24-08-19 – Report – Kidderminster Harriers 0 Chester FC 1

Chester win at Aggborough for the first time in fourteen years

Report: Harriershane

The Harriers succumbed to a single goal defeat to Chester in what was the visitors first win at Aggborough since 2005 in their former guise of Chester City. Unsurprisingly, home manager John Pemberton named an unchanged side whilst for Chester, Joel Taylor and George Waring started, with Akwasi Asante the other former Harrier in the squad only good enough for a brief cameo from the bench late on.

Harriers started fairly brightly and were almost gifted an early opener when Russ Griffiths made a hash of collecting an innocuous ball, spilling it at the feet of Ashley Chambers, before bringing the front man down but any penalty appeals were swiftly waved away by the referee.

With just ten minutes played Chester fired a warning shot across the home side’s bows, with Anthony Dudley slicing wide from a good position. At the other end Griffiths was forced back into work following an Ed Williams effort, before also saving from Sam Austin.

An end-to-end first fifteen minutes concluded with the visitors wondering how they hadn’t taken the lead. A well-worked free kick was played into Gary Roberts, who crossed for Matty Hughes but, fortunately for Harriers, Rhys Williams was on hand to clear the effort off the line.

The pressure on the Harriers goal continued to grow and the deadlock was eventually broken in the twenty sixth minute when Hughes raced onto a through ball before firing home. Soon after we lost Declan Weeks when he left the field with a groin injury with Alex Prosser taking his place.

Content to sit in and absorb pressure following the goal the visitors took the sting out of the immediate moments after the goal and the half proceeded to peter out somewhat.

HT: 0 – 1

Harriers had the first chance of the second half, with Ed Williams combining with Ashley Chambers before getting his shot off, but again it was held by the visiting custodian. Sandwiched between that effort and a shot on target from Correy Davidson was a long range attempt from Gary Stopforth for Chester; fortunately it was never troubling Cameron Gregory.

Shortly after the hour the visitors should have doubled their lead with Bradley Jackson guilty of wasting a great chance, hooking wide. Moments later Dudley crashed a shot into the side netting as Harriers pushed forwards in pursuit of an equaliser.

They would get just one chance, and what a chance it was too. Griffiths’ clearance was charged down by Richard Peniket and Chambers, with the ball striking the home attackers and looping up into the air. Chambers, from a matter of yards out, with an open goal at his mercy, opted to try and volley it with the side of his foot into the empty net but got it all horrendously wrong – the ball skewing off his boot and well, well wide.

You may do well to see a worse miss this season but, for his sake, and the sake of The Harriers, let’s hope he can shake it off quickly and it doesn’t dent his confidence too much.

We now move quickly on to Monday and a first trip to Kettering Town in ages. They lost heavily at Leamington today. Let’s just hope our rebound is better than theirs.

FT: 0 – 1

Goal for Chester FC: Hughes 26

The Harriers Online MotM is: Cliff Moyo

Talk about the game here

Latest table and stats here

Harriers	Goals	Subs	Time	Cards
Gregory
Austin
Davidson			71
R Williams
Moyo
Johnson
Weeks			28
Butterfield
Chambers
E Williams
Peniket
Subs:
Mountjoy
Prosser			28
Higginson
Scott			71
D Lowth
Chester FC	Goals	Subs	Time	Cards
Griffiths
K Roberts
Taylor
G Roberts
Livesey
Grand
Jackson
Stopforth
Waring			74
Hughes			77
Dudley			87
Subs:
Burton			87
Asante			74
Waters
Elliott
Mahon			77
Referee:
Mr Andrew Sykes
Lytham St Annes