| Venue: Aggborough Date: 07-12-22 Harriers 0 Chester FC 2 Att: 2165 (away fans: 213) |
Another toothless display from the Harriers
Report: Phil Lench
It was a rare game in front of the BT Sport cameras at Aggborough this evening and I, for one, would appreciate it if they didn’t come again. With a chance to show the nation what we’re capable of we totally fluffed our lines. Actually we haven’t shown anyone what we’re capable of all season and we’ve also been fluffing our lines since August.
OK there’s supposedly illness in the squad, along with four out injured, but the team that’s put out by Russ Penn seems to be all over the place and we have no rhyme or reason behind it. Joe Leesley again at full back even though we have a full back, Tom Leak, sat on the bench. Amari Morgan-Smith continuing to spend more time out wide than in front of goal where we need him to be and Tom Owen-Evans yet again sat on the bench instead of starting games.
And don’t get me started on why Ashley Hemmings has been playing as a wing back for the last two games.
So it was Chester FC at Aggborough on a freezing cold evening in front of an expectant nation. Sadly for the first half they didn’t get much in the way of excitement from either side. There was a fair amount of passing around but neither keeper had much to do.
The much missed former Harrier, Declan Weeks, fired wide twice while Charlie Caton, on loan to Chester from Shrewsbury Town, fired a weak shot straight at Tom Billson in the Harriers goal. For us Caleb Richards sent a shot over the bar from a tight angle after making space for himself.
The break came so would it improve in the second half?
HT: 0 – 0
Well no it didn’t. It got worse!
The half was only a minute in when Weeks collected the ball on the edge of the area and, with an amazing piece of skill, turned Paddy McLaughlin inside out and fired the ball into the far corner of the net giving Billson no chance of stopping it. They could have had a second a minute later but Reiss McNally skillfully cleared the ball off the line before Joe Lynch had time to knock the ball in.
Soon after Zak Brown went off injured and was replaced by Owen-Evans and it was then that we started to improve and began to make a game of it. His first move was to play in Hemmings but his strike was from too far out and was curving away from the goal anyway.
Another chance came just after the hour mark. Jack Bearne – having a quiet game tonight – played in McLaughlin to fire in a volley that the Chester keeper, Harry Tyrer, did well to push away for a corner. Tyrer, on loan from Everton, looked to be a quality keeper.
A minute later and we had the ball in the net but sadly for Ben Margetson he’s going to have to wait a little longer for his first ever goal because his close range strike was flagged up as offside.
The game then settled into something of a midfield battle with neither side making any real breakthrough. We possibly came the closest when Leesleys’ corner was punched from under the bar for another corner by Tyrer.
With time running out we simply failed to put any further pressure on the Chester goal and seemed content with passing the ball around without anyone making that all important darting run into the box. Then the circus came to town.
In the third minute of extra time the visitors cleared the ball upfield. Gabby Rogers – playing as a sweeper??? – chased the ball to tap it back to Billson but not realising that Billson had shot out into no mans land and was stood right next to him. Caton whipped round onto the loose ball and rolled it into an empty net for his second goal since joining them on loan three games ago.
So the Harriers shocking run of results continues and it seems that no one has the answer to why. A poor result at home to struggling Blyth Spartans this coming Saturday may see some changes taking place but don’t bank on it.
FT: 0 – 2
Goals for Chester FC: Weeks 46, Caton 93
The Harriers Online MotM is: Joe Leesley
Talk about the game here
Latest table and stats here
| Harriers | Goals | Subs | Time | Cards |
| Billson | ||||
| Richards | ||||
| Leesley | ||||
| McNally | ||||
| Margetson | ||||
| McLaughlin |  | 76 | ||
| Brown |  | 51 | ||
| Martin | ||||
| Morgan-Smith | ||||
| Hemmings | ||||
| Bearne | ||||
| Subs: | ||||
| Palmer | ||||
| Leak | ||||
| Owen-Evans |  | 51 | ||
| Lissimore | ||||
| Rogers |  | 76 | ||
| Chester FC | Goals | Subs | Time | Cards |
| Tyrer | ||||
| Morgan | ||||
| Edwards | ||||
| Weeks |  | |||
| Williams | ||||
| Roberts | ||||
| Heywood | ||||
| Caton | | |||
| Willoughby | ||||
| Dudley | | 46 | ||
| Murray | | 74 | ||
| Subs: | ||||
| Kenyon | ||||
| Thomas | | 74 | ||
| Devine | ||||
| Daly | ||||
| Lynch | | 46 | ||
| Referee: | ||||
| Mr Jamie O’Connor | ||||
| Chesterfield | ||||