This is a crunch week for the Harriers with games against the top two sides spread over an eight day period. Lose all three and our season finale is more or less confirmed but if we were to get just one win from either Cheltenham or Forest Green then there may be that glimmer of hope that all is not lost. That three points will hopefully come on the Boxing Day game at home to Cheltenham when we come up against them for the first time in ten years.Back in the day we were arguably the bigger club but when they got promoted to the football league the year before us that all changed. Now we're the definite minnow of the two and that hurts.
Their sixteen year stint in the league came to an end last season when they found themselves relegated along with Tranmere. They had made it into League One twice but never climbed higher than seventeenth in the 2006-07 season.
For four years they were managed by Harriers legend Mark Yates but after seeing them struggle near to the bottom of League Two on too many occasions he was dismissed and the job given to Paul Buckle but his days were numbered from the start and the current manager Gary Johnson was given the job just a few weeks before actual relegation. Hill seems the have been the right man for the job because he has changed the team from being a ramshackle relegated side to one that now lead the Conference by a small margin.
Unlike in recent seasons when our Christmas games have been against Forest Green this one is much more like it should be and fans of both sides are looking towards our two games. We'll still be without Jordan Tunnicliffe with his long term groin injury and also Dino Fazlić who will be serving the second part of his three game ban. Adam Dawson is now back with us after his loan at Tranmere came to an end but in his final game with them he got injured and will play no part for us over Christmas now. Now is when we could have done with his undoubted skills.
We should see a home debut for our newest signing Elton N'Gwatala. He signed for us just seconds before the Eastleigh game last week and came on towards the end of the 3-1 defeat. He may be joined by yet another new player by the time the game comes around.
Cheltenham will be without a few players. Rob Dickie, on loan from Reading, is out for up to six weeks with a ligament problem while Elliot Richards pulled a hamstring a few weeks ago in training and that has kept him out for a while. He's been back in full training this week, so is on course for a return sometime in January.
Their worst injury though is to former Harriers strike Amari Morgan-Smith with him out for another ten weeks with a bad ankle injury. That came in a FA Cup replay against Havant & Waterlooville in November and he has just had the cast removed this week.
We also have two other former players down at Waddle Road. Kyle Storer is now the vice captain there after joining them from Wrexham at the end of last season while Danny Wright (above left) is amongst their leading scorers with nine goals and boy couldn't we do with his kind of presence in front of goal right now.
It's good to be playing our old foes from down the M5 once again but it would have been better if we had a chance to get something from the game. Sadly I can't see Santa handing out many late presents for us in this game.
Photo © KHFC
Teams:
Harriers from:
Palmer, Snedker, Brown, Hodgkiss, Rowe-Turner, Millichamp, Langmead, Young, Howkins, Francis-Angol, Whitfield, Jones, McQuilkin, Maxwell, N'Gwatala, Reffell, Hales, Forsyth, Sweeney, Barnes-Homer, Singh, G Taylor, Patrick.
Cheltenham Town from:
Phillips, Kitscha, Barthram, McLennan, Storer, Downes, Parslow, Pell, Waters, Wright, Munns, Hall, J Rowe, Dale, Thomas, Dayton, Dinsmore, Jennings, Novakovich, N Rowe
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