Tomorrow we face local side Stourbridge in our second Cup meeting of the season when we travel across to Amblecote for the first installment of our FA Trophy run this season. Hopefully we'll do a damned sight better than we did in the FA Cup two months ago when we went there with high hopes of progressing in that important money spinning tournament but instead totally collapsed in embarrassing agony. To say the long suffering supporters were angry would be an understatement. We were bloody well fuming!
That defeat signalled the end for some Harriers players with a few leaving the club either permanently or temporarily with the most notable being Reece Styche. He was sent out on loan to Macclesfield until the New Year but has hardly featured for them. Calvin Dinsley, Callum Hassan and Jake Green have all gone to pastures new while Jordan Tunnicliffe was on the bench even though he was injured and has been since.
Alex Palmer, who had a nightmare of a game, hasn't played for us since and is believed to be back at West Brom but still available to play for us if we want him. I doubt it now that his confidence is shot following the game.
There was one player with us then who wasn't allowed to play by his club (Jordan Murphy, Walsall) but would have been allowed to play in the Trophy. Sadly he was re-called by his club last week so, obviously, won't feature at all now. He hasn't featured for them yet either.
Last week we bought in another new player, Omari Patrick, but he's already played in the Trophy with his previous club Beaconsfield so won't be appearing tomorrow. At least we'll have Matt Barnes-Homer playing (or sat on the bench again) after his club, Aldershot, gave him permission to play. Last week in that terrible, late home defeat to Gateshead he was on the bench for most of the game as we played with a lone striker up front. A decision that defied belief if we fully intend to leave the relegation zone and can only confirm the fans fears that the clubs hierarchy want to see us relegated for some strange reason.
Then again we could see Reece Hales or Keyon Reffell play upfront for us following the end of their loan spells at Halesowen Town last week. Don't put anything past this lot in charge.
After that FA Cup win for Stourbridge they pulled Dover out of the hat and amazingly beat them down there to progress into the 2nd round. The balls didn't come out of the goldfish bowl kindly for them and they drew Eastleigh at home when they would rather have drawn a League side. As it was they made their exit against the Conference National club with former Harrier James Constable scoring the first of Eastleighs two goals.
Stourbridge will be without skipper Stuart Pierpoint through suspension while goalkeeper Lewis Solly and midfielder Leon Broadhurst are both out injured.
I think we'll put up more of a fight in this return match but I can't really see us progressing any further. Sorry.
Teams:
Harriers from:
Palmer, Snedker, Brown, Hodgkiss, Rowe-Turner, Millichamp, Langmead, Young, Howkins, Francis-Angol, Whitfield, Jones, McQuilkin, Maxwell, Forsyth, Fazlić, Sweeney, Reffell, Hales, Barnes-Homer, Singh.
Stourbridge FC from:
Hill, Price, Green, Knight, Penny, Scarr, Wedderburn, Wright, Billingham, Dodd, Smikle, Canavan, Harris, Hayward, Lait, McPike, Tonks, Tye, Hawley, Morgan-Parker, Richards, Brown, T Clarke.
Talk about the game here
Links to Stourbridge FC websites here
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