Harriers 1 Redditch Utd 2   WSC Semi final

On a very cold and wet evening at Aggborough the Harriers took on Redditch Utd in the semi final of the County Cup.  A sprinkling of youth players were mixed in with senior players for the game including one for James Vincent who should have been with the England C squad in Dartford but was deemed not fit enough to be there but fit enough to play in this game.

For Redditch the former Harrier Jack Cresswell made an appearance but not so for their latest additions of two other former Harriers in Dean Bennett and Zac Costello.

Within the first ten minutes of the game there had been a smattering of chances for both sides with Connor Deards firing over the bar for them and then two chances for us from Nathan Blissett and Ryan Rowe both going off target.  For the rest of the half it was more of a balanced game with just the one chance for us through Vincent.

Midway through the half the Harriers should have been awarded a penalty when a blatant handball from Uniteds' Callum Flanagan was ignored by the referee and a fruitless corner given instead.

HT: Harriers 0 Redditch Utd 0

The second half started with a bit of a downpour but a goal was soon to come along to warm the sparse crowd of 289 up.  A mistake in the fifty fourth minute by the Redditch keeper Brad Catlow ended up with him spilling the ball into his own net but within a minute they could have rescued the game, temporarily, when a header from Will Richards went just wide of Nathan Vaughans post.

It was with only with five minutes remaining that Redditch served up a double whammy to the Harriers.  First Leavi Oshungbure, a sub on for Cresswell, drove the ball home to pull the game level and then just two minutes later they had taken the lead.  Flanagan, the culprit of the penalty appeal in the first half, forced the ball home following a scramble in the area to give his side the lead.

The scoreline could have been 3-1 in added time when Deards should have scored.

So that's another year gone by without any silverware in the cabinet.  Will we ever get to win this prestigious trophy?

FT: Harriers 1 Redditch Utd 2

Harriers:
N Vaughan, Jackman (Demetriou), M Williams, T Williams, Ellis (Parsons-Smith), Gittings, Pilkington (Johnson), Rowe, Shakes, Vincent, Blissett.

Subs: Lewis, Demetriou, Long, Johnson, Parsons-Smith.

Redditch:
Catlow, Moran, Charlton, Dovey (Hylton), Flanagan, Hands (Jenkins), Deards, McDonald, Richards, Cresswell (Oshungbure), Quaynor.

Subs: Oshungbure, Hylton, Jenkins.


Goal for Harriers: Catlow (og)

Goals for Redditch: Oshungbure, Flanagan


Att: 289