29-04-23. Match report Vs Kettering Town

Harriers cruise into the play-off places

Report: Phil Lench

The Harriers squeezed into the play-offs with this thumping of Kettering Town and that was enough in itself to relegate a fellow Midland club into step three. Before the game there were so many permutations of teams that could make it into those four available spaces but by the end of the game it was confirmed that it would be Brackley Town, Alfreton Town, Harriers and Gloucester City, in that order, and we’ll be at Alfreton on Tuesday evening for the play-off eliminator.

To think that just over a month ago we were in fourteenth place in the table, looking down at relegation rather than promotion, and now by some miracle we’re in with a chance of promotion makes this season the craziest ever for us. Ironically on that day, just over a month ago, we were being held to a scoreless draw at home to Alfreton.

The game today started off with Kettering also needing points with them just one place above the bottom four relegation places. They needed to hope that Blyth Spartans would lose at home to Hereford FC but that hope was soon quashed with them going into an early two goal lead that would eventually end up as five. They had to come at us in the hope that they could get a goal themselves and then hold onto that lead until the end.

The first half gave the impression to many watching that could be the outcome with us failing to score early doors for the first time in six games. In past weeks our scoring has been opened within the first five minutes and that looked a possibility today but somehow, even with unerring pressure, we couldn’t make the breakthrough needed.

A lightning start from us saw Joe Leesley come close to opening his account but that shot went just over the bar. It was Ashley Hemmings turn next as he broke away from the defender to make some space but his attempt was all wrong and aimed straight at the keeper instead of slotting the ball into the far corner.

The Poppies were being kept in the game due to their excellent keeper, Owen Mason, on loan from Mansfield Town. More chances came the way for us through with the closest from Krystian Pearce as he headed a Leesley cross down but somehow Mason got down to it too with everyone thinking that Pearce had scored. Instead Mason had tucked the ball into his chest and lay there as everyone else fell over him.

Kettering slowly began to come into the game as our early game energy began to sap and a shot from Keaton Ward waywardly went the wrong side of the post but the Harriers keeper, Christian Dibble, had it covered all the way.

Our final chance of the half came the way of Zak Brown but his side foot effort went wide and the half remained at 0-0 but with Kettering still in with a chance of turning up the pressure in the second half.

HT: 0 – 0

Within a few minutes of the second period getting underway we finally got our goal and it came from an unlikely source. Again we started the game strongly but this time we got our reward when Leesley sent a probing cross out to the far post where Joe Foulkes was waiting poised to side foot the ball beyond Mason. Joe last scored for us in September 2021 when he scored twice in a month at home to Gateshead and away at AFC Fylde.

With the upper hand now held we still had to keep it tight and not allow Kettering to break our hearts by scoring a goal in response. Rhys Sharpe almost did that when he only just failed to connect with a cross from Jimmy Knowles, another Mansfield loanee.

On the hour mark we really should have gone two to the good when Amari Morgan-Smith got to the ball first in a ruck of players. His first attempt crashed against the upright and his second, from the rebound, was blazed over from a short distance. Not to worry though because a couple of minutes later our lead had been extended.

It all looked to be routine as the ball was played around the Kettering area but somehow Leesley saw his chance as he side stepped a defender to unleash a shot that flew into the back of the net and us now in control and command.

We had a bit of a scare when Alex Penny went down clutching his leg and we all thought that this could be the end of his season with yet another groin injury. He was quickly removed from the game and Nathaniel Knight-Percival replaced him. Later, at the end of the game, Alex looked to be walking ok so thankfully it was just a precaution.

With all the fans looking at their phones to see what the current state of play was with the other play-off contenders we scored our third and possibly one of the goals of the season. In a similar style to the earlier Leesley goal Hemmings saw an opening from the edge of the area. He only needed to look up, find his spot, and pull the trigger then watch as his powerful drive simply flew into the back of Masons goal and it was game over and us firmly in the play-offs.

Substitutions took over the remainder of the game and by the time the final whistle went we had found out who we would be playing next. The ‘if onlys’ came out with if we had beaten Gloucester in the monsoon the other week or that we had actually managed to scrape three points from all those draws we seemed to be having we could have finished in fourth place and be playing at home on Tuesday instead but it’s Alfreton and we’ll have to go there and make sure that we win. 

FT: 3 – 0

Goals for Harriers: Foulkes 48, Leesley 64, Hemmings 77

The Harriers Online MotM is: Joe Leesley

Talk about the game here

Latest table and stats here

Harriers	Goals	Subs	Time	Cards
Dibble
Foulkes
Richards
Penny			76
Pearce
Morrison
Leesley			81
Brown
Morgan-Smith
Hemmings			81
Byrne
Subs:
Palmer
Knight-Percival			76
Lissimore			81
Bearne			81
Hall
Kettering Town	Goals	Subs	Time	Cards
Mason
Gascoigne
Cooper
White			65
Forsyth
Myles
Sault			61
Scott			76
Knowles
Ward
Sharpe
Subs:
Graham			61
Bennett			76
Hill
Lewthwaite
Sheriff			65
Referee:
Mr Richard Aspinall
Blackpool