Kidderminster Harriers Supporters Team

The KHIST fans team took advantage of a free weekend to travel up to Bury for a couple of games against the Forever Bury supporters teams. The Harriers 'A' side took on Bury 'A' in the last 16 of the IFA British Cup whilst severn members of the Harriers fans team joined up with eight players from Oldham Ahtletic to take on Bury 'B'.

With Manager Connolly missing and a few regulars absent Dave Pountney named a strong side
'A' side on what looked a very heavy pitch in the last 16 of the IFA British Cup. Kiddy started better and for the opening 15/20 minutes, controlled the tempo of the game and had the better of the chances with Sean Merryweather and Mitchell Pearce controlling the midfield.

A low ball in from the right was swept goalwards which evaded the home keeper but not the defender on the line, and the ball was temporarily cleared. A second cross into the box was poked goalwards by Pete Lewis with his left foot, this time there was no defender in the way and the Harriers went 1-0 up.

The second goal was always going to be crucial as Bury began to take control of the game.
A bouncing ball in the Kidderminster penalty area fell nicely to one of the Bury forwards, who waited a fraction too long for it to drop, which allowed a Mark Young to get the ball away. Shortly afterwards, Bury hit Kidderminster on the counter attack, a clearance from a corner sent the other Bury forward scampering away, with 2 defenders and the 'keeper still to beat. From a tight angle on the edge of the penalty area, a well struck shot across the keeper to the far corner was well saved.

The start of the second half saw each team battling for that all important second goal. It was the Harriers that found it. A ball forward found it's way to Dave Greaves who clean through rounded the 'keeper and knocked the ball into the net for 2-0 Harriers. A third goal nearly came when Ryan Cooper's shot seemed to be handled on the line but the referee was unsighted.

With nothing to lose, Bury made a few substitutions and pushed forward in search of a much needed goal that would see them back in the game. A corner was whipped in from the left, and the big centre half met it superbly. A powerful header on goal that looked to be in from the moment it met his head was saved superbly by Dave Ackerley, and Bury were left still searching for the all important goal. A shot from 25 yards out by the Shakers' midfielder looked to have caught the visitors keeper off-guard and was heading for the top corner, but the ball sailed agonisingly wide of the target.

With time running out and centre halves Ian Danby and Andy Morgan remaining dominant the home side ran out of steam and Harriers recorded a rare clean sheet and fantastic win in the cup. Harriers will now host Motherwell in the quarter finals in IFA British Cup.

Man of the Match Sean Merryweather

Scorers - Pete Lewis and Dave Greaves

Team and Ratings

Dave Ackerley (8), Ian Danby (8), Mark Young (8), John Wenham (7), Tom Hudson (7), Marc Vaughan (7), Andy Morgan (8), Nathan Fox (6), Sean Merryweather (8), Mitch Pearce (8), Ryan Cooper (7), Andy Powell (7), Dave Greaves (7) and Pete Lewis (7)

Bury 'B' 4 Harriers/Oldham XI 0

The ‘B’ side, lead by Brett Caulfield, lined up with seven Harriers and eight players from Oldham Athletic supporters team against an experianced Bury 'B' side. With communication difficulties, Harriers played well at times but fell to a 4-0 defeat.

Chances were few and far between for the travelling side as an organised Bury team took control in the first half. Jon Taylor came closest with a half volley going just over the bar from distance. Before half time the home side scored when the left winger squared and a shot rebounded off the post and hit our goalkeeper’s back, bouncing back into the goal.

This forced the management to reorganise the defence to incorporate Harriers Rob Hart at right back and Morgan Nock at centre half. Bury carried that lead until the first half was ended when the aforementioned Hart put in a crunching challenge on Bury’s forward, who was unable to play further part in the game.

The second half saw more defensive reorganisation as Andrew Coffield switched from left midfield to left back and Rob Hart was replaced by one of our recruits from Oldham. A goal kick down the right found its way between two of our Oldham defenders and as the ball came across, the goalkeeper from Oldham, who had previously pulled off a string of Ackers-esque wonder saves, was unable to hold onto the ball as miscommunication left the ball running free for the Bury player to bury it.

Harriers defended resolutely with Mike Peplow on at left-back and Hart slotting back into his previous right back position alongside Nock and an Oldham player. However Bury did manage a third goal from a free-kick when the ball found its way over the perfectly aligned wall into the net.
Harriers did come close late on, as Brett Caulfield rolled it across to Jon Taylor who could only put his shot over.Before the end it was 4-0. The offside flag was up but the now centre-half Peplow appeared to shepherd the ball into his own net!

It was a poor result for Harriers but there were positives to be taken, as the team played well in spells and limited a strong opposition to just four goals.

Team and Ratings

Brett Caufield (6), Morgan Nock (7), Andrew Coffield (7), Craig Martin (6), Jon Taylor (7),
Mike Peplow (7) and Rob Hart (6)

Match report courtesy of Morgan Nock