Recap: Hereford 1-1 Harriers (3-5 pens)

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HARRIERS made progress to Round Three of the Buildbase FA Trophy with 5-3 a penalty shoot-out win following a 1-1 draw at Hereford.

A fairly tense affair at Edgar Street had ended all square after 90 minutes after Amari Morgan-Smith’s first-half strike had been cancelled out by Ryan Mclean.

Harriers were then deadly from he spot and fired home all five penalties from the resultant shoot-out, Luke Simpson’s save from a Bulls effort as decisive as Jaiden White’s final penalty.

It was a quiet 90 minutes altogether, particularly for a derby, but the freezing temperatures and driving wind made for a challenging spectacle. Early on, Austin’s effort over was a sight of goal for Harriers while Hereford’s Owen-Evans had an effort ruled out for offside.

The opening goal came on 18 minutes, Morgan-Smith moving into space and firing the ball confidently beyond the dive of Brandon Hall and into the corner of the net.

Austin and Elliot Bonds forced Hall into further saves before The Bulls were level, a 43rd minute corner headed on to the line and flicked into the net by the heel of McClean.

The second half provided little more by way of chances, but the introduction of White near the hour did offer Harriers a spark. He was quickly in the thick of it, forcing Hall into a low save with 66 gone.

Hereford did arguably finish the 90 minutes the stronger of the two teams, Haines firing over from close range after being laid off by Hodgkiss as penalties began to loom.

In the end, the visitors couldn’t be faulted from the spot – Hemmings, Morgan-Smith, Freemantle and Bonds all converting, and Simpson’s big hand thwarting Smith. It all fell to White, who stepped up tuck the all-important, match-winning kick beyond Hall and cue some big celebrations.

Get full team line-ups and key match facts at The Match Centre.

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