Harriers 0
Fleetwood 0
FA Cup fourth qualifying round

THE good ship Harriers remained afloat for at least one more match in the FA Cup, despite almost being torpedoed by Fleetwood on Saturday.

Harriers almost paid the price for a lacklustre display in the fourth qualifying round, but a string of impressive saves from keeper Dean Coleman and poor finishing from the visitors earned them a replay in Lancashire.

That was all they deserved as a poor performance allowed up-for-it Fleetwood to take the game to them in a one-sided first half, before improving after the break.

Manager Mark Yates accused his players of not taking responsibility.

He said: “I’m very disappointed with our performance but the lads haven’t done that for a little while,” he commented.

“We’ve got to give credit to Fleetwood, they matched us up and caused us problems. I thought we got to grips with them in the second half. They had a few chances but we didn’t do enough and take responsibility.”

There was little to choose between Harriers’ Blue Square Premier aristocrats and Fleetwood boss Micky Mellon’s ambitious Conference North side.

In fact, the expensively assembled squad from the North West would surely have scored if not for Coleman.

Harriers’ shot-stopper produced a Jekyll and Hyde performance. In the first half his hesistancy was endemic throughout the home side.

He had already seen a fine effort from Sean Clancy fly wide, before spilling a shot from Fleetwood skipper Jamie Milligan.

He then allowing a dangerous cross from Milligan to sweep past him, with Nathan Pond lurking at the far post in the first 15 minutes.

Fleetwood sensed they were in charge but their finishing could not match their build-up play. Gareth Seddon shot over with just the keeper to beat, although the striker’s blushes were spared when the whistle blew for offside.

Even though Harriers improved after the break, Fleetwood kept Coleman busy.

His shot-stopping skills were on full display and he produced a contender for save of the season, when he stretched athletically to get the faintest of touches to Seddon’s thundering 30-yard volley in the 77th minute.

He then did well to block Clancy’s shot at the bottom right hand post, before sealing a hat-trick of top class saves by tipping over Milligan’s free-kick, which looked destined to arc into the top right corner.

Harriers stuggled throughout but forced two fine saves from Cod custodian Danny Hurst.

The keeper showed sharp reflexes to tip away Brian Smikle’s effort in the first half after Matthew Barnes-Homer slipped the ball to him.

Hurst pulled off an even better stop after the break, when he dived to his right to get a hand to defender Gavin Caines’ powerful shot from the edge of the box.

As both sides pushed for a winner, the match ended on a sour note for the home side. Referee John Farries had brandished a deck worth of yellow cards in an competitive but fair match but topped it all when he sent off Harriers skipper Chris McPhee in the third minute of injury time.

The skipper fully deserved a booking for a late challenge on Jamie McGuire but the match official surprised everyone when he pulled out a red and gave him his marching orders. The resulting three-match ban ensured he missed the mid-week replay.

Harriers: COLEMAN 8; Baker 5; Courtney 5; Riley 6; Caines 5; Finnigan 5; McPhee 5; Smikle 6 (Hadley, 62); McDermott 5; Barnes-Homer 5; Knights 5 (Farrell, 80). Unused substitutes: Bennett; Singh; Dolman; Sharpe; Hayward.

Fleetwood: Hurst; Beeley; Wright; Taylor; McNulty; Pond (Connors, 86); Clancy (Mullan, 95); Milligan; Cahill; Seddon; McGuire. Unused substitutes: Wilde; Grundy; Dodgson; Dell; Hills.

Referee: John Farries (Oxon). Attendance: 1,257 (220)



MANAGER FURIOUS AT SENDING OFF