Venue: Aggborough Date: 21-09-24 Harriers 0 Alfreton Town 1 Att: 2380 (away fans: 47)

21-09-24. Kidderminster Harriers 0 Alfreton Town 1. Match report

Harriers taste a first home defeat of the season

Report: Phil Lench

The Harriers fell to their first home defeat of the season and you damn well knew it would be Alfreton Town didn’t you?

In a game that, at times, was frustrating to watch we spurned a handful of chances to open the scoring in both halves of the game and that was mainly down to Ashley Hemmings possibly trying a little too hard and not composing himself first. In the first half he broke clear and, one on one with George Willis, he opted to fire straight at him rather than round him to score. He repeated the exercise in the second half but this time fell over in front of an empty goal and the ball flew out of play.

In the end it all went wrong when after what seemed hours of time wasting from the visitors they won the game through an own goal from the luckless Alex Penny who, afterwards, ominously got up rubbing his dodgy knee. A knee that might one day see the end of his career.

We had started the game so positively too but time wasting from Willis that early on and the toughness in cracking the Alfreton defence took it’s toll and finally we struggled to come up with anything new. Amari Morgan-Smith tried hard against one of his old clubs – how on earth did he enjoy playing with them? – but had no luck.

Joe Foulkes tried hard to get forward but had to keep cutting back due to that defence and it was the same for Maz Kouhyar who was getting no luck over on his side of the park. Chances did fall for other players but the likes of Maliq Cadogan and Zak Brown could only shoot weakly at goal and found the rolling ball was meat and drink to their keeper.

Just before the break came the first of Hemmings missed chances. The ball was played to Maz and in a sweeping move both he and Hemmo charged forwards together. Maz chose his time well and just as Hemmo drifted off his lumbering marker he played him in. Hemmo advanced, Willis committed himself and Hemmo fired straight at him.

HT: 0 – 0

The second half was a non-event as far as Harriers fans were concerned. Alfreton came out with a gameplan that involved conning the referee most of the time. He did nothing about the pushes in the back, the gaining ten yards at throw-ins or the never ending time wasting but that shouldn’t have any bearing on our failure to break them down.

It led to an earlyish change, for us, when Cadogan made way for our new loan signing Harry Ibbitson. He took time to get into the flow of the game, if there was any kind of flow that is, but put himself about a bit. Ten minutes later the second change came when the struggling Luke Summerfield came off and on came David Davis.

There was no change to how we were coping though and it was all starting to get a little frustrating for both players and fans alike. The last throw of the dice came when, surprisingly, Amari made way for Tope Obadeyi and still nothing seemed to happen.

We tried to get the all important lead but Hemmings failed in front of goal at such an important time once again. Again he was played through by Kouhar and this time slightly out wider on the edge of the area he drew Willis towards him, correctly rounded him then fell over just as he struck the ball intending it to go goalwards but instead out for a goal kick a mile from the goal.

Alfreton began to get a little braver going forward and you just knew that any time soon the sucker punch would happen. We thought it would arrive in the last minute of the game but it came much earlier than that when, with around ten minutes to go, one of their subs, Lewis Salmon crossed the ball in hopefully and in a chaotic turn of events the ball hit Alex and rolled past a flat footed Christian Dibble into the net.

It seemed that it must have actually gone to wrong – right? – side of the post at first such was the muted celebration from Alfreton but eventually they careered away to celebrate and our defenders began to blame each other.

Now the time wasting began as first Willis went down clutching an imaginary injury with the ball at the other end of the park and then the slow throw-ins once more and finally the ball in the corner for the last five minutes.

Not much happened after that apart from poorly taken corners and the players drifting away once the final whistle went. There was no coming over to applaud the fans but can you really blame them when boos rang out, not for them but for the officials, but how were they to know that. They obviously thought it was aimed at them when it wasn’t.

Onto the FA Cup next Saturday. Get this result out of their system and get themselves ready for another tough game at Buxton FC. Another must win game in fact. 

FT: 0 – 1

Can I just apologise for anyone missing the Harriers Chatter forum in recent days but there have been a few problems updating it and, let’s be honest, I messed up in doing it and now it seems to have vanished. I am working on the problem and hopefully by Tuesday we should have something useable once more.

I will try to rescue what I can but it might have to be a case of starting over with everyone having to re-register on a brand new board that has lost it’s history. Please don’t say sod it and I won’t bother. It’s important that you do bother because that was the beating heart of the website and anyway I’m sure you all miss it really.

Phil…


Goal for Alfreton: Penny (og) 79


The Harriers Online MotM is: Maz Kouhyar

Talk about the game here

Latest table and stats here


Harriers Goals Subs Time Cards
Dibble        
Foulkes        
Richards        
Penny Own Goal      
Mc Nally        
Cadogan   61  
Brown        
Summerfield   71  
Morgan-Smith   75  
Hemmings        
Kouhyar        
 
Subs:  
Bishop        
Devine        
Ibbitson   61  
Obadeyi   75  
Davis   71  
 
Alfreton Town Goals Subs Time Cards
Willis        
Clackstone      
Hunt        
Lund        
Newall        
Wiley        
Whitehouse        
Cantrill      
Fewster   77  
Moyo   88  
Waldock   46  
 
Subs:  
Askew        
Anson        
Abbey   46
Day   88  
Salmon   77  
 
Referee:  
Mr Jonathan Maskrey
Stoke on Trent