With our season now up and running we can't wait to welcome relegated Macclesfield Town to Aggborough tomorrow. Another welcome will be extended to our latest squad member with the arrival of Adam Watkins (right) from Luton Town for a month.Out of favour at Luton the young midfielder has come up through the youth ranks but has failed to get much game time so far this season but, with both Jack Byrne and Kyle Storer out for a while for us, he should go straight into the side tomorrow.
Following our brilliant win at Cambridge on Tuesday, when Ryan Rowe grabbed a second half hat trick after coming off the bench, we'll be wanting to now repeat the feat at home. Ryan will have earned himself a start and with the creativity expected from Watkins we might see some passing to feet and not to head height.
Hopefully we'll have no injuries to worry about following the Tuesday game so, apart from the two mentioned earlier and Tom Sharpe, we'll be good to go.
Macclesfield are also injury free but they will be without John-Paul Kissock following his sending off in the home defeat to FGR last Saturday. Former Harriers favourite, Matt Barnes-Homer scored the Silkmens only goal and he has now scored seven times this season so far. He looks to be well on his way to beating the twenty one goals he scored for us during the 08-09 season, just as long as he doesn't get his eighth tomorrow we'll be relieved.
Harriers versus Macclesfield games were always an high point during our non league years and those games culminated in Maccs promotion in 1999 when they slowly overhauled our ten point lead at the top of the Conference to win the title by a whisker and take their place in the Football League the season before we also got there.
They also lasted longer than we did up there (which was a bit galling) and took twelve years to get back to where they belong rather than the paltry five years it took us. Add in a spell in League 1, or whatever it was back then, and they did quite well for a club with a poor fanbase really.
Now they're back down here they have started the season slightly better than us although in recent weeks they have slipped a bit. Previous to that FGR defeat they almost came a cropper at Nuneaton going 2-0 down at halftime then 3-1 with just ten minutes of the game remaining. It took last gasp goals from MBH and Arnaud Mendy to salvage a draw at the final whistle.
We just need a bit of belief and passion, the very same that we showed at Cambridge, and we could well be looking at another three points by tomorrow evening.
On a side note. There will be a collection by the Wyre Forest branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society at tomorrows game.
I'll be collecting too and shoving a bucket in your face so bring plenty of change with you because MS is one of the lesser supported charities and we need all the help we can get to help sufferers affected by this terminal, un-curable, illness.
Ta, Phil...
Photo © LTFC
Teams:
Harriers from:
Lewis, N Vaughan, L Vaughan, Williams, Dunkley, Austin, Demetriou, Gowling, Shakes, Panther, Vincent, Briggs, Pilkington, Guinan, Johnson, Malbon, Peniket, Gittings, Rowe, Watkins, Blissett.
Macclesfield Town from:
Cronin, A Mills, Jackson, Brown, Mackreth, Murtagh, Barnes-Homer, Winn, Mendy, Diagne, Da Costa, Yiadom, Wedgbury, Henry, Fairhurst, Braham-Barrett, Bolton, Agombar, B Mills, Edmans, Martin, Gnahoua.
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