06-05-23. Match preview Vs Kings Lynn Town. Play off semi-final

Preview: Phil Lench

Tomorrows play off semi final at Kings Lynn Town is going to be the Harriers most important game of the season. It may still not be the most important though because we might have the final to look forward to on Sunday May 14th.

Last Tuesday we stood up to the bully boy tactics of Alfreton Town in the eliminating stage and, again, it was an early goal from Amari Morgan-Smith that gave us a lead that we kept until the ninety fifth minute. The scenes at the end from the disputed 921 Harriers fans (definitely more than that number there) will live long in the memory bank and hopefully we’ll be taking another healthy following to The Walks. Sadly I cannot go due to an un-cancellable previous appointment but I’ll be listening in on the car radio and on my phone.

During Tuesday evenings game Alex Penny picked up a slight knock but he should be ok as will Joe Leesley who is still nursing a groin injury. Lynn will definitely be without Ben Stephens who was sent off in their final game of the season against Curzon Ashton. His straight red also means that he’ll miss out if the Linnets did the un-thinkable and got to the final instead of us.  

In a way we have to thank Kings Lynn for our run of superb current form. We played them back in March and drew 1-1 and so setting us off on this run of three draws followed by seven victories. In that time we’ve scored sixteen times and conceded just three in those ten games. Tomorrows opponents are also on a bit of a good run with seven wins in a row too but previous to that run they played at home to champions AFC Fylde and lost 1-0.

A month ago their previous manager, Tommy Widdrington, walked out on the club to become the manager at Aldershot Town. Not much of an improvement then? Lynn appointed first team coach Mark Hughes as interim manager a few days later and he has kept the winning run going. If they eventually gain promotion then it’ll be no surprise to see him given the job on a permanent basis.

The game tomorrow kicks off at a very early 12:30pm with very little thought for the travelling Red Army who’ll have to make an early start on such an important Coronation weekend. Those going by train will find it’s a Sunday service anyway with a reduced amount of choice.

If the game is drawn at ninety minutes we’ll have an extra thirty minutes then penalties if the game is still not decided. Let’s hope that it doesn’t get to that stage but instead we hold on to yet another early goal and march gloriously on to our destiny.

Teams:

Harriers from:

Palmer, Dibble, Penny, Richards, Morrison, Knight-Percival, Foulkes, Leak, McNally, Pearce, Byrne, Leesley, Brown, Lissimore, Owen-Evans, Hall, Martin, Tolley, Bearne, Hemmings, Morgan-Smith.

Kings Lynn Town from:

P Jones, Dixon-Hodge, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Denton, Callan-McFadden, Morrell, Crowther, Coulson, Fleming, A Jones, Scott, Knowles, Clunan, Widdrington, Barrett, Keller, Hargreaves, Hughes, Siggers, Omotayo, Walker, Cosgrave, Hudson, Ponticelli.

Referee: Mr Jamie O’Connor. Chesterfield

Talk about the game here

Links to Kings Lynn Town websites here

Find Pubs around Kidderminster here