Kidderminster Harriers Supporters Team

With the 09/10 season drawing to a close, The Harriers Fans team had the privilege of a game against club friends Preston North End, at there 23,000 Thousand capacity Deepdale home!

The Team left Kidderminster suited and booted and arrived at the ground where Premiership giants Liverpool and Chelsea have played in the last eighteen months. The away dressing room which housed international names like Torres, Gerrard, Lampard, Drogba, Ballack, Terry, now contained the likes of Ackers, Ebbers, Sewell, Pountney, Youngy, Millington!

Following the previous evenings result against Worcester City, Manager Mark Connolly chose once again to employ the 4-5-1 formation, giving the team and extra body in the middle on a larger pitch as well as more much needed width.

Despite instructions to keep play tight and to hold a solid formation for the first fifteen minutes, The KHIST side made a sloppy start and conceded with ten minutes on the clock. A long ball to the North End target man was swept into the path of his strike partner who ghosted through a flat footed Kidderminster defence to calmly sweep the ball past a helpless Dave Ackers.

Harriers almost drew level within minutes of the opening goal. A long ball was not properly dealt with by the Preston defence and with the ball sitting up, Dave Pountney struck a delightful volley from fully twenty five yards out and was unlucky to see it cannon off the bar and away to safety with the keeper beaten all ends up.

This effort seemed to spark the men from Worcestershire into life, and it was not long after when they drew level. Cutting in from the left hand wing and skipping through two or three challenges, Ben Grazier laid off the ball into the path of Pete Lewis whose first time shot skipped up in front of the Preston stopper who could only spill it into the path of Lewis Pountney who stroked home the loose ball into the corner of the net.

Visibly lifted at being back in the game it was Harriers who took control of proceedings, and a second goal was not long in coming. Picking up a pass from Sewell, Pete Lewis arced a ball over the Preston left full back for Pountney to race onto, who collected the ball in his stride before slotting home under the keeper for his second goal of the game. Probably harsh on the balance of play but the KHIST team went into the half time break with a 2-1 lead.

The second half began in similar fashion to the first, Preston clearly not wanting to be outshone on there home turf, started brightly forcing new centre half pairing Williams and Lacey to be on there guard to thwart any danger. With ten minutes gone in the second period, Harriers had a chance to increase there lead to three one. Following a set piece, Chris Lacey’s effort on goal found its way through to Lewis Pountney who, on a hatrick, managed to blaze the ball over the bar and into the stand from eight yards out.

As the minutes began to tick away the Home team forced more bodies forward in a desperate bid to find an equalising goal. Brett Caulfield was in inspired form making a string of fine saves, whilst more than ably supported by the defence in front of him.

With a couple of minutes left on the clock, and after having hit the woodwork as well as numerous goal mouth scrambles Preston got there equaliser. After the first ball was dealt with from a corner, the second landed at the feet of the North End player six yards from goal who gleefully smashed home the loose ball to make it two a piece. The Kidderminster defence felt hard done by after having defended so stoutly for twenty to twenty five minutes but in all honesty it was probably a fair reflection on the game, as the referee called time not long after making for the second draw between the two sides in a space of a week.

Harriers from – Dave Ackers, Richard Millington, Chris Lacey, Ollie Sewell, Tom Hudson, Ben Grazier, Nathan Fox, Mark Young, Lewis Pountney, Pete Lewis, Dave Pountney, Brett Caulfield, Ash Jarvis, Mark Connolly, Scott Mason, Andrew Coffield, Dave Williams

Scorer - Lewis Pountney 2

Man of the match - Lewis Pountney

More pictures are available here