Our big kick off to the new season was shot down in flames on Saturday with the kind of mediocre performance that we thought would have been consigned to the dustbin this season.    Admittedly the team wasn't Mark Yates first choice line-up with Stuart Whitehead still missing through injury but the team that was put out still didn't include a natural ball player.

Many thought that Jon Munday would have been picked ahead of Gavin Hurren to give the side a slightly more creative look but it wasn't to be.    Tomorrow at Stafford the boss might change his mind and go with a quick change of plan after it all failed abysmally against Aldershot.

Still missing for us will be Simon Russell with a repetitive strain injury, or as the BBC call it, IT syndrome.    Jonny Harkness sits out the final day of his four game ban that now leaves him lined up to play at Grays this coming Saturday - the team he got sent off against at the end of last season.

Stafford started their season with a defeat at newcomers Farsley Celtic on Saturday but according to many reports it was a game they didn't deserve to lose.

They'll be without Nathan Smith and Nathan Talbott with long term injuries and they also have doubts about Kevin Street (calf), striker Dolapo Olaoye (ankle) and former Harrier Wayne Daniel (shin).

This is a game, that on paper, we should win easily enough but as usual at this tentative time of the season it could go either way.    I think we'll grab our first point of the season in the nearest thing we'll get to a derby game but it's going to be tough.


Harriers from:
Bevan, Coleman, Kenna, Bignot, Creighton, Whitehead, Munday, McGrath, Ferrell, Hurren, Penn, Richards, Blackwood, Barnes-Homer, Smikle, Christie, Constable.

Stafford from:
Alcock, Duggan, Sutton, McAughtrie, Daniel, Sangare, Flynn, Street, Grayson, McNiven, Olaoye, Wood, Ingram, Draper, Manak, Arnolin, Adaggio, Richards, Stones, Hopkinson, Oldfield, Robinson.