Kidderminster Harriers 2(2) v (0)3 Stevenage Borough

FA Trophy Final - Wembley Stadium - 12 May 2007

Attendance: 53262

Individual Stats
Kidderminster
Shots
Fouls
Off.
v Stevenage
Shots
Fouls
Off.
 
On
Off
For
Ag
     
On
Off
For
Ag
 
Scott Bevan 4 0(1) 0 1 0 0[1] Alan Julian 5 0(3) 0 1 0 0
Jeff Kenna 5 0 0 1 0 0[2] Barry Fuller 5 0 0 0 3 0
Michael Blackwood 6 0 1 1 0 0 [11/3] John Nutter 6 0 0 1 1 0
Stuart Whitehead 6 0 0 2 0 0 [6/25] Ronnie Henry 5 0 0 1 0 0
Mark Creighton 5 0 0 1 0 0 [5/6] Santos Gaia 5 0 1 6 0 0
Gavin Hurren 5 0 1 1 2 0 [4/26] Mark Beard 5 0 0 1 1 0
Simon Russell 5 0 0 1 0 0 [15/21] Steve Guppy 5 0 0 0 0 0
Russ Penn 6 1(1) 2 3 3(1h) 0 [16/10] Adam Miller 5 0 0 0 1 0
Iyseden Christie 7 1(1) 1 0 1 0 [22/20] Steve Morison 7 2(1) 0 1 1 1
James Constable 8 3(1) 1 2 5 4 [26/4] Luke Oliver 5 0 0 1 5 1
Brian Smikle 5 1 0 0 1 0 [18/11] Mitchell Cole 6 1 2 1 1 0
Jake Sedgemore      [7/7] Jamie Slabber     
Andy White 5 0 1 0 2 0 [9/9] Jon Nurse     
Luke Reynolds 5 0 0 0 0 0 [14/22] Craig Dobson 6 1 1 0 0 0
Michael McGrath      [17/24] Daryl McMahon     
Steve Taylor      [13/16] Danny Potter     
Team Stats
  Fouls Conceded Offside Corners Shots On Shots off
Kidderminster 14 4 5 6 7
Stevenage 13 2 7 4 4
GOALS
Kidderminster Stevenage
32 James Constable  51 Mitchell Cole 
37 James Constable  74 Craig Dobson 
    88 Steve Morison 
Formations
Kidderminster
   Bevan  
Kenna Whitehead  Creighton Harkness
     
Russell Penn  Hurren Smikle
     
  Christie  Constable 
Stevenage
   Julian  
Fuller Henry  Gaia Nutter
     
Guppy Miller  Beard Cole
     
  Morison  Oliver 
SUBSTITUTIONS
Kidderminster Stevenage
76 White Christie White to striker. 64 Dobson Guppy Dobson to right midfield.
90 Reynolds Smikle Reynolds to striker, Russell to right central midfield, Penn to central midfield.  Now 4-3-3.    
        
BOOKINGS
Kidderminster Stevenage
Penn 26 Foul
Hurren 69 Foul
  Oliver 67 Foul
Fuller 90+ Foul
 
Referee: Chris Foy (Merseyside)
Match Report by St@tto

Harriers suffered Wembley heartbreak for the third time, and have still to win after four visits to the national stadium, but this time will have been the hardest to take.

Playing their part in making history as one of the first two club sides to play at the rebuilt national stadium, in front of an FA Trophy record attendance of 53262, they raced into a two-goal lead before the break but capitulated after the interval allowing Stevenage to come back to take the glory.

Jeff KennaWith Jonny Harkness suspended Mark Yates was forced into changing his first-choice eleven; Michael Blackwood dropped back to left-back and Brian Smikle came in on the left wing, there was also a surprise inclusion on the bench for Andy White who had spent the last few weeks of the season on loan at Stafford Rangers.  Stevenage were at full strength, so each side had a player who had played at both the old and new Wembley - Steve Guppy for Borough and Jeff Kenna for Harriers.

After early tentative exchanges, understandable as the sides tried to shake off the nerves, Harriers were first to settle and could have taken the lead through Russ Penn.  He picked the ball up deep and ran with it through the heart of the Borough defence but his 20-yard shot went just wide of Alan Julian's left-hand post.

Harriers took control of the first half and enjoyed the lion's share of possession; Blackwood also had a chance to break the deadlock but fired wide.  The opening goal eventually came just after thee half-hour mark, and it was the Harriers end of the stadium that was brought to its feet; Kenna's throw from the right found Iyseden Christie inside the penalty area, he made a great turn to lose his marker and got in a shot that beat Julian but was cleared off the line by Barry Fuller.  James Constable was on hand to fire in the rebound to record his eighth goal of the tournament and make him top-scorer in the competition ahead of Stevenage's Steve Morison.  The Harriers fans were still celebrating the opening goal when the lead was doubled; Christie again was the instigator, his flick set Constable free on goal and he slotted past Julian from 20 yards out, low to the keeper's left.

Stevenage looked beaten as the teams left the field for the break but their manager, Mark Stimson, had managed the winners of the Trophy for the last two seasons and knew how to deliver an inspiring team talk.  Borough came out for the second half fired up and within seconds had given Harriers a warning; Mitchell Cole was allowed to run through the inside-left channel from deep but his shot from the corner of the penalty area went wide of the far post.  Cole only needed another five minutes to fire his side back into the game; the ball was pumped forward into the penalty area where Luke Oliver out jumped Mark Creighton and Stuart Whitehead and flicked it into the path of Cole who had switched flanks and drilled his shot in off the far post.

Just before the hour mark Harriers were given another scare; Guppy's right-wing corner was flapped at by Scott Bevan and at the far post Santos Gaia headed wide.  Harriers weren't completely on the back foot yet, though, and Penn forced Julian into action with a low 30-yard drove that the keeper got down to to collect comfortably.

The turning point of the game came on 63 minutes when Stevenage brought on Craig Dobson in place of the ineffective Guppy on the right wing.  There was still time for Harriers to waste a chance to restore the two-goal lead; Simon Russell found Constable on the right whose cross to the far post picked out Christie who had time to do better than to head into the side netting.  Two minutes later and the scores were level; John Nutter launched a long ball from the back that beat the Harriers back line, Dobson raced on to it and poked it past Bevan from the edge of the area.

There were a lot of tired legs in the Harriers side as the game drew to a close but they still managed to create openings; White, on for the injured Christie, chested the ball down into the path of Constable whose attempted chip sailed over the bar.  With barely three minutes left on the clock Stevenage won the game; Barry Fuller's cross from the right found Morison, who got in front of Russell to hit a volley that Bevan only parried but the Stevenage man was quickest to react and lashed the ball into the net.  In stoppage time Harriers had chances to send the game into extra time; Hurren hit a low shot narrowly wide from 30 yards and then the same player fired the ball low into the penalty area from the left, White got a foot to it but sent it inches wide with Julian beaten.  That was the last action of the game as referee Chris Foy ended proceedings when Julian's goal kick put the ball back into play to spark wild celebrations at the Stevenage end of the stadium and tears amongst the Harriers players.