At Woking we didn't leave it that late but this time our concentration lapsed at the start of the game and the hosts were a goal up within minutes of the start. We then superbly scored twice and looked to be capable of scoring more but then a disastrous slip by the normally dependable Josh Gowling gave Woking a share of the points. It didn't help that Lee Vaughan missed a chance to increase our lead earlier when he missed a penalty.Our visitors tomorrow have similar problems to us and have drawn more games that they would have wanted. Another one came on Tuesday when they drew at home to over spending Mansfield after taking the lead just after half time. It was the former Harrier, Nick Wright, that got the equaliser for Mansfield later in the game.
Nuneaton have slipped to the foot of the table in recent weeks while we have climbed out of the danger zone slightly but not enough. The more the season progresses the harder it is to climb away from the dead men and that showed in our last two games. If we had beaten Gateshead we would have been cruising in thirteenth place but the draw left us down in twenty first place. By the time Woking came around the win would have taken us up to only seventeenth but at least the draw did see us jump ever so slightly up to nineteenth.
So we need to win this game and there's no doubt about that. Luckily we'll be at full strength and that should include Keith Briggs who is still receiving treatment for his tooth abscess but should be ok.
On the other hand Nuneaton have quite a lot of injuries and even when they bring in loan cover they too end up injured.
Tyrell Waite, thigh, is on loan from Notts County but got injured a week after signing for them. He'll be assessed before the game but is looking doubtful. David McNamee is out for another three weeks with a calf strain while out long term are Kyle Patterson and Neil Cartwright while goalkeeper Neil Collett needs an operation on his knee. Skipper Mark Noon broke his leg at Brackley in pre-season and will not play again before Easter.
Nuneaton have two former Harriers in their ranks with the most well known, to us, being Robert Thompson-Brown (above, right). Gavin Cowan is the other but he hardly ever played for us.
This is the first time that we have played Nuneaton since the Molby era and our last two games against them in the 1999-2000 season ended as a defeat at home but a win away. I'd like to see that reversed tomorrow, at least, with a resounding win for the Harriers. The away game is another day.
Photo © KHFC
Teams:
Harriers from:
Lewis, N Vaughan, L Vaughan, Williams, Dunkley, Demetriou, Gowling, Shakes, Storer, Panther, Vincent, Briggs, Pilkington, Guinan, Johnson, Malbon, Peniket, Gittings, Rowe, Blissett.
Nuneaton from:
McNamara, Smith, Adams, Armson, Brown, Cowan, Dean, Forsdick, Gordon, James, Waite, O'Halloran, Sleath, Malaga, Thompson-Brown, Walker, York.
Talk about the game here
Links to Nuneaton Town websites here
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