The Harriers claimed their place in the next round of the FA Cup, the first time they have managed to do so in four seasons, after putting paid to, a very good, Sutton Utd's chance of doing so themselves. The game ended with an emphatic 4-1 scoreline after Sutton tired towards the end of the game allowing the Harriers to take complete charge.
Before the game started both sets of fans impeccably respected a minutes silence for the Fallen and also for the former chairman of KHIST, the late Steve Millington.
Just prior to that silence came the news that Chey Dunkley had finally returned to the side after a long term injury. He came in straight away to replace Jamie Grimes who went to the bench alongside a new face in Aaron Brown following his signing for us before the game. The former Aldershot, Orient and Yeovil man has come in as defensive cover.
In bright, but cold, sunshine the game got underway with both sides testing each other out nervously. Either that or they didn't want to get the pretty pink ball dirty with their grubby boots. If I had to name the team that started the better then it would have to be Sutton with Dean McDonald catching the eye with his busy little runs into the box trying to create chances for his side.
That chance came not from the terrier like forward but from a corner. Chey Dunkley did well to stop a cross coming in but conceded a corner doing so. That ball came in and it was Charlie Clough that got above the static Harriers defence on the edge of the area to send a bullet header into the net beyond the grasp of Danny Lewis. Not quite the start we expected or wanted.
Not to worry though because within a few minutes we grabbed the equalising goal to haul ourselves back into the tie. Joe Lolley managed to win the ball and sent in a low cross to the feet of Michael Gash but he could only swipe un-cleanly at the ball and it was blocked from going any further by Sean Dundas. His block then fell for Amari Morgan-Smith to bundle the ball over the line.
Not the prettiest of goals but it counts all the same.
The Harriers now had the upperhand and pressed Sutton back in the search for a second goal. That didn't take long coming and this time Gash was more positive in his play and intelligently played the ball out to my Man of the Match, Callum Gittings, to fire the ball home at a narrow angle.
Harriers continued to press in their search for a third, killer, goal through Lolley and AMS but without any joy getting through the massed ranks of the visiting defence. For Sutton the closest they came to pulling a goal back was when Dale Binns dangerously chased a Josh Gowling back pass down and came close to breaking Danny Lewis' leg as he tried to force the ball home. If he had connected it would surely have meant the ex Stevenage man seeing red.
With just seconds to go until the halftime whistle the Utd keeper Tom Lovelock made a superb push out from AMS and then the Lee Vaughan follow up from the edge of the area that whistled in as Lovelock managed to get a touch on it to push it away again.