Harriers took a massive stride towards the FA Trophy Final, and hopefully a trip to the new Wembley Stadium, with a professional performance against Northwich that gave them a two-goal lead to take into the second leg.

At full strength, and backed by the largest Aggborough crowd of the season, Harriers started the game the brighter and created a string of chances throughout the first half.  For all of their possession in the first half, it was not until the 23rd minute that Harriers really threatened.  Michael Blackwood, Jonny Harkness and James Constable all combined to set up Gavin Hurren who fired just wide from 25 yards out.

Shortly afterwards a long clearance out of defence by Jeff Kenna set Constable free on the right but his shot was deflected wide for a corner.  Hurren was involved in most of Harriers' good work in the midfield and should have given them the lead just after the half hour mark; after the ball was played in from the left Harkness' shot was blocked and the ball ran to Hurren whose long range shot scraped the top of the net.

The breakthrough came seven minutes before the interval; Simon Russell played the ball in from the right which fell to Mark Creighton, his initial shot was mis-hit and his follow-up was  blocked but the loose ball ran to Hurren who swept it past Ben Connett in the Vics' goal to deservedly open the scoring.  Having created a number of chances that they failed to take, leaving themselves open to being hit by a sucker punch, Harriers then settled the nerves further in stoppage time.  Blackwood's cross from the left found Russell whose misdirected shot found Constable who swept it into the bottom corner for his twelfth goal of the season.

Despite Harriers managing 16 shots at goal compared to Northwich's two in the first half, the game had not been the most exciting.  The second half was similar, only with less goal-scoring chances.  Northwich tightened up their defence and made themselves much harder to break down while not really threatening Scott Bevan in the Harriers goal.  The Harriers stopper was not called upon to make a save at in the second half, in fact; although at the other end Connett only had one save to make, from a weak Iyseden Christie shot that was hit straight at him.

Constable could have made the result safer 18 minutes from the end when a half-cleared Blackwood cross fell to him he could only fire wide.  In the closing minutes Kenna beat the wall with a 25-yard free-kick but also, narrowly, missed the target.  Harriers will be happy, however, with the two-goal advantage going into the second leg in a week's time that maintains their impressive record in FA Trophy semi-finals - four first-leg games have been played at Aggborough, no goals have been conceded, and the previous three all ended with aggregate or replay wins for Harriers.