Rugby Town 2 Harriers 4

The Harriers completed their pre-season programme today with this well fought, but tough, win at Rugby Town.  Goals from Callum Gittings and Steve Guinan finished off our lower league opposition when we went into the break all square after two goals from Marc Williams and Nick Wright.

Marcs opening goal came after good work from Wright and Kyle Storer gave him the opening needed to collect the loose ball from Storers shot and drive it home.  The home side drew level ten minutes later with a goal from Seb Hamilton that went in off the post.  The same man put them into the lead another ten minutes further on when a defensive error allowed him to slip the ball under the advancing Danny Lewis.

Their lead lasted a few minutes only though because Nick Wright scored his fourth goal of this mini campaign to draw us level.  That came when he finished off a loose ball that had been zinging around the penalty area with, until then, nobody able to convert it.

HT: Rugby Town 2 Harriers 2

Harriers 1st half team:
Lewis, Vaughan, Jones, Marshall, Mike Williams, Phelan, Storer, Vincent, Wright, Matt, Marc Williams.

With a slightly changed side coming out for the second period the Harriers took the lead once more and this time held onto it.  Steve Guinan craftily held the ball up long enough for Callum Gittings to run into a great position to rifle the ball home off the underside of the bar.

Dave Hankin, also on at the break, came close to increasing the lead with a superb, curling shot that looked as if it was heading for goal but in the end swerved just inches wide of the top corner.  With a quarter hour of the game left Luke Medley should really have made it four but somehow, with only the keeper left in his way, he blazed his shot over the bar.  The final goal came soon after.

Our veteran acquisition, Steve Guinan, grabbed his fourth goal to when he spotted the Rugby keeper off his line and, from fully thirty yards out, lobbed the ball over his head and into the net to finish the scoring for the day.

From this game it looks to still be a mystery just what Steve Burrs starting line-up will be at 3.00pm next Saturday when Gateshead arrive at Aggborough to raise the curtain on the new season.  On paper the 1st half team look good enough to perform well against any side and the 2nd half side equally so quality aplenty.  Steve has a tough job on his hands trying to work out just what team he will go with in the end but whichever he does go with I think we could be looking at an excellent season ahead.

FT: Rugby Town 2 Harriers 4

Harriers 2nd half team:
Lyness, Sharpe, Jones, Marshall (Briscoe), Mike Williams (Demetriou), Hankin, Storer (Thompson-Brown), Vincent (Medley), Gittings, Guinan, Marc Williams (Byrne).