It's no joke for any club having to play the Iron when the thing that's foremost on their mind is will the pitch be playable or will we have wasted our time coming all the way over here only to go back again. As it is there has been rain overnight in Essex, as there is here in Worcestershire right now, and they have got rain covers on the pitch that will be removed after lunch. If it continues to rain then it will all have been in vain once again.
So let's assume the game will go ahead and for that we'll need team news.
Our only injury continues to be Elton N'Gwatala following his knee cartilage surgery and he'll still be out until almost the end of the season which is such bad luck considering that with him we won three games in a row and since then we've drawn one in three. On Saturday at home to Bromley we looked a mess in midfield and we needed him there to drive the game forward. Colin Gordon compounded the problem by dropping Ben Whitfield and Luke Maxwell to the bench and it showed. In the second half with their presence we looked better but once again a lack of decision in the box and kamikaze defending let us down along with a penalty that wasn't and a late goal for the visitors.
That has left us more or less dead and buried at the foot of the table and too many games played compared to those above us. We're two points behind Torquay and they have four games in hand over us so we can forget catching them while Halifax and Altrincham have two games in hand they are ten points in front of us leaving our only chance of redemption being Welling. They have a game in hand and also two points in front but they can be overtaken to allow us to finish the season second from bottom. Oh Whoopie Doo!
Braintree on the other hand with what looks to be an inevitable three points tonight and could climb to fourth in the table. This is a club that are part time, have a ground only fit for chickens, crowds a quarter of what we get and a budget a fraction of ours. Where did it all go right for them?
They should have been fifth in the table on Saturday evening after they were robbed of a win at Guiseley when the home side were asked to pass the ball back to the keeper following treatment to a Braintree player. Instead the Guiseley man lofted the ball over the Iron keeper and into the net leaving the referee to rule that the goal should stand according to the laws of the game. Guiseley refused to allow Braintree a free run at goal to regain the advantage and the game ended up drawn.
On the injury front they could be without Matt Fry, Remy Clerima and Dan Sparkes for the game tonight after missing out on Saturday through injury.
On a pitch that will be heavy going I can't really see us getting much change from this and our woes will be compounded further amidst the mud and the hoofball. A miracle could happen though and you have to have faith so maybe we could come away with a point.
Teams:
Harriers from:
Snedker, Brown, Hodgkiss, Lowe, Langmead, Williams, Fané, Francis-Angol, Gnahoua, Jones, Whitfield, McQuilkin, Maxwell, Kinsella, White, Taylor, Patrick, Garnett.
Braintree Town from:
Crowe, King, Haigh, Clerima, Habergham, Isaac, Paine, Brundle, Pullen, Fry, Sparkes, Davis, Anderson, Cole, Marks, Akinola, Walker, Miles, Cox, Strutton, Powell, Phillips, Edgar, Baxter, Cheek, Woodyard, Gardner.
Talk about the game here
Links to Braintree Town websites here
Find Pubs around Kidderminster here
Find Hotels around Kidderminster here
