16-10-21 – Report – FA Cup 4th Qual Rd – Bedfont Sports FC 0 Kidderminster Harriers 1

The Harriers down the Eagles

Report: Phil Lench

The Harriers earned themselves a place in the first round of this seasons FA Cup with this hard working win at noisy Bedfont Sports FC. Noisy because of the incessant racket from the kids with their vuvuzelas and also the sound of jets coming in to land at the adjoining Heathrow airport. Then again the over enthusiastic kids did help to make it into a party atmosphere and watching some of the aircraft flying in from all over the world was great to watch.

This game was our third FA Cup tie so far following away days at Sporting Khalsa, Ware FC and now to Bedfont. For our hosts it was the fifth tie that they’ve played in having beaten Herne Bay, Spelthorne Sports, Dulwich Hamlet and Sholing FC on their way to meeting up with us. This would have been there first crack at a 1st round game while we haven’t played in one since 2017 at Blackpool so we both had a lot to play for.

With an unchanged side from our defeat at home to Brackley Town last Saturday the game got underway at quite a pace. Pretty it was not.

The first half contained very little to write home about but the Eagles veteran striker, Ricky Wellard, had the first sighter of a goal in the second minute when his shot was collected comfortably by Luke Simpson in the Reds goal. Sam Austin followed up with a shot over the bar a few minutes later.

The game then became a bit of a battle with both sides frantically clearing balls back upfield and very little passing on show. Mid way through the half we began to settle down a little and pass the ball around without much of an end product. Alex Penny and Amari Morgan-Smith producing the only chances of note and anything that we did produce was dealt with superbly by the impressive Dimitrios Kyriatzis in the hosts goal.

HT: 0 – 0

The second period kicked off in much of the same mould as the first with more aerial football than pure. Again it settled down though and both sides began to produce a more pleasing spectacle.

Sammy Austin curled one around the post while Ashley Hemmings tried one from close range that didn’t quite come off. Finally in the fifty ninth minute, after more midfield battling, we took the lead and a lead that by the end we were lucky to keep.

Alex Penny swung a cross over that was deflected off a another defender and pushed away by Kyriatzis at point blank range only for the ball to drop at the feet of Morgan-Smith who couldn’t really miss from two feet out.

Bedfont began to raise their game in an effort to draw level and started to press our defenders more and more. Desperate defending was needed and desperate defending was what we got with Penny, Caleb Richards and Geraldo Bajrami all playing their part in clearing lines.

At the other end Austin, Hemmings, Keziah Martin and substitute Omari Sterling-James all had a go at increasing our lead but again Kyriatzis was equal to everything thrown his way.

The game finally came to an end and it’s into the hat we go with, hopefully, a team that we have a good chance of beating being drawn out. Get that TV on for 1pm, ITV, tomorrow to find out who.

FT: 0 – 1

Goal for Harriers: Morgan-Smith 59

The Harriers Online MotM is: Sam Austin

Talk about the game here

Latest table and stats here

Bedfont Sports FC	Goals	Subs	Time	Cards
Kyriatzis
Domande
Tadafe
Pegg			77
Kaiser
Jackson			86
Wilks
Webb			66
Esprit
Sanders
Wellard
Subs:
Postance			86
Dwayne-Holden
Flatman
Brunton
Archer			77
Andre
Bademosi			66
Harriers	Goals	Subs	Time	Cards
Simpson
Penny
Richards
Cameron
Bajrami
Carrington
Austin			89
Martin
Morgan-Smith			86
Hemmings
Freemantle			64
Subs:
Emery
Sterling			64
Lowe			89
Lissimore
White
Tolley
Bell			86
Referee:
Mr Ben Atkinson
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