St@tto's Kidderminster Harriers Diary
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** LATEST NEWS **
29 March Smooth As Silk For The Macc Lads A disappointing afternoon for Harriers saw them slip to a 2-0 defeat at struggling Macclesfield, putting a big dent in their play-off hopes. A drab first half saw no goals, Stuart Brock making a couple of good saves on his return to the team but at the other end Harriers lacked a real cutting edge. Early in the second half two goals in two minutes, down to sloppy defending, won the game for The Silkmen. Debutant John Miles hit the first after 51 minutes and two minutes later Danny Whitaker fired in the second. New Harriers signing Hugh McAuley came on for his debut midway through the second half, and youth teamer Nick Heath came on for his Football League debut in the closing minutes. 29 March Macclesfield Town Preview Ian Britton still has selection problems ahead of this afternoon's trip to former Conference rivals Macclesfield Town. New signing Hugh McAuley goes straight into a squad that only had 12 fit players for the midweek game at Lincoln, missing from that line-up will be Lee Ayres who suffered a gashed ankle. The Harriers management will delay a decision on the fitness of Scott Stamps, Dean Bennett and Bo Henriksen who all sat on the bench at Sincil Bank before naming the team today, but Stamps and Henriksen are expected to be cleared to feature at some point. Although short of match fitness Stamps may be called into action to take Ayres' place, new-boy McAuley may fill in for JJ Melligan who is still away on international duty with the Irish Under-21s. Macclesfield are also hampered by international games, Martin Nash is away with Canada. Also missing will be the suspended Michael Welch. Manager David Moss was busy on transfer deadline day bringing in Colin Little, John Miles and Ben Abbey so The Silkmen will still be familiarising themselves with each other. Macclesfield are one of five teams tied on 40 points on the edge of the relegation zone and will be looking for points to lift themselves further away from danger, last weekend's 1-0 win at Oxford was their first win and goal for three games although they have only lost one in the last five. Earlier in the season the teams met at Aggborough and Macclesfield became the first side to win here this season with a 2-0 victory, goals from Michael Welch and David Eaton. For all of the previous results between the clubs, click here. I expect Harriers to line-up as follows: Digby, Smith, Shilton, Hinton, Scott, Stamps, McAuley, Williams, Broughton, Bishop, Flynn. Referee is due to be Mike Thorpe from Suffolk, who has been in the middle of 12 Division Three games this season, including Harriers' games at Leyton Orient and at home to Bury, issuing 32 yellow cards and one red. 27 March One New Face On Deadline Day Harriers boss Ian Britton has completed the signing of one new player as the Football League transfer deadline passed this afternoon. Hugh McAuley, released by Cheltenham Town, had joined the club for the rest of the season. The signing of the attacking midfielder was Britton's only highpoint in a weak of setbacks, yesterday he just missed out on the signing of striker Andy Rammell who moved from Wycombe Wanderers to Bristol Rovers and today was defeated by the 5pm deadline in his attempts to bring Michael Branch to Aggborough. Yesterday it was also confirmed that Wes Morgan would be returning to NOttingham Forest after his loan spell ends with Saturday's trip to Macclesfield. 26 March Harriers Suffer Another Setback A fifteenth minute goal from Shayne Bradley was enough to give Lincoln City victory and give Harriers' promotion hopes a dent. Injuries and international call-ups left Harriers with just thirteen fit players to chose from, with Scott Stamps, Bo Henriksen and Dean Bennett making up the numbers on the bench. With such limited options Harriers were forced to defend from the start and Lincoln gave the backline a battering with a series of long balls and long throw-ins. Harriers got into the game in the second half but never really threatened an equaliser. In stoppage time Lee Ayres was stretchered off with a gashed ankle that may cause him to miss Saturday's trip to Macclesfield. 24 March Lincoln City Preview Harriers are set to be without on-loan defender Wes Morgan for tomorrow evening's trip to Sincil Bank to face promotion rivals Lincoln City, the Nottingham Forest player injured his back in Saturday's draw with Swansea. The return to action of Scott Stamps should provide cover for the youngster but his loss will mean that Ian Britton has the bare bones of a squad to choose from again. Fortunately there were no other injuries but missing will be JJ Melligan who is away on international duty with the Irish Under-21s. Lincoln will be without reserve goalkeeper Darren Horrigan, his place on the bench will be taken by 42 year-old Steve Cherry The Imps' goalkeeping coach, and striker Dene Cropper, both players have knee injuries. Peter Gain returns to the squad after a two game ban and Shayne Bradley is available again after recovering from a calf injury. The current Division 3 table shows Lincoln in tenth position, just below