PREVIEW: Harriers v Southport (From Kidderminster Shuttle)

PREVIEW: Harriers v Southport

2:00pm Friday 7th September 2012 in News

Harriers can expect a physical contest as they search for their first win of the season when they entertain Southport on Saturday.

The Aggborough outfit will be hoping to exploit the Sandgrounders’ poor away record and end their own long wait for all three points.

Liam Watson’s men have only picked up one point away from home with a 3-3 draw at Alfreton and have also lost at Hyde and Cambridge.

However, they come into this game on the back of an impressive win over Gateshead in mid-week.

But Harriers will be keen to build on improving displays against Barrow and Braintree, which stopped the rot and also lifted them off the bottom of the table.

Fans will be eager to see those performances translated into a much-needed victory but assistant manager Gary Whild is expecting Southport to be a tough nut to crack.

He said: “Steve [Burr] and I have both come up against Southport many times and they are a tough durable side.

“They play quite a direct style and we will know what to expect from them so it’s never an easy game.

“Saying that, the team has been improving and we go in confident we can win.”

Harriers have been boasted the news that keeper Danny Lewis has recovered from his groin injury and is available again.

However, he may struggle to return to the side immediately as replacement Nathan Vaughan has been in good form during the last few games.

The former Evesham shot-stopper produced a flurry of saves at Barrow and was solid at Braintree too and Whild is expecting a battle for the starting place over the next few weeks.

He said: “Nathan has done extremely well since coming into the side.

“Danny has got over his injury but at the moment I think Nathan is in the box seat.” Southport will be without the suspended Alan Moogan who serves his third and final match of his suspension.

Centre back Steve Akrigg (shoulder) is still ruled out and winger Chris Almond (strain) is under treatment.

Both missed the Gateshead win with everyone coming through that ninety minutes.

Fans unable to make the clash can keep up with the action with our live blog from the game, which will be available from 2.30pm tomorrow.

Sports Editor Peter McKinney will be providing team news and the drama as it unfolds. To interact, supporters can comment as the blog is written or can follow @PeteMc78 on Twitter.