We're now into December and things aren't looking good at the wrong end of the table. The Harriers are back on the bottom again following that defeat at Grimsby and with a tough run of games coming up this month, and a bit into January, we'll have to be on our mettle if we hope to achieve more than the possible three points we should get.Those hoped for three points should come as soon as tomorrow when we entertain mid-table Gateshead at Aggborough but as for the remainder of the month it's looking like an extremely hard task to get anything from three of the top five teams in the league. After the Gateshead game we get a short break with a Trophy trip to Stourbridge and then it's into Christmas with a rush as we travel to fifth placed Eastleigh (back home to them at the start of January too) and then the number one club Cheltenham at Aggborough on Boxing Day, down to theirs on New Years Day and sandwiched in between we go down to the bankrupt, on paper, second placed Forest Green Rovers.
First off though and it's Gateshead that has our attention and because of those tough games we need to maximise our potential tomorrow. One point isn't going to be enough and no points would be un-thinkable so we must win this one.
Luckily for us the Heed seem to be going through an injury crisis at the moment with long term injuries to Josh Gillies (shoulder), Jamie Chandler (ankle), James Marwood (ankle) and Rob Ramshaw (toe) while Jon Shaw will miss out after getting a bad gash on his leg, last Saturday, that has required some stitching. Also possibly out will be Matty Pattison and Jimmy Phillips after they were both injured during training before the game at home to Chester last week.
Gateshead started the season quite well but in recent weeks those injuries hit home and they began to drift down the table. That resulted in manager Malcolm Crosby getting his marching orders and then last week local boy Neil Aspin was given the job. He hasn't wasted time bringing in a loan to bolster his new team and just arrived is CJ Hamilton from Sheffield Utd, a player he has worked with the player before at his previous club Halifax.
We'll have just the one long term injury with Jordan Tunnicliffe out with his hamstring tear while Matt Young could be a doubt after missing the Grimsby game. The really bad news though is striker Jordan Murphy being re-called to his parent club, Walsall, yesterday and we'll now be without one of the few loan players that has impressed. Gurjit Singh will possibly be the one to replace him even though he's only been a bit part player in recent weeks so here's his big chance to really impress Dave Hockaday even though Hockaday has already said that he was but then rarely plays him?.
It's already been said that we need to win this game because of the incredibly tough December programme that we've been given. So lets defeat the odds and try to get as many points as we can starting tomorrow.
Photo © KHFC
Teams:
Harriers from:
Palmer, Snedker, Brown, Hodgkiss, Rowe-Turner, Millichamp, Langmead, Young, Howkins, Francis-Angol, Whitfield, Jones, McQuilkin, Maxwell, Forsyth, Fazlić, Obosu, Sweeney, Barnes-Homer, Singh.
Gateshead from:
Russell, MacDonald, Baxter, Curtis, Clark, Mafuta, Buddle, Allen, Cranston, Kanda, Briggs, Bowman, Johnson, Honeyman, Ramsden, Hailes, Wrightson, Smith, McLaughlin, Hamilton, Gibson.
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