Harriers. Victory over Southend United at the start of the month lifted the side to fourth in the league but a draw against Wrexham and subsequent defeats at the hands of struggling Exeter City and Bury have seen them slide back down the table to their current position. The two sides met at Aggborough on the opening day of the season sharing the points in a 1-1 draw. Simon Weaver gave the visitors the lead in the first half but Bo Henriksen equalised in the second. Drewe Broughton had a great chance to win the game but saw his 85th minute penalty saved by Alan Marriott. For a complete rundown of previous encounters click here. I expect Harriers to line-up as follows: Digby, Smith, Shilton, Hinton, Scott, Stamps, Flynn, Williams, Broughton, Bishop, Parrish. Referee is due to be Lee Mason from Lancashire. This season he has taken control of nine Division Three games, including Harriers' trip to Scunthorpe, and issued 35 yellow cards and 1 red. 22 March Harriers Miss Out On Striker Harriers this week missed out on the signing of Wolves striker Michael Branch. The striker, who can't get a look-in at Molineux was set to come to Aggborough for the reminainder of the season but a club from Division One came in at the lastminute to tempt him away. Ian Britton said, "Michael was all set to come until the end of the season, but he has got the chance of joining a First Division club for this season and next so I can't blame him". The boss still has plans to strengthen the squad this week, "I think we need more competition. I'd like to bring in possibly one or two players. I've got a couple of targets in mind, but it's a question of getting them to say 'yes'". 22 March Honours Even Again A disappointing afternoon for Harriers saw them drop two more points at Aggborough when bottom club Swansea held them to a 2-2 draw. An improvement to the usual start at Aggborough saw Sam Shilton give Harriers a seventh minute lead when his cross went in off the far post. Lenny Johnrose pounced to equalise as Harriers' defence stood and watched as the ball ran loose after Fraser Digby had parried Roberto Martinez's shot. Adie Smith restored Harriers' lead just after the half hour but a free kick by Martinez levelled again before the interval. After the break the game deteriorated and there were few opportunities for either side to steal the points. 21 March Swansea City Preview Harriers face another game that boss Ian Britton has already labelled "must-win" when struggling Swansea City visit Aggborough. Another large crowd is antisipated with Swansea expected to bring over 1000 fans. With only ten games remaining, Harriers need to improve their home form to keep themselves in the thick of the play-off action. A game against the team at the bottom of the league would appear to be a home banker, but in recent weeks The Swans have been trying to make a fight of it and have won four and drawn three of their last ten games. However, Tuesday's win at Southend was their first for six games and lifted them off the foot of the table for 24 hours. Bo Henriksen's hamstring strain may keep him on the sidelines again, Britton will leave it until the last possible moment before making a decision. Dean Bennett and Kenny Coleman are both definitely out with hamstring and stomach injuries respectively. Should Henriksen fail to make the starting line-up, Harriers will probably go with the same team that drew with Shrewsbury on Tuesday. Swansea manager Brian Flynn is also likely to name an unchanged team from the one that beat Southend although Marc Richards returns to the squad after completing a three game suspension. There are no other injuries or suspensions to hamper Flynn in his selection. When the teams met earlier in season at The Vetch Field, Harriers enjoyed one of the highspots of their season with a 4-0 win that left the Swans fans cheering the Reds off the field. Harriers goals came from Sam Shilton, Drewe Broughton, Bo Henriksen and JJ Melligan. For a full rundown on previous meetings, click here. I expect Harriers to line-up as follows: Digby, Smith, Shilton, Morgan, Scott, Hinton, Melligan, Williams, Broughton, Bishop, Flynn. Referee for the match is due to be Uriah Rennie. Normally to be found in the Premier League, he has only refereed one Division Three game this season, issuing four yellow cards. 19 March Britton Philosophical After Draw "We could have won the game comfortably" - Ian Britton Harriers manager Ian Britton was in philosophical mood after yesterday's draw with Shrewsbury, on the one hand pleased with the way his players fought their way back into the game to earn a point but on the other disappointed with the slow start to the game that allowed The Shrews to take a two goal lead. Speaking after the game he said, "We did well to come back from two goals down. I thought we did enough in the end to win the game. We let ourselves down badly in the first 15 minutes after a great away win on Saturday. We let in a couple of bad goals and we were chasing the game after only a quarter of an hour. Even after that they had a couple of chances but I don't remember Fraser Digby being forced to make a save or having to come for a cross. The only time he touched the ball