HARRIERS secured safe passage into the First Round of the FA Cup by avoiding a potential upset to defeat Ashton United at Aggborough.

Assistant Manager Jimmy O’Connor led the side on Saturday, O'Connor confirming a last-minute family concern necessitated Russ Penn’s departure from the ground moments before kick-off.

Harriers made three changes for this Cup tie, arguably all enforced. Joe Leesley missed the game through a back injury, Krystian Pearce was on International duty with Barbados, and Bailey Hobson was ineligible having not been given permission to feature by parent club Chesterfield.

In came Kieran Phillips for a rare start, while Reiss McNally made a welcome return from injury. Ashley Hemmings was also restored to the eleven.

Nat Knight-Percival was fit enough after injury to take a place on the bench, while Academy midfielder Noah Rubio was also among the day’s subs.

Harriers were largely dominant in the first half, but it was the visitors who top and tailed the period with key chances. First, Marcus Cusani got free inside the area and shot towards the near post, forcing Christian Dible into a smart save. At the climax, Seann Newton had a header cleared off the line deep in added time.

Those chances aside, it was fairly one-way traffic in terms of clear-cut chances. Former Harriers goalkeeper Luke Simpson, an Aggborough favourite during the club’s 2022 FA Cup exploits, was instrumental in keeping parity at the break, having denied Amari Morgan-Smith as early as the sixth minute.

20 minutes later, Phillips and Hemmings converged on the same ball and the former let fly from distance with an effort that Simpson tipped away excellently, before ten minutes later doing similar to thwart Barry Maguire’s drive.

Simpson then twice denied Phillips in the space of two minutes near the end of the half. The former Gloucester man did well to latch on to Dibble’s ball forward and shoot, while the latter effort saw Simpson extended to beat away a stinging effort.

The second half was decidedly slower to get going as both sides strained to find a breakthrough. It eventually came five after the hour as Hemmings, having just seen one shot blocked, netted his first goal of the season. As Harriers propped on the edge of the area, the marksman deftly chipped the ball into the far corner to send a sense of ease rolling around Aggborough.

It was 2-0 just minutes later. A good move had seen Zak Brown play in Maguire who saw an effort blocked, the ball re-worked to Caleb Richards who stood up a deep cross to the far post where Hemmings nodded home.

With 11 left on the clock it might well have been three as Phillips and Morgan-Smith combined with a sharp one-two; Phillips seeing his angled shot fizz just past the post.

In seven minutes of added time there was even chance for teenage sub Kobe Hall to crash an effort into the side netting as Harriers held on to seal the success.

Up next for the side is a National League fixture at FC Halifax Town on Saturday, 21st October.