A glance ahead to Saturday’s encounter at Brackley Town…
By Matty Paddock - 18/03/2022
Posted 4 years ago
HARRIERS take a point and a clean sheet from Spennymoor on Tuesday into a tough-looking trip to title-chasers Brackley on Saturday.
The Reds put to bed a small run of defeats with a resolute goalless draw at Brewery Field to give a much-needed boost of confidence to the camp.
Now Penn’s men are on their travels again to another promotion hopeful in the Saints, who boast the league’s meanest defence.
That they’ve tasted league defeat just once this calendar year is impressive enough, but they can add to that a sternness that’s seen them concede just 18 goals in 30 National League North ties.
That’s nine goals fewer than the second best in the division – a record which happens to belong to Harriers.
The two do battle at St James’ Park on Saturday with Penn full of admiration for the job Kevin Wilkin has done at Brackley since first taking the helm in 2015.
The Aggborough boss told our YouTube channel: “They have been great, and Kevin has done a fantastic job over the last few years, and even more so this year.
“The defensive record just jumps out at you, it’s fantastic, so we know we’re going to be up against it on Saturday on a big pitch.
“But the sun’s out and we’ll go there with a [big] backing behind us and we’ll look forward to it.
“Especially after a good performance, it’s a great time to go there and confidence should be lifted a little bit.
“It’s a top-of-the-table clash, second against third, so these are the games we want to be part of.”
It’s second v third indeed on Saturday, with the season hurtling towards an exciting conclusion.
The mix of excitement, nerves, pressure and thrills makes for the madness that is an end-of-season run.
Does the gaffer like it? He joked: “No, it’s not very good, I don’t like it!
“I love the ups but I don’t celebrate them too much because I know the downs are just around the corner.
“It has been a tough couple of weeks just because of everything that’s gone on, but it feels great.
“It’s great to have 12 games remaining [and be] still in the mix, and really competitive.
“I think Tuesday’s performance and the result is hopefully going to get us back on track.”
Penn confirmed Harriers will assess Cliff Moyo going into Saturday. He felt tightness in his hamstring on Tuesday on what was his first start of the season.
The issue is by no means serious but will be handled carefully, as will the fitness of Nathan Cameron who has had a scan this week on his own hamstring complaint.
Harriers will otherwise travel with a full compliment to Brackley, with a strong following also ready to join them.
Fans are again reminded that the match is all-ticket for away fans. Please purchase your ticket in advance as none are on sale at the ground on the day.
Kick-off on Saturday is at 3:00pm
This article is about: Match
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