was when he twice picked the ball out of the back of the net". Despite the early setback, the manager was always confident that the game was not over, " I always felt if we scored one goal we had enough to get back in to the game. We had three or four chances in the first half which we should have converted. We could have even been in the lead at half-time. "In the second half we showed what we are good at. We began to play with pace, power and commitment in the second half. It was all one way traffic and in the end we could have won the game comfortably. The lads battled well and showed a lot of commitment". Shrews boss Kevin Ratcliffe was understandably disappointed, accusing his defenders of trying to play too much football at the wrong times, "It was similar to the Wrexham game where we were too pretty trying to get out instead of just putting it into Row Z or down the sides and squeezing up. It's frustrating when you're two goals ahead and you come in at half time and everything's going alright and then you go and concede a goal from your own setpiece. "I'm a bit disappointed as we've thrown a 2-0 lead away, we knew they were going to come back at us but I thought up until the goal there was very little they were throwing at us. I'm very disappointed to give away soft goals and then they've upped the tempo and put us under pressure. Overall it's another point away from home and that puts us on a good run of being unbeaten away from home, but disappointed especially with the good first half showing". 18 March Honours Even A stereotypical game-of-two-halves saw Harriers fight back from two goals down to draw against local rivals Shrewsbury at Aggborough. Harriers, a shadow of the team that had performed so well at Cambridge on Saturday, found themselves chasing the game after just fifteen minutes following goals from Peter Wilding after six minutes and Luke Rodgers. A string of chances were wasted as Harriers tried to force their way back into the game and when referee Olivier correctly changed his mind after awarding Harriers a penalty and insted awarding a free kidk to the visitors it looked as though it wasn't going to be Harriers' night. Man-of-the-Match Andy Bishop intervened and created Harriers' first after an hour for Drewe Broughton and six minutes later repeated the feat allowing Broughton to notch his eighth goal of the season. 17 March Shrewsbury Preview A bumper crowd is expected tomorrow evening for the local derby with Shrewsbury Town with Harriers looking to build on Saturday's win at Cambridge. Bo Henriksen is a major doubt after sitting out the weekend game with a hamstring injury which leaves Harriers with just fifteen fit players. Dean Bennett and Kenny Coleman are still some way off a return to the side and Scott Stamps is lacking match fitness but he may have to sit on the bench again if the Bomber doesn't make it. Ian Foster could keep his place unless Britton decides to be more attacking from the start and picks Drewe Broughton in his place. Kevin Ratcliffe could name an unchanged side from the one that lost against Oxford at the weekend, The Shrews picked up no new injuries and Leon Drysdale could be added to the squad after recovering from a bruised foot. Andy Thompson, however, is likely to remain on the sidelines. He has recovered from a calf injury but now has a virus. The Shrews are not yet safe from being dragged into the relegation fight, lying in 18th place just five points from the foot of the table. They have not managed a win in their last three games, losing at home to Oxford on Saturday after a 3-3 draw at Wrexham in midweek and a 0-0 draw at Bristol Rovers. Top scorer Luke Rodgers has 12 goals in the league, he found himself in the headlines again on Saturday after being sent-off for two bookable offences. Earlier in the season Harriers won a thriller at Gay Meadow 3-2, Bo Henriksen gave Harriers an early lead that was cancelled out by two Ryan Lowe strikes but Harriers came back with a goal from Danny Williams and an own goal from David Artell to win the game. For a rundown on previous encounters, click here, and for games against Shrewsbury Reserves, click here.. I expect Harriers to line up as follows: Digby, Smith, Shilton, Morgan, Scott, Hinton, Melligan, Williams, Broughton, Bishop, Flynn. The referee for the game is due to be Ray Olivier from Sutton Coldfield, in his eight Division Three games this season he has issued 31 yellow cards and four red. 17 March Brit Delighted With Away-Day Glory "One of our best performances of the season" - Ian Britton Harriers boss Ian Britton was thrilled that his team had come away from Abbey Stadium with all three points on Saturday after his tactical masterplan worked like a dream. Speaking after the game he said, "I'm delighted, we played well and that's one of our best performances as a unit all season. There's no room for error now. It's all in our hands, we've got games in hand and results have gone for us. "The lads stuck to the game plan very well. To be honest we could have had one or two more. It keeps us right in the promotion race". John Taylor, the Cambridge manager, was very disappointed with his team and their performance, "It was a huge letdown after the spirit we showed at Darlington in midweek. We had six or seven players below their best, and although there is still a mathematical chanve of taying in the promotion race there will be no real chance at all". 