22-03-22 – Report – Kidderminster Harriers 1 Chorley FC 1

The gift that keeps giving

Report: Phil Lench

The Harriers gave away the game this evening when, with us leading 1-0, a right royal cock-up defensively gave Chorley FC a share of the spoils. A poor back pass, on a night littered with poor back passes, by Ashley Hemmings saw a Chorley player swoop on the mistake and then stroll his way towards goal between four Harriers defenders all saying ‘after you’ ‘no, after you sir’ as their man motored on and struck the ball home to give his ten man team a point.

We had started so well too, looking confident, and then Geraldo Bajrami mysteriously got injured in the fifteenth minute and went off soon after. A re-shuffle at the back saw Lewis Montrose come on for Baj with Alex Penny going into central defence while Mark Carrington went to full back. Montrose took over Carringtons role in midfield. We looked totally unbalanced.

The confidence dissipated after that and Chorleys’ ten man defence became harder and harder to breakdown and we were going nowhere. The game became a battle and we couldn’t find a way to play the ball through to our lone striker Amari Morgan-Smith.

It was Chorley that saw the better of the exchanges following the loss of Bajrami with the closest being a poor clearance from Luke Simpson that was pounced on by Connor Hall. He crossed the ball in towards goal but Jack Sampson was, thankfully, too late to react and it went over his head. Earlier we had a chance for Omari Sterling-James but he fired straight at the keeper, Matt Urwin.

Willem Tomlinson then saw his shot go into the side netting and from the goal kick Carrington found his name being entered into the referees notebook for a trip on Millenic Alli. Another chance went the way of the visitors when Hall, again, saw his chance and tried to fire home from distance.

Our best chance of the half fell for Amari Morgan-Smith when he, at last, managed to break through but his shot was well saved. Overall though we were struggling big time with so many players out of position and passes going astray it was a relief when the break came and we went in still hanging in there.

HT: 0 – 0

Things didn’t seem to have changed. From the off Chorley again took the game to us and mistakes were allowing them in. It was only last gasp defending from the likes of Keith Lowe and Penny that was keeping our sheet clean. Then finally we had a stroke of luck.

Chorleys’ Millenic Alli got himself booked for a pointless tackle on the halfway line when he tripped Sterling-James up then a few minutes later he poked an elbow into Carringtons face leaving Carra on the floor for a while receiving treatment. Once the ref ensured himself that Carrington was ok he gave Alli a second yellow and the opportunity to have the dressing room all to himself.

That was the spur we needed and we began to play with more confidence even though the visitors ten man defence were giving very little away. Caleb Richards was the first to try his luck with a shot that was a bit on the weak side while for them Billy Whitehouse sent a shot wide of the target. A minute later and we had, at long last, scored a goal.

It was five games coming having not scored since Farsley Celtic away from home just under a month ago and that was a penalty. The honours went to the much maligned Lewis Montrose when, at last a gap opened up in the Chorley ranks, and Monty fired a hopeful shot through it for his first goal of the season. That was only his second goal for us but the goal he scored at Gateshead last season didn’t count anyway with it getting written off due to the voided season.

We stepped up a gear and began to take the game to the visitors at last with Morgan-Smith going close to adding a second soon after. Jaiden White came on in place of a tiring Sammy Austin and the tempo of the game got raised another inch. All we had to do was keep it tight and don’t make silly mistakes………

Oh no! Nathan Cameron gives the ball away, Tomlinson swoops on the loose ball inside his own half, our defenders politely move to one side, a big space opens up, Tomlinson fires the ball home, confidence gone, fans groan in unison and it’s the gift that keeps giving.

FT: 1 – 1

Goal for Harriers: Montrose 67

Goal for Chorley: Tomlinson 76

The Harriers Online MotM is: Keziah Martin

Talk about the game here

Latest table and stats here

Harriers	Goals	Subs	Time	Cards
Simpson
Penny
Richards
Carrington
Lowe
Bajrami			16
Austin			75
Martin
Morgan-Smith
Hemmings
Sterling-James
Subs:
Montrose			16
Freemantle
White			75
Nolan
Lissimore
Chorley FC	Goals	Subs	Time	Cards
Urwin
Blakeman
Halls
Shenton
Leather
Baines
Whitehouse
Hall			68
Sampson			73
Tomlinson			80
Alli
Subs:
Calveley			80
Ustabasi			68
Blyth			73
Holmes
Referee:
Mr Oliver Mackey
Leicester