| Venue: Aggborough Date: 07-10-23 Harriers 1 Wealdstone FC 0 Att: 2564 (away fans: 190) |
Leave it late Harriers why don’t you?
Report: Phil Lench
The Harriers first home victory of the season came three minutes into added on time of todays game against Wealdstone FC. With time running out and another scoreless draw looming on the horizon it took a scrambled goal from Amari Morgan-Smith to finally reap a home reward for us.
With the Stones coming to Aggborough fully intent on going home with a point it wasn’t the most exciting of games for either set of fans. The visitors employed the old John Eustace way of playing possession football in their own half until the other side – Harriers – began to fall asleep and then hit them with an incisive through ball to a forward. Except it didn’t work that way and we didn’t fall asleep (well not the team).
That kind of possession football invites the other team in but for our part we hadn’t got either the quality or the nous to actually score. We got into situations many times when we could have scored but good defensive work from the visitors kept us out as did the keeper Jedward (I wondered where they had got to. Now we know).
An early injury lead to the loss of Joe Leesley for us with Ashley Hemmings coming on and we did look better up front but had then lost the midfield a bit.
We went into the break with the Harriers fans probably the happiest but with only two clear shots on goal from AMS and Gerry McDonagh in the whole forty five minutes.
HT: 0 – 0
The second half Wealdstone came out having been told to cut back on the possession and try to get forward more. Utilising former Harrier Tahvon Campbell more they tried but this time it was our back line that stayed strong to thwart them. In the first fifteen minutes of the half corner after corner went their way but Christian Dibble in the Harriers goal stood strong and at one stage made an excellent double save although his tendency to push the ball away into danger, rather than catch it, continued.
We finally got over the onslaught and the game settled down to much of nothing with neither side prepared to take any risk. Hemmings fired across goal but it got deflected out for a corner by the keeper while Barry Maguire also fired wide but without the deflection.
Then came the final three minutes and, with fans from both sides beginning to leave Wealdstones Charles Clayden gave away a free kick out wide in front of the East Stand. Sam Robinson stepped up to whip the ball into the area, close to the keeper, and cause so much confusion that it was hard to see just what was going on. All we saw was the whole team wheeling away to the far corner to celebrate and when AMS took his shirt off, and got booked, did we actually know who the scorer was.
There was us ready to go home after yet another disappointing result and instead we were going home bloody ecstatic. Get in AMS!!!
FT:1 – 0
Goal for Harriers: Morgan-Smith 93
The Harriers Online MotM is: Amari Morgan-Smith
Talk about the game here
Latest table and stats here
| Harriers | Goals | Subs | Time | Cards |
| Dibble | ||||
| Robinson |  | |||
| Richards | ||||
| Penny | ||||
| Pearce | ||||
| Maguire | ||||
| Oxlade-Chamberlain | ||||
| Leesley |  | 39 | ||
| Morgan-Smith |  | | ||
| McDonagh |  | 60 | ||
| Hobson | ||||
| Subs: | ||||
| Brown |  | 60 | ||
| Phillips | ||||
| Hemmings |  | 39 | ||
| Hall | ||||
| Lissimore | ||||
| Wealdstone FC | Goals | Subs | Time | Cards |
| Ward | ||||
| Cook | ||||
| Barker | ||||
| Bowen | ||||
| Mundle-Smith | ||||
| Smith | ||||
| Allarakhia | | 81 | ||
| Ferguson | ||||
| Obiero |  | 63 | ||
| Adarkwa | | 46 | ||
| Campbell | | |||
| Subs: | ||||
| Dyer |  | 63 | ||
| Barratt | ||||
| Kretzschmar | | 81 | ||
| Clayden | | 46 | | |
| Abdulmalik | ||||
| Referee: | ||||
| Mr Wayne Cartmel | ||||
| Luton | ||||