15 March Cambridge Left Feeling Blue A thoroughly professional performance by Harriers saw them defeat Cambridge United 2-0 at Abbey Stadium, recording their seventh away win of the season and virtually ending United's hopes of a return to Division Two. After containing the home team in a goalless first half Harriers took the lead after 66 minutes with JJ Melligan's eleventh goal of the season and that was followed up six minutes later by Wes Morgan's first goal for the club. 14 March Abdou Looking For A Job Again Former Harriers defender Abdou Sall is on the lookout for another club after Conference side Nuneaton Borough dismissed him for breaches of club discipline. A statment on the club website read, "NUNEATON Boro have sacked defender Abdou Sall for repeatedly breaching the club's code of discipline. The 22 year-old ex-Toulouse defender turned up late for training three times after just two weeks with the club and after a below par performance against Northwich Victoria was shown the door at Manor Park. "Sall was on a non-contract agreement until the end of the season and is now without a club just a season after being tipped for the top. The player was signed from France by ex-Kidderminster Harriers manager Jan Molby and became a fans' favourite at Aggborough before falling out of favour under new boss Ian Brittan (sic). Trials at Rushden & Diamonds and Oxford United proved unsuccessful before he opted for a move to Manor Park." Manager Steve Burr said: "We had big plans for Abdou but there is no way I can tolerate that sort of ill discipline. Breaching the club's code of discipline in this way can't be tolerated. With us being part-time it's hard enough working with the players without one of them being late. We need to use our time carefully in training and not be waiting around". 14 March Cambridge United Preview Harriers go into tomorrow's clash with Cambridge United at Abbey Stadium with just sixteen fit players to choose from. Kenny Coleman, Dean Bennett and Scott Stamps are all missing with stomaach, hamstring and groin injuries respectively. Ian Britton, who earlier this week revealed that he had been approached by Jan Molby with the offer of a job at Hull in the summer, is likely to pick the same team that beat Southend ten days ago with Lee Ayres returning to the subs' bench in place of Coleman. Coleman was yesterday told that his contract at the Wolves will not be renewed at the end of the season, Britton will likely be keeping an eye on the situation as the campaign draws to a close. Cambridge boss John Taylor is also likely to name an unchanged team, his side beat Darlington 2-1 on Tuesday evening. One player definitely out is Adam Tann who completes a three match suspension while Andy Duncan's groin and David Bridges' groin will keep them out of the side. Tuesday's win at Darlington was their first for six games in the league following on from two draws and three defeats that heve kept them in the bottom half of the table. They now lie in 12th place, just one below Harriers, but are four points back and a Harriers win would make it very difficult for United to get themselves into the play-off picture as they chase an instant return to the Second Division. Earlier in the season two goals from JJ Melligan gave Harriers a 2-1 win at Aggborough. Previous meetings between the clubs are sparse, for a full rundopwn, click here. I expect Harriers to line up as follows: Digby, Smith, Shilton, Morgan, Scott, Hinton, Melligan, Williams, Broughton, Henriksen, Flynn. Referee for the game is due to be Roy Pearson from County Durham. So far this season he has taken control of six Division Three games issuing 25 yellow cards and two red. 8 March Rochdale Game Off Heavy rain in the North-West has caused this afternoon's game at Rochdale to be called off with the Spotland pitch waterlogged. No date has yet been arranged for the game to be staged on, but with the respective fixture lists of the two clubs as they are it is unlikely that it will be before April 1. 7 March Rochdale Preview Harriers look to build on their midweek victory over Southend with a trip to 16th placed Rochdale, a ground that they have yet to score at. Ian Britton has no new injury worries, Danny Williams was doubtful with a back injury picked up in the Southend game but he has been given the all clear. Dean Bennett is still out with his hamstring injury and Scott Stamps is still some way off inclusion. Paul Simpson, the Rochdale manager, welcomes back Simon Grand from suspension but may be without Matt Doughty who has a hamstring problem which caused him to be substituted in their midweek game with Cambridge. Michael Oliver also has a hamstring injury and is also doubtful. Rochdale find themselves in a lowly position in the league partly due to the FA Cup run which took them to the Fifth Round where they lost out to Wolverhampton Wanderers. In the league there is only Shrewsbury who have played less games, winning their games in hand could get them on to the tails of the play-off chasing pack. Earlier in the season the teams shared the points in a goalless draw at Aggborough, the corresponding fixture last season ended in a 2-0 win for Rochdale. For a full rundown of results from previous encounters, click here. I expect Harriers to line up as follows: Digby, Bennett, Shilton, Morgan, Scott, Hinton, Melligan, Williams, Broughton, Henriksen, Flynn. 