This lack of goals is becoming worrying

True to form the Harriers failed to score again today in a game that saw very few chances for either team.  A cold, biting wind wasn't helping the conditions much and it wasn't helping the comfort of the fans either as they shivered watching the lack of any creative action.

There was just one, surprising, change to the side that Gary Whild put out with Dominic Knowles dropping to the bench for Jake Green to gain a rare start.  Callum Gittings moved into the slot vacated by Knowles while Lee Hughes moved inside alongside Danny Wright so that Green could play out wide.  The move should have given the side more pace but Green was the only one showing any.

The visitors, Halifax, had the former Harrier Richard Peniket playing up front for them and he found himself very close to entering the referees notebook on a couple of occasions during the first half with his incessant arguing following un-awarded penalties.  Have to say that the second of these was pretty clear cut and you couldn't really blame the lad for trying.  Shame he never tried for us when he was here.

The first half was a turgid affair with the only chance of note coming midway through for Aman Verma when his free kick, outside the area, forced the veteran Matty Glennon, in the Halifax goal, into palming the ball over the bar.  It took until a few minutes before the break before any real action took place.

In the forty third minute Peniket slotted the ball home from close range but found it ruled out for an offside infringement.  It was the same reason that our goal a minute later was ruled out too when Lee Hughes struck a thunderous shot that cracked against the bar and rebounded to Danny Wright but the luckless Harriers strikers goal was ruled out too.

The second half the Harriers came out with a bit more verve but is was still a ragged show they were putting on.  Again we were struggling to get any real pattern going in the game and as soon as we got near to goal the attacks withered away into nothing.  Halifax, who bought on two new faces at the start of the half, seemed to have lost a large amount of their first half ambition and failed to get a shot on goal until the final minute of normal time.

We had three early chances for Jake Green, Callum Gittings and Danny Wright with the latter heading straight at the keeper and then it went quiet for a while.  It all sprung back to life in the seventieth minute when a series of errors from the visitors almost had grave consequences for them.

A poor throw in our half of the pitch was then played all the way back to their own keeper but on the way back upfield it was intercepted by Danny Wright who played the ball past the stranded Lee Hughes, who stepped out of the way so not to interfere with play, and then tried to steer the ball past Glennon.  A defender had got back and put out a foot to stop the ball entering the goal but he pushed it as far as Hughes who fired in a shot that the same defender tried to clear again but this time back to Hughes who fired the ball wide.

That was the only time we looked like scoring.

Again the game drifted into nothingness and it wasn't until the final few minutes that the next chance was to arrive.  A free kick for Halifax was played in for Adam Smith to shoot straight at Danny Lewis.

We have Alfreton next Saturday and I can't see there being any goals there either.

Before and during the game there had been talk of further money problems for the club with players and staff not being paid during the ending month.  With the AGM on Monday we might get to hear more of what has been going on but no doubt it'll all be the fans fault.

REFEREE:

Mr S Bennett Stoke on Trent