31-10-22. Match preview Vs Scarborough Athletic

Preview: Phil Lench

The Harriers are facing a tough challenge when they take on Scarborough Athletic tomorrow evening. It’s been seventeen years since we last went there and during that time they have folded, reformed and also vacated their old Seamer Rd ground for a new one a few hundred yards away in Ashburn Road. In that time they’ve risen from the Northern Counties East League in 2017 to their present fourth place in the National North.

They got back to this level (actually one below due to us having last met in the old Nationwide Premier) last season when they finished third in the Northern Premier League Premier Division and then beat Warrington Town in the play off final to finally gain promotion.

Their season so far has been a positive one so far. After losing at Brackley Town on the opening day they have since been near to the top, or thereabouts, of the league table for the majority of the season. As with Banbury Utd, in the preview for that game, they also sit one place above us on goal difference. In Banburys case it was three goals but with Scarborough it’s just the one goal.

In one of our last games against the Seadogs – in the FA Trophy 2005 – the former Harrier Simon Heslop scored one of our goals in a 4-0 victory. He now plays for Scarborough after all this time and is now a spritely thirty five years old. He’s just coming back from injury and may play a part in the game. We have no other names from the past currently with them but in the past Darryn Stamp, Simon Weaver, Lee Fowler and Craig Nelthorpe have also spent time with them.

Again we should be at full strength apart from the usual crew of Alex Penny, Tom Owen-Evans, Jack Tolley, Joe Foulkes and Nathaniel Knight-Percival although it’s hoped that at least one will be fit enough to make the bench. Scarborough have just the one injury with Jake Charles out long term following a dislocated shoulder received against Boston Utd in August. He has now begun his rehabilitation.

In this game, that was originally to have been played on the weekend of the Queens passing, we’ll be looking for another positive result against a club above us after beating Chorley FC a week ago and then Banbury Utd last Saturday. With the line-up that we’ve been using in those two games then we know that this is totally possible.

Teams:

Harriers from:

Palmer, Emery, Penny, Richards, Starbuck, Knight-Percival, Foulkes, Pearce, Margetson, Lowe, Leak, Lissimore, Byrne, Brown, Owen-Evans, Burgess, Rogers, Martin, Freemantle, Tolley, Bearne, Hemmings, Morgan-Smith, Ceesay.

Scarborough Athletic from:

Cracknell, Bancroft, Burton, Gooda, Weledji, Thornton, Jackson, Glynn, Heslop, Watson, Bramall, Plant, Cadman, Maloney, Pugh, Colville, Tear, Hutton, Coulson, Jarvis, McGuckin.

Referee: Mr James Westgate. Durham

Talk about the game here

Links to Scarborough Athletic websites here

Find Pubs around Kidderminster here