15-10-21 – Preview – FA Cup 4th Qual Rd – Bedfont Sports FC Vs Kidderminster Harriers

Preview: Phil Lench

This match will decide which of us will be going into the 1st round of the FA Cup and please to God it’s us.

With the league clubs coming in at the next round we’re desperate for the chance to re-live old memories of actually playing against a club from that fabled land of which we were once a member. It’s been five years since we went to windy Blackpool and lost abysmally. Luckily if we get through this we won’t be playing them again, just yet, with them somehow now in the Championship. A game against a struggling L2 side would be good.

First we have to get past the unknown.

Bedfont Sports are two levels below us but are a team seemingly on the up. Founded comparatively recently in 2002 they play in the Isthmian South Central League and sit around mid-table in their league. Their Cup journey this season is longer than ours so I’ll stick with the game that got them to this stage.

After winning in the 2nd qualifying round away at the hipster Dulwich Hamlet they were then paired with the former Vosper Thorneycroft FC but now known as Sholing FC. At home they drew 3-3 but then beat them 2-1 in the replay down in Southampton. By that time they new they would be playing either Ware or us. They probably would rather it have been Ware.

Bedfont itself is near to Hounslow and Feltham but much nearer Heathrow airport with the ground sitting under the flight path. It could make for an interesting experience. The village (for that’s what it still is) was expanded on the back of the airports presence and most of its employees comes from Bedfont. If you get chance visit the nearby St Marys church for some amazing yew tree topiary.

They have just the one well known player in their team with that being the well known, and well named, Ricky Wellard. We’ve come up against him a few times before during his time with AFC Wimbledon and Salisbury City and at thirty three he isn’t that old and could be their danger man. 

We’ll still be without Lewis Montrose for the game after he suffered a setback with his hamstring injury last weekend. There’s differing news about our two long term injury victims. It’s been confirmed by Walsall that loanee Joe Foulkes season has probably come to an end with bad ligament damage to his knee while Cliff Moyo is no longer hobbling around on crutches and, instead, is hobbling around in a plaster cast on his foot.

With the news about Joe the Harriers manager, Russ Penn, has said that we’ll be looking to bring someone else in to replace him, and other positions that we have injuries and shortages in, within the next few weeks.

Last Saturday we racked up our third league defeat in a row at home to Brackley Town so this could be a good way of getting that result out of our system. Mind you we said the same about the games following Gateshead and AFC Fylde too.

With a possible money spinning game in the next round this is a must win game for the Harriers. We have to get the job done at the first time of asking too.

Photo © KHFC

Teams:

Harriers from:

Simpson, Emery, Richards, Cameron, Penny, Bajrami, Lowe, Austin, Lissimore, Carrington, Bell, Martin, Freemantle, Tolley, Hemmings, Morgan-Smith, White, Sterling-James.

Bedfont Sports FC from:

Gay, Kyriatzis, Andre, Awoyemi, Cartwright, Diomande, Kasier, Kavanagh, Kinsella, Mugoya-Tabingwa, O’Kelly, Tadafe, Weight, Wilks, Brunton, Dwyane-Holden, Jackson, Lal, Sanders, Wellard, Webb, Esprit, Flatman, Kayani, Postance.

Referee: Mr Ben Atkinson. Home Counties

Talk about the game here

Links to Bedfont Sports FC websites here

Find Pubs around Kidderminster here