Venue: Aggborough Date: 09-11-24 Harriers 1 Farsley Celtic 0 Att: 2166 (away fans: 13)

09-11-24. Kidderminster Harriers 1 Farsley Celtic 0. Match report

A dour game but at least we won at home

Report: Phil Lench

A bit of a dour game against Farsley Celtic today at Aggborough saw the Reds gain their first home win in the league since the 4-0 victory over Oxford City way back on August 31st. That day we ran rampant but today was a different matter with a slow approach to the game that bought very little action to excite the fans in attendance. Yes, we did rule the first half possession wise and got a fair number of shots away but most of those shots were well wide of the mark.

There was a bit of a worry in the first minute when Farsley swept down the wing and the ball was crossed in and then fired across the goal. After that they did little else during the first half apart from keeping us at bay.

We had chances from Joe Foulkes, Reece Devine, Ashley Hemmings, Zak Brown and the list goes on and of those possibly the best fell for Joe a few minutes before the break. How we are crying out for a striker who, a) isn’t left footed and b) knows how to hit the target.

HT: 0 – 0

The second half we started as we left off with very little in the way of attacking but loads in possession. Possibly 80%/20%.

It wasn’t until Ben Beresford came on for Maz Kouhyar in the fiftieth minute that we, at last, had something to cheer when within the minute he had scored. Reece Devine crossed the ball in towards Amari Morgan-Smith and Ben but the ball was collected by the Farsley keeper, Kieran Flavell, fumbled it onto Bens chest and the ball rebounded in. Not an elite type of goal but they all count.

Mysteriously we switched off a few minutes later when Hemmings made way for Maliq Cadogan. We went deep and allowed Celtic to come onto us and for the next fifteen minutes it was one way traffic and backs to the wall time. It was beginning to look worrying that we could be on the verge of throwing it all away.

Luckily for all the time they had on the ball they did very little with it apart from a shot that Christian Dibble scrambled across to smother and a couple of shots that went wide of the mark. Again luckily, for us, we woke up to the fact that they were getting too close for comfort and took control of the game once more.

Cadogan had another chance to open his scoring account for us but will it ever come? His swerving shot was well stopped by Flavell. He saved again a few minutes later when Caleb Richards ventured into the area and sent off a shot that had Flavell forced into another good stop.

Towards the end one of the better referees seen in recent seasons, Ashley Clarke, blotted his copybook by booking Reece Devine for taking too long over a throw in when he was begging someone to come to come for it and no one did. Maybe he should have booked his team mates for being lax in their duties? 

At the end of the day it wasn’t one of the best games seen at Aggborough and it wasn’t what we wanted to see. We want more movement in midfield with less of this incessant passing it between themselves and achieving little. We want to see strikers pressing the opposition defence more and that includes the keeper. We want less of the swapping onto the left foot of certain strikers and instead just try their luck right footedly.

We just want to see goals and at least more than one. 

FT: 1 – 0


Goal for Harriers: Beresford 52


The Harriers Online MotM is: Reiss McNally

Talk about the game here

Latest table and stats here


Harriers Goals Subs Time Cards
Dibble        
Foulkes        
Richards        
Kandola        
McNally        
Davis        
Devine      
Brown        
Morgan-Smith        
Hemmings   62  
Kouhyar   51  
 
Subs:  
Palmer        
Cadogan   62  
Foran        
Beresford 51  
Thompson        
 
Farsley Celtic Goals Subs Time Cards
Flavell        
Fielding        
Turner        
Hyde        
Misambo        
Branson        
Sloane        
Greenfield        
Mampala   46  
Atkinson        
Stephenson        
 
Subs:  
Fox        
Assenso        
Youmbi        
Compton-Sturridge   46  
 
Referee:  
Mr Ashley Clarke
Solihull