For what was once seen as a Mickey Mouse cup to us now takes on greater meaning and for us non league minnows it's a chance to flex our muscles against the League 2 big boys.    Well maybe not - it's only boring Darlo.

For clubs like the Harriers it's a way of getting some money in the coffers but, unlike the FA Cup game at Southport this coming Saturday, the rewards are nowhere near the 10K that the winners of that game will get.    With the LDV the financial gain is diddly squat unless you get to the final stages and draw a proper club or, unlikely in our case, actually get to the final.

To that end Stuart Watkiss is preparing to name some fringe players for the game tomorrow evening.    He's already pencilled in Danny Lewis in goal for the first time this season and only the second time in his career.    He played just the once last season in our final League game at Northampton when we ended our short tenure in the Football League on the wrong end of a 3-0 scoreline.

Missing tomorrow, and Saturday, will be Taiwo Atieno because Walsall don't want him cup tied for either of the two competitions but Barnsley have no problems with Simon Heslop playing.

It's doubtful if Michael Blackwood will be risked for this game after suffering a re-occurence of a hamstring injury and the same goes for Martin O'Connor with his dodgy knee.    Gareth Sheldon will again step into Tai's shoes and Laurie Wilson could replace O'Connor but I'd like to know where Wayne Graves has got to.    He hardly seems to have figured yet this season but there' no word if he's injured or not.

Lee Thompson will probably come in for Blackie.


Darlington are having a normal kind of season for them and sit at exactly the same place in their division as we do in ours.    They had a bad result against Bury on Saturday, only a 1-0 defeat but it seems that it was their worst ever performance of all time.    They seem to have forgotten all the times that we have beaten them then.

They could be without Anthony Peacock, Jonjo Dickman and Carlos Logan after they all picked up knocks in previous games and didn't make the team for Saturdays game.


This is one game that we should go all out to win mainly because we need the confidence boost and also because we always beat them anyway.


Harriers from:
Danby, Lewis, Hatswell, Burgess, Evans, Burton, Ludlow, Jackson, O'Connor, Fleming, McHale, Graves, Heslop, Hurren, Russell, Christie, Sheldon, Wilson, Blackwood, Thompson.

Darlington from:
Bossu, Russell, Valentine, Kendrick, Appleby, Clarke, Hutchinson, Wainwright, Webster, Dickman, Johnson, Martis, Thomas, Keltie, Duke, Close, Jameson, Sodje, Peacock, Maddison, Ndumbu-Nsungu, Logan, Parkin, Stamp.