22-01-24. Hartlepool Utd Vs Kidderminster Harriers. Match preview

Preview: Phil Lench

If you’re still to come down off the ceiling then this is a quick reminder that we have another game tomorrow evening and hopefully you might find yourself back up there again by the ninetieth minute. On Saturday we turned in what was possibly the performance of the season in beating Aldershot Town 4-2 and tomorrow we might even do the same up at Hartlepool Utd.

A brace from Ashley Hemmings in the first half and then in the second half two more were added by Amari Morgan-Smith and Gold Omotayo to seal the points in our first home win in the league since the start of December when we beat Ebbsfleet Utd 2-0 with, again, a brace from Hemmings. We now have to go to Hartlepool and get behind the new manager, Phil Brown at the club he began his footballing career with, and the lads to urge them on against a Hartlepool side that sit in mid-table but struggle to get wins at home.

New loan signing Sam Bellis started the game against the Shots but looked a little rusty but it was nothing a few days practise wouldn’t cure while Zak Brown had his first start in ages and was just one of many that shone. It was hard to pick a Man of the Match but I went with Jack Lambert mainly due to some of the skill he was showing. He just needs to be a little sharper in front of goal and shoot first time and hope instead of trying to make sure.  

Out injured last saturday were Joe Leesley (is he still actually at the club?), Nathaniel Knight-Percival and Sam Robinson. Now we could also have Alex Penny after he went down holding his gammy knee and that could signal a return of his recurring knee problem that troubled him for much of last season.

Like us Hartlepool have a new manager in Kevin Phillips and, like us, they also experienced the ‘new manager bounce’ on Saturday when they went down to Ebbsfleet and won by the single goal from their dangerman Anthony Mancini. Hopefully our strong defence will keep him quiet.

If the game is on following the storms in the past few days then I feel that the bounce could continue and we might be coming back home with three points let alone one for the draw.

Photo © KHFC

Referee: Mr John Mulligan. Carlisle

Talk about the game here

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