| Venue: Horsfall Stadium Date: 20-08-22 Bradford (Park Avenue) 0 Harriers 1 Att: 542 (away fans: 80) |
Zak Brown saves us from a borefest
Report: Phil Lench
In a dour game at Bradford (Park Avenue) it took a last gasp winner from Zak Brown to give the Harriers the, somewhat un-deserved, three points to send them up from fifteenth to sixth in the table. Up until then neither side looked as if they had a goal in them and in the ninety third minute it looked likely that the game was going to end up as a 0-0.
The Reds started with an enforced change with Tom Owen-Evans out injured meaning that Ethan Freemantle came in for only his second start of the season. In his previous start, at Blyth Spartans, he lasted just twenty minutes before going off injured. Brown moved out wide to take up the space left by the absent TOE. Ironically within minutes of the game starting we had another early injury to contend with when Yusifu Ceesay went off with a leg injury. Keziah Martin replaced him.
What action there was in the first half just isn’t worth mentioning. Nathan Lowe had our a shot on goal – his shot going over the bar – while Ashley Hemmings had a similar chance that took a deflection but the referee disagreed with his argument that we should have had a corner awarded.
Lowe picked up a yellow card before half time following a warning early on in the game.
HT: 0 – 0
BPA were the first out of the traps at the start of the second period when he struck goal wards but Tom Palmer saved his shot easily enough. It took until the seventieth minute for the next piece of action and that came from the former Harriers loanee Will Longbottom when his shot went over the bar. Will had come on at the break in place of Harrison Hopper.
From us? Nothing. And we were told that we have firepower all through the team but, so far, all we had seen was one chance and that was from a midfielder. Freemantle was getting very little service and it was all looking a little worrying.
Russ Penn took off the under performing Hemmings and bought on Gabby Rogers in an effort to inject a little more urgency. It seemed to work as we began to find more space but still we looked bereft upfront.
With the ninety minutes been and gone the game was heading for the goal less draw that we didn’t really want. That was until the ninety fourth minute when up popped Zak Brown getting onto the end of a Rogers cross to the far post where the ex Alvechurch man got up to loop the ball over and out of reach of the Bradford keeper George Sykes-Kenworthy. Big sighs of relief all round and our second away win of the season.
It looked at one time that we would be joining todays list of fancied teams that had come a cropper. AFC Fylde, Chester FC, Darlington, Boston Utd and Brackley Town had all come a cropper with Brackley having Shepherd Murombedzi sent off. That means he should miss our game there on Bank Holiday Monday. Small mercies.
FT: 0 – 1
Goal for Harriers: Brown 94
Talk about the game here
Latest table and stats here
| Bradford (Park Avenue) | Goals | Subs | Time | Cards |
| Sykes-Kenworthy | ||||
| Odunston | ||||
| Staunton | ||||
| Lund | ||||
| Havern | ||||
| Maroodza | ||||
| Spencer | ||||
| Richman | ||||
| Blyth |  | 88 | ||
| Brooks |  | 66 | ||
| Hopper |  | 46 | ||
| Subs: | ||||
| Smith | ||||
| Fielding | ||||
| Longbottom |  | 46 | ||
| Church |  | 66 | ||
| Nowakowski |  | 88 | ||
| Harriers | Goals | Subs | Time | Cards |
| Palmer | ||||
| Foulkes | ||||
| Richards | ||||
| Knight-Percival | ||||
| Pearce | ||||
| Byrne | ||||
| Brown |  | |||
| Lowe | | 95 |  | |
| Freemantle | ||||
| Hemmings | | 75 | ||
| Ceesay | | 19 | ||
| Subs: | ||||
| Leak | | 95 | ||
| Margetson | ||||
| Rogers | | 75 | ||
| Lissimore | ||||
| Martin | | 19 | ||
| Referee: | ||||
| Mr John Mulligan | ||||
| Carlisle | ||||