A look at Saturday’s trip south to Cheshunt in the FA Cup…
By Matty Paddock - 29/09/2022
Posted 4 years ago
RUSS Penn insists Harriers will travel to Cheshunt in the FA Cup this weekend with the right attitude despite the squad being decimated by injury.
The Reds were already without a host of names prior to Tuesday’s draw with Buxton, but lost Nathaniel Knight-Percival, Ethan Freemantle and Joe Foulkes on the night.
While there’s mixed news on the injury front ahead of the weekend, Penn is sure the squad will brush off any such concerns to ready themselves for a challenging trip to the National League South side.
The hosts have been tackling a tough start to the term at Step 2 after promotion last season, but found joy in a comeback win over St Neots in the last round.
Their last match was a something of a thriller, a 4-3 home defeat to Tonbridge Angels.
“Any game in the FA Cup is going to be tricky because it’s one-off,” the boss told the Harriers YouTube channel.
”You’ve got to be prepared. I don’t know a lot about the National South [but] we’ve done a lot of homework on Cheshunt this week; had them watched and know a lot about them.
“But, again, as I always say, it’s about us and we are on a good run of form and had a fantastic month last month.
“We’ve got to go with that attitude on Saturday, injuries or not. The team that finished the game on Tuesday was a very strong team.
“So we’re looking forward to going down there and getting a positive result.”
Penn confirmed Knight-Percival and Foulkes have both sustained ankle injuries and will be out of action for Saturday at the very least as they seek specialist diagnosis in the coming days.
There was better news for Freemantle, though, who was able to resume training on Thursday and will be available.
Elsewhere, there are more positives with news that Amari Morgan-Smith also came through Thursday morning’s session, while Tom Owen-Evans had had an injection to treat an ongoing abdominal issue. It’s hoped he’ll be in a position to re-join training shortly with a view to a playing comeback in the next few weeks.
Jack Bearne, still awaiting a Harriers debut as he manages a hip flexor injury, is being scanned and treated back at parent club Liverpool.
Nathan Lowe (knee) is “touch and go” for Saturday’s fixture but is at least very much back on the comeback trail, though Jack Tolley (ankle) also remains out of action.
Despite all of that, the gaffer is delighted at how close the group have become over the last couple of months.
“The character has been shown in the last month and there has been a lot of injuries to go with that as well,” he explained.
“It’s a testament to the group that they’re churning out some very good performances… we’ve got a really good bond this season and had a fantastic pre-season.
“I think you’re starting to see the growth of that camaraderie now.”
As a reminder, Harriers fans can purchase tickets in advance for Saturday’s game at Cheshunt, which also gives a saving of £2 on the on-the-day price.
Kick-off in the weekend’s Cup tie is at 3:00pm.
In the event the game finishes level, a replay will be held at Aggborough on Tuesday.
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