that end Jamie Cooke has been recalled from his loan at Matlock Town. Matt Stenson was sent out on loan to Tamworth earlier in the week to get him back up to speed following his return from injury.

They have a few players to keep an eye on with Billy Waters and Jordan Slew the main threat upfront. Waters has thirteen goals in twenty games while Slew isn’t far behind with eight goals in the same number of games. Shoring things up towards the back they have veterans Bradbury and Matthew Warburton to keep things tight. Both players were signed having been at Yeovil Town where Warburton was on loan from Northampton Town. 

There’s an outside chance that Joe Foulkes could be back for us now that he’s back in full training. I spoke to him at Hereford last Saturday and he told me that he’s hopeful of being on the bench if needed. Cliff Moyo and Lewis Montrose (back in training now) are still out while Geraldo Bajrami was rested last week with a tight groin.

Midfielder Elliot Bonds signed an extension to his loan from Cheltenham Town yesterday and will now stay at Aggborough until January 11th at the minimum. He’s settled in nicely with us now after a worrying first game where he looked totally off the pace. Since then he’s settled down and blended in well with his new team mates. 

This is as good a chance as any to move into the next round of the Cup and a chance to draw a big Premier or Championship club. We all know though that the really big Prem clubs – Liverpool, Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal et al –  are always drawn to play each other so that the TV channels can really celebrate the real start of the FA Cup so we’ll have more chance of a lower level club. Like Boreham Wood?

Whoever it is we have to get past Halifax first and it isn’t going to be easy. It is going to be do-able though.

Photo © KHFC

Teams:

Harriers from:

Simpson, Emery, Richards, Cameron, Foulkes, Penny, Bajrami, Lowe, Austin, Lissimore, Bonds, Carrington, Martin, Freemantle, Bastable, Clayton-Phillips, Tolley, Hemmings, Morgan-Smith, White, Sterling-James.

FC Halifax Town from:

Johnson, Scott, Benn, Senior, Summerfield, Debrah, Bradbury, Allen, Green, Warburton, Waters, McDonagh, Spence, Swaby-Neavin, Cooke, Gilmour, Warren, Vale, Newby, Slew, Woods, Maher.

Referee: Mr Brett Huxtable. Torrington

Talk about the game here

Links to FC Halifax Town websites here

Find Pubs around Kidderminster here