Match preview Vs Curzon Ashton Venue: Aggborough Date: 26-03-22 Kick off: 15:00hrs

25-03-22 - Preview - Kidderminster Harriers Vs Curzon Ashton

Preview: Phil Lench

It was yet another poor result for the Harriers against Chorley FC on Tuesday evening when we stupidly went from a winning position, with twenty minutes to go, to gift the visitors a goal through a series of personal errors from at least five players when the ball was given away in the Chorley half and then four defenders decided not to intervene as Willem Tomlinson cruised forwards unhindered to score the equaliser.

Geraldo Bajrami
Geraldo Bajrami
Hopefully he’ll be fit for the Curzon game

With AFC Fylde winning away at Spennymoor Town that result widened the gap between our old berth of third in the table to our new berth of fourth. We’re now five points behind a team that we had a six point advantage over a month ago and that shows what a poor run of form we’re on. It’s now six games without a win for us and we’re firmly stuck to the bottom of the current form table four places below tomorrows visitors to Aggborough, Curzon Ashton.

That’s two teams in poor form going head to head then.

It was hoped that some new players would have arrived before the transfer deadline yesterday but that didn’t happen and now we have to try to get back to that third place target with a squad riddled with defensive injuries and still no creative midfielder that would have been essential for the remaining ten games of the season. The fit players that we do have now need to up their game and try even harder to win some points.

That should also mean that Nyal Bell is given another chance to prove his worth after he was told he could leave during the week but no one came in for him. We can’t have a striker kicking a tin can around when we have no spare options up front apart from Amari Morgan-Smith and Ethan Freemantle.

On Tuesday Geraldo Bajrami became the latest to get injured and he’ll now join Cliff Moyo, Nathan Cameron and Joe Foulkes out of action and that doesn’t include the season ending injury to Matt Preston. Hopefully at least one of Foulkes or Cameron will be fit for the Curzon game otherwise it’ll be back to the ad hoc defence that we saw from the sixteenth minute on against Chorley.

Curzon sit in mid table at the moment with an outside chance of getting into the play-offs. Like us they’re going through a bad patch at the minute having lost at home to Farsley Celtic last Saturday and then at Gateshead on Tuesday evening. Their cause has been made much weaker yesterday when their defender, the former Harriers loanee Harry Flowers, left them to join the AFC Telford ‘revolution’ for an un-disclosed fee. Considering how poor he was for us they’ve probably got £3.50 for him.

On paper this is a game that we should be winning but we thought that would happen against Chorley and it didn’t. We simply cannot keep on dropping points in this run in to the end of the season if we want to get promoted. We just have to win this and win it well.

STOP PRESS: We sign Matt Stenson on loan from FC Halifax Town

Photo © KHFC


Teams:

Harriers from:

Simpson, Emery, C Richards, Cameron, Foulkes, Moyo, Nolan, Penny, Bajrami, Lowe, Austin, Redmond, Lissimore, Montrose, Carrington, Martin, Freemantle, Bastable, Tolley, Hemmings, Bell, Morgan-Smith, White, Sterling-James, Stenson.

Curzon Ashton from:

Gladwin, Renshaw, Challoner,  Poscha, J Richards, Waters, Wilson, Barton, Teale, Curran, Dunn, Lussey, Mahon, Dimaio, Merrill, Rain, Thomas, Cooke, Mariette, Whitham, Dyche, Hobson, Knowles, Peers.

Referee: Mr Sam Mulhall. Cheshire


Shanes Opposition Stats Pack:

Away from in the league: (P16, W5, D5, L6) Chester 0-3, Boston 2-1, Leamington 0-3, Gloucester 1-2, Farsley 2-0, Spennymoor 2-2, Brackley 0-0, Hereford 2-2, Chorley 4-3, Kettering 3-0, Fylde 0-1, Southport 0-0, Telford 2-1, BPA 2-3, York 0-0, Gateshead 4-0

Goals (all competitions): 10 – Curran, 8 – Thomas, 6 – McKay, 5 – Peers, 3 – Knowles, 3 – Hobson, 2 – Whitham, 2 – Waters, 2 – Poscha, 2 – Mahon, 2 – Flowers, 2 – Dunn, 2 – Cooke, 1 – Lussey, 1 – Dimaio, 1 – Own Goal.

The streaks (league only):

Games since last win: 3

Games since last away win: 2

Games since last draw: 2

Games since last away draw: 1

Games since last defeat: 0

Games since last away defeat: 0

Games since last clean sheet: 2

Games since last away clean sheet: 1

The Squad (appearances are starts + sub, includes both league and cups):

Goalkeepers: Chris Renshaw (P36, conceded 49 including 1 out of 2 penalties), Charlie Gladwin (P0).

Defence: Matt Challoner (P27), Harry Flowers (P19, 3 goals), Marcus Poscha (P27, 2 goals), Matthew Rain (P9) Jordan Richards (P12), Connor Teale (P7).

Midfield: Adam Barton (P20), Jamie Cooke (P11, 2 goals), Connor Dimaio (P5, 1 goal), Jordan Lussey (P27, 1 goal), Craig Mahon (P25, 2 goals), Luke Mariette (P2), Luke Merrill (P4), Joe Nolan (P9), Adam Thomas (P32, 8 goals), Dale Whitham (P21, 2 goals), Scott Wilson (P23).

Attack: Alex Curran (P36, 10 goals including 1 penalty), Jack Dyche (P6, left club), Jack Dunn (P20, 2 goals), Craig Hobson (P29, 3 goals), Dominic Knowles (P11, 3 goals), Tom Peers (P13, 5 goals).

Harry Flowers was sent off post match in midweek but will not be eligible for Saturday’s game because he’s now signed for Telford.

A name known to many Harriers fans is that of Dominic  Knowles but his season has been injury plagued, only managing 11 games and broke down on his return to the side a couple of games ago, with no public news easily obtainable as to his availability.

In terms of recent moves, Altrincham’s Tom Peers joined for an undisclosed fee in February after a loan move, whilst Connor Teale (Fleetwood), Jamie Cooke (Halifax), Connor Dimaio (Boston), Luke Mariette (Blackpool) and Joe Nolan (Blackburn, second spell) are all currently in on loan.


Talk about the game here

Links to Curzon Ashton websites here

Find Pubs around Kidderminster here


Previous games against Curzon Ashton
Played: 11Won: 6Drew: 4Lost: 1
Results marked (v) are for information only following the season being made null & void in 2021 due to the pandemic
DateH/AComp:ScoreGoalsAtt: (away)
14-12-2021ANational North1 – 1Cameron220 (100)
28-11-2020HNational North1 – 0 (v)Austin0000
23-11-2019AFA Trophy 3rd qual rd3 – 0 226 (50)
17-08-2019ANational North0 – 1Chambers307 (80)
22-12-2018HNational North1 – 1Bradley1407 (30)
25-08-2018ANational North1 – 1Chambers353 (125)
05-02-2018ANational North1 – 2Croasdale, Waring200 (50)
05-09-2017HNational North2 – 2Croasdale, Ironside1281 (10)
11-02-2017HNational North3 – 2McQuilkin 2, Brown1560 (14)
06-08-2016ANational North1 – 6N’Gwatala, Dieseruvwe, Carter, Gnahoua 2, Truslove494 (275)
29-11-2008HFA Cup 2nd rd2 – 0Moore, Creighton2070 (277)