15-04-23. Match report Vs AFC Telford Utd

This win is dedicated to Waggy *

Report: Phil Lench

A fourth win in a row for the Harriers was great to see and pushes us tantalisingly closer to the edge of the play-offs but not so good to see was the sad decline of AFC Telford Utd as we saw at first hand why they have been relegated. Games against Telford have always been tough feisty affairs but this, today, was verging on the term known as a non-event. OK we won 3-0 but it didn’t seem all that convincing. In fact a really good team would have put seven past them.

Again we saw an early goal to give us the lead when Shane Byrne got onto the end of a Joe Leesley corner to fire home from the far post. So as well as the four wins in a row it’s now also the fourth game in a row that we’ve scored before the fifth minute.

Sadly after that the game degenerated into a poor affair with both sides now looking as if they’d been relegated.

Ashley Hemming had a couple of chances to add a second goal but selfishly he declined to cross the ball to an unmarked Zak Brown, stood in front of the goal, and opted to shoot for goal himself and missed. Soon after he had another chance nearer to the halfway line than the goal but his shot was weak and barely reached the Telford goal.

Brown, himself, had a good chance to score but the Bucks keeper, Joe Young, got down well to it and saved while Leesley tried a lob towards goal but again the keeper got to it and pushed it over the bar.

The only chance of the game, so far, for the visitors came just before the break when Montel Gibson nodded wide of the post. 

HT: 1 – 0

The second half was a more pleasing spectacle, just about, mainly down to the fact that we put the game to bed. The extra two goals (our first since the end of January when we put three past Blyth Spartans) made up for the scrappy affair we were watching and put an end to the worry that we’d go through the remainder of the game with a single goal lead and then let Telford go and score in extra time.

Hemmings missed a sitter in the opening seconds when he side-footed wildy over the bar after a dummy from Amari Morgan-Smith let the ball roll towards him.

Krystian Pearce made sure of the three points five minutes in when he scored from yet another Leesley corner. Alex Penny was the first to get a head to the ball but it got flipped onto the bar by Young, then Byrne hit the bar from the rebound where it then rebounded to Pearce who then got his head to the ball and put it into the net.

Down the other end of the pitch Christian Dibble was being called into a rare save from the former Harriers defender, Nathan Cameron, as he reached down low to scoop the big mans header off the line.

The game was certainly over shortly after when a ball forward found Hemmings who this time made sure as he sidestepped another former Red, Harry Flowers, to take the ball past him and find himself with just the keeper to beat. At the exact right moment he fired the ball beyond the stranded keeper to win us the game.

Now home and dry by the hour mark it was just left for the game to be controlled until the end and substitutions made. The closest we came to adding to the days tally was from one of those subs, Jack Bearne, when he fired in on the angle but the Telford keeper pushed the ball away.

With two games left we face Southport away next Saturday and with them on a poor run we might actually be looking at our best run of wins for the first time this season.

FT: 3 – 0

* Sadly following the game we were given the sad news of the passing of John Wagstaff (Waggy).

Waggy was a lifelong fan of the Reds and well known for his witty comments and his poetic prose in both the club programme, on the away coach and on the Harriers Online forum. His friends around him in the East Stand were often treated to his one liners that always raised a little chuckle.

John, and his lovely wife Gloria, was well known and loved by many young Harriers players over the years when those in need of somewhere to live while they settled in were always welcome in his home on the edge of Springfield Park.

Johns passing comes after a long illness that had forced him to miss many Harriers games this season. John will be missed by all that knew him.

Rest in Peace Waggy and all our love to Glo. 

Goals for Harriers: Byrne 1, Pearce 51, Hemmings 55

The Harriers Online MotM is: Shane Byrne

Talk about the game here

Latest table and stats here

Harriers	Goals	Subs	Time	Cards
Dibble
Foulkes
Richards
Penny
Pearce
Morrison
Leesley			75
Brown
Morgan-Smith			85
Hemmings			82
Byrne
Subs:
Palmer
Knight-Percival
Lissimore			75
Bearne			82
Hall			85
AFC Telford Utd	Goals	Subs	Time	Cards
Young
Burke
Daniels			70
Cameron
Flowers
Ekpolo
Evans			70
Nolan
Gibson			84
Allen
Moore
Subs:
Bood			70
Livingstone
Rowe			70
Salmon			84
Williams
Referee:
Mr Stuart Morland
Liverpool