Hopefully they'll also be an inspiration to footballers across the country and especially so at the level that Kidderminster Harriers and Lincoln City play at. And tomorrow it all starts again. Another long hard slog towards our own personal medal of promotion at the end of the season.
We kick it all off at Lincolns' Sincil Bank at 3pm tomorrow (although the ground is now called the 12th Imp Stadium or some such) and hopefully a few hours later we'll be three points the richer and our season would have taken a massive starting boost.We'll go into the game looking strong with the majority of our newly signed players on show. Welcome to the club Cheyenne Dunkley, Ryan Austin, Ricky Shakes and Danny Pilkington while Keith Briggs and Nathan Vaughan rejoin the club that they formerly played for. The biggest welcome must be reserved for the man who was awarded the captains armband last night and a big man he is. Well done Exodus Geohaghon (left).
We do have a few players out and the main loss will be free scoring striker Anthony Malbon. He came off during last Saturdays Senior Cup Final game against Stourbridge with what turned out to be a chest infection. Worryingly he still has the infection and wasn't allowed to attend last nights sponsors evening at Aggborough. Hopefully he'll be ok for next Saturdays home game against Mansfield but is unlikely to make the midweek game against Luton.
Steve Guinan will also be out due to injury after twisting his ankle against Stourbridge. He too could be out for a while and that will leave us desperately short of strikers going into this first, big game with Ryan Rowe expected to plough a loan furrow up front.
Lee Vaughan will be missing for the first four games, for the second season running, due to his second red of last season in the final home game against bad tempered Mansfield. His place at right back should be filled by Chey Dunkley but the lad's a bit raw and could be exposed by a clever City striker.
City, thankfully, have problems of their own with a string of players missing through injury. Injuries to Gary Mills, Jake Sheridan, Frazer Cobb and Alan Power have left the City manager, David Holdsworth, with no choice but to include his younger squad members in the game to face us. Bit like us with Dunkley then?
One of those will be nineteen year old Graham Hutchinson. He left the club to join Birmingham City when he was a youth team member and has now re-joined the club on a long term loan.
Out for an extended length of time is Conal Platt following his broken leg from last season.
City also had a bombshell dropped on them on the eve of the new season when striker Sam Smith joined Cambridge Utd. Having just signed a contract extension he has now walked out on the club but Utd will be expected to pay a fee for his change of plans.
On the new player scene Holdsworth has bought in a large handful of players with none really catching the eye. Even journey man Rob Duffy can only raise a great big 'meh' from me.
So now we have all the team news done we can now settle back and enjoy. This team could arrive back home IMPerious.
Photo © KHFC
Teams:
Harriers from:
Lewis, N Vaughan, Williams, Dunkley, Geohaghon, Austin, Demetriou, Byrne, Shakes, Storer, Vincent, Briggs, Pilkington, Johnson, Gittings, Rowe.
Lincoln City from:
Farman, Turner, Robson, Nutter, Boyce, Gowling, Duffy, Taylor, Oliver, Gray, Nicolau, Barraclough, Bore, Hutchinson, Miller, Green, Coupland, Gouveia, Robinson.
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