Match preview Vs Alfreton Town

The Harriers have had a bad couple of weeks recently.  What with boardroom shenanigans, and the playing staff refusing to talk to the press following last weeks disappointing draw at home to Halifax, it has been a depressing period for the average Harriers fans who have been used to also seeing a free scoring team and solid defences winning us enough games to keep the interest high.  Now the interest is waning fast and I can see a sparse following at Alfreton tomorrow afternoon.

The fact that points on the board earlier in the season, and few games called off, have kept us just outside the play off places but now that the goals have dried up we have begun to drop down the table to be replaced by teams that have played up to five games less than us.  That fact was borne out on Tuesday when Gateshead winning at home to Wrexham dropped us down to tenth place whereas five weeks ago we recorded our last win, at Aldershot, and were in fifth place.

While we were drawing against Halifax our opponents tomorrow, Alfreton, were winning their game a few miles away at Telford.  The single goal from Luke Graham was enough to jump them out of the relegation places and give them confidence going into Saturday.

They'll be at full strength for the game, as will the Harriers, and they could be featuring up to three ex Harriers in the starting eleven with Tom Shaw, Dan Bradley and Duane Courtney all there.  Courtney has been out with a hamstring injury for three months but returned to the side at Telford last week.

We have no injuries in the side either but Gary Whild has promised changes following last Saturday.  It's hard to see where it can be changed with such a small squad as ours getting a run out at some stage through the weeks although the non use of Akwase Asante and Jamie Spencer does seem a tad strange considering our struggle to score goals.

We have bolstered the squad somewhat today.  The club have promoted four Academy students to the first team and so George Forsyth, Jordan Harrison, Nathan Millichamp and Dan Sweeney will all have first team contracts until the end of the season.

I expect the Harriers to line up the same way as we have been and also to come back with yet another scoreless draw.  I would rather see us grab a long overdue win though.


Harriers from:
Lewis, Singh, Whitcombe, Hodgkiss, Green, Tunnicliffe, Forsyth, Nicholson, Gowling, Sweeney, O'Keefe, Grimes, Millichamp, Maxwell, Asante, Byrne, Obeng, Harrison, Digie, Verma, Gittings, Hughes, Knowles, Reffell, Wright, Spencer, Reid.

Alfreton Town from:
Flynn, Mooney, Wood, Rowe-Turner, Courtney, Graham, Smith, Stevenson, Bradley, Howell, Shaw, Sheridan, Keane, Gray, Ironside, Igiehon, Thanoj, Gorman, Hawley, Leesley, Heaton, Johnston, Howe.

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