4 March Shrimps Battered Harriers climbed back up the table to eighth place after grinding out a one-goal victory over Southend at Aggborough. The Reds were much improved over Saturday's performance but were still not at their best. The first half ended goalless but Harriers grabbed the all important goal fifteen minutes from the end when JJ Melligan latched on to Drewe Broughton's pass to loft the ball over Darryl Flahavan in the Southend goal for his tenth goal of the season. 3 March Southend United Preview Harriers face another must-win game tomorrow evening when Southend United visit Aggborough knowing that victory will launch them back towards the play-offs but defeat could see them anchored in eleventh place and having played more games than the teams above. There are no fresh injuries for Ian Britton to contend with, Dion Scott had two stitches put in wound above his nose picked up in Saturday's defeat at the hands of Scunthorpe United but should be OK to play. Definitely out are Scott Stamps and Dean Bennett with groin and hamstring injuries respectively. Southend boss Rob Newman welcomes back Damon Searle and Tes Bramble to his squad after serving suspensions but he could be without up to five players through injury. Jay Smith has a groin strain but has been playing anyway, Phil Whelan has a knee problem, Stephen Broad a hernia and Graeme Jones a calf injury. Dave McSweeney, however, has an ankle injury that he sustained after falling off his garden wall. On Saturday The Shrimpers slumped to defeat at Macclesfield Town, their third away defeat in a row. Their home form has been better and in their last five games at Roots Hall they have beaten Rochdale, Oxford, Hull and Rushden and drawn with Bristol Rovers. Newman, like Harriers boss Britton, has begun reshaping his squad and has told Barrington Belgrave, Phil Whelan and Jones that their contracts will not be renewed in the summer. Jones only joined the club at the start of this season and was one of a very small handful of players who moved for a transfer fee, United paying £10000 for him. Leon Cort, however, has been offered a new contract. Earlier in the season Harriers triumphed 2-0 at Roots Hall with first goals for the club for both Sean Flynn and JJ Melligan, this was also Harriers' first away win of the season. For a full rundown on previous meetings between the clubs, click here. I expect Harriers to line-up as follows: Digby, Smith, Shilton, Morgan, Scott, Hinton, Melligan, Williams, Bishop, Henriksen, Flynn. 2 March Brit Disappointed With Harriers' Lack Of Strength "We don't make it hard enough for our opponents" - Ian Britton After yesterday's defeat wich saw Harriers slip back to eleventh in the Third Division while their conquerors Scunthorpe climbed up to fifth Ian Britton was in deflated mood when he faced the press, "I'm very disappointed. I've said on numerous occasions before we have to pick up points at home but instead we just make it difficult for ourselves. I had them in on Sunday and I said to them that the worst thing they can do at the end of the season is look back and say, 'I wish we'd done this and I wish we'd done that'. That will be the absolute worst they can do but if they're not careful that's what's going to be happening. We're down to the last thirteen games now and there's less room for error but we're still in with a chance. "All season everything we have got we have had to work hard for, but colletively we don't make it hard enough for our opponents. It's not just today, it's been the same all season. We don't make other teams work hard enough for their goals and in the end Scunthorpe fully deserved their win". Brian Laws, understandably delighted with the win, said, "We were atricious at the start of the first half. I came here with a game plan, but changed things and after that we looked a different side". 1 March Iron Too Strong For Harriers Harriers play-off hopes were dealt another blow today when they were beaten 3-1 at home by promotion rivals Scunthorpe United. Victory would have seen Harriers right back in the thick of the play-off positions but as it is they have slipped back to 11th place and victory against Southend United at Aggborough on Tuesday evening now becomes even more essential. After an even opening the visitors took the lead with a well taken goal by Peter Beagrie, within seconds they were further ahead after sloppy defending saw Martin Carruthers given an easy tap in. Early in the second period Bo Henriksen scored his 18th of the season to get Harriers back into the game and they looked at that point as if they would get something out of the game. Against the run of play, however, Scunthorpe regained their two-goal advantage with a Beagrie penalty after Danny Williams had fouled Andy Parton and Harriers were unable to find a way back. |
