Kidderminster Harriers 2-1 Kingstonian
K'S GIVEN THE BIRD

Due to various traffic problems, kick-off was delayed until 8pm. The away end was buzzing with the sixteen daring few, although one of those was a Kiddy fan. It was bitterly cold, so I make no excuses for the accuracy of this report, as I was trying to keep my hands in my pockets for as long as I could.

K's started well, with good chances coming as early as the 3rd minute when Colin Luckett sent a fierce cross into the box which Mark 'Harry' Harris powered almost goal-ward.

Kiddy were awarded a free kick just outside the box in the 6th minute. Some force was put behind it, with the balding Steve Farrelly only just able to punch it over the bar. The resulting corner nearly saw Mark Harris put the ball into his own net, but luckily for the K's, Colin Luckett was on the line to clear up. Three minutes later the Kidderminster number 7 shot just wide after some good build up play. Despite K's good start, Kiddy should by now have been one up. A trademark Farrelly hoof up the pitch from the goal kick almost put Sammy Winston in, but his belly was offside.

K's were awarded a dangerous looking free kick near the Kidderminster box, but Geoff Pitcher, the gentleman that he is, happily gave the ball away to a Kiddy player, which gave them a clear brake, and resulted in them putting the ball in the back of the net. The linesman's flag saved the visitors as the goal was ruled offside.

The Kidderminster number 7 again looked dangerous as he almost scored once more, heading just over on 21 minutes, under strong Mark Harris pressure.

In the 25th minute, Sammy Winston set upon a loose ball. He tapped it past a Kiddy defender and then outran him to retrieve it. He showed a lot of fight and confidence chasing after that ball, which eventually resulted in him getting injured as he collided with the 'keeper and two defenders. Just five minutes later the hero turned villain as he sent a good Eddie Akuamoah cross into the car park behind the ground. On 32 minutes Eddie stole the ball from a Kiddy defender, sent Sammy through, who decided to take it wide, then wider, and wider still, until any chance had been lost.

On 39 minutes the deadlock was broken. Kingstonian's greatest ever player in the world ever, ever, ever, (Phil Wingfield for those who haven't yet guessed) ran down the wing, darted into the box and poked a cheeky little chip over the oncoming 'keeper. The goalie was able to get his fingers to it, but not with enough force to be able to stop the goal.

It was nearly two as Eddie Akuamoah put yet another K's player through on goal, but luckless Sammy Winston was again unable to find the target.

The matchday announcer provided much amusement at half time as he congratulated Geoff Chapple on his 35th birthday. The half time raffle then took place with the top two prizes going to ticket numbers 11268 and 11269. Fix! If you're interested, the third prize of a garden hose went to 11296.

The match restarted, but unfortunately the silky skills of magic Phil Wingfield were only displayed for another 6 minutes - he hobbled off to be replaced by Mark Boyce.

K's best chance of the second half came on 55 minutes when Mark Beard put a good cross in from the right. Sammy and Eddie were both sliding in, either one could have made it, but the 'keeper did well to intercept.

At the other end, the big man was looking good, catching everything and getting down well. He was put under a lot of pressure from the lively Kiddy frontline.

With the bitter winds starting to become too much for those who braved the terrace, a steward came round to tell us how much warmer it was in the home end. That really cheered us up.

Kingstonian weren't giving up; they were out there for a second. Mark Harris and Eddie Akuamoah both came close before the end.

K's fans behind the goal were praying for the final whistle to come, Kiddy kept on being awarded corners, and an equaliser would mean 30 minutes extra time, which I don't think would be possible in those temperatures.

At last the final whistle came. Not for the first time Phil Wingfield had saved the day. The travelling fans were rewarded for their efforts, watching their team go up to collect yet another trophy. At least that's what should have happened.....

As you probably know by now, Kidderminster substitute Tony Bird rose high above K's defences right at the death to head home an equaliser for Kiddy. He then repeated the trick two minutes into injury time to win the game.

It was a frustrating experience. We hadn't played badly, we did not deserve to lose, especially in that fashion. No one in the team played badly - Sammy missed a lot of good chances through the night, but he didn't give up. He kept on running and kept on fighting.

What made the situation worse was watching the K's players arguing with each other in the queue to pick up runners-up medals as to who was meant to be marking who and so on. Also, they never came over to do the customary 'thank-you clap' to the small army who made the trip - that hurt too. All in all, not a nice day.