Hitting the depths of non-league as Kidderminster look upwards

With Birmingham City playing on Good Friday and Easter Monday, I took the opportunity to watch some non-league football on Easter Saturday, and went along to watch Kidderminster Harriers take on Braintree Town. Here are my reflections on the game and the match-day experience. 

You know cabin fever has set in when going to watch non-league football sounds like a brilliant way to spend Easter Saturday. Beaten down by essays and living on my own for much of Easter, I went to check out Kidderminster Harriers, who have been in the news this week for being in a finer vein of form than Real Madrid.

For the uneducated, Kidderminster Harriers are Worcestershire's most premier football club, in a catchment area largely dominated by West Bromwich Albion. Their home ground, Aggborough, is more famous for its top quality food than for producing world class players, yet a quick look at the two stands on either flank would suggest this would not be a stadium out of place in the Football League.

This season, after an eight year absence, Harriers fans might just get their wish. Looking down the league table, there are some big names in this division. Hereford, Mansfield, Macclesfield, all have recent Football League pedigree. Without a meaningful promotion challenge in recent years, there can be little doubt that Kidderminster haven't punched their weight. This season, however, with Steve Burr in charge, Harriers are something of a juggernaut.

The league table, admittedly, has a strange look to it. Harriers lead second placed Mansfield by a solitary point, yet while Kidderminster have just four games left, Mansfield, on the other hand, have seven, symptomatic of this appalling winter. It looks to be a straight shoot-out between those two, with the loser of that race having to go through the play-offs.

If Kidderminster can grind out wins like this, then no-one will fancy them in that particular lottery. I cannot imagine this was anything like Harriers' best performance of the season, but whether you are Manchester United or Macclesfield Town, this stage of the season is all about winning.

The first forty minutes, against Braintree Town of Essex, marooned in mid-table, was a disjointed affair in which both defences were on top.

Or, in simple terms, it was utter shite.

The pitch, although hardly unplayable, bore all the scars of this most discontented of winters. The tension, with everyone aware of just how must-win this match was, filtered through onto the pitch. Mistakes were aplenty, and the final ball was non-existent.

Then, with five minutes remaining in the first half, Braintree got a deserved opening goal. Their bustling captain, Kenny Davis, got in front of his lackadaisical marker and buried a near post header. The thirty-seven travelling fans roared their approval in an audible Essex accent.

Half-time, and off I went to sample the famous Aggborough soup. Christ, what a treat. Simply the best £1.50 I've ever spent at a football ground, and one of the nicest soups I've ever tasted. No exaggeration. I don't want to get all patronising and talk about how lovely and quaint Kidderminster is as a ground, but this is the sort of hidden gem one discovers if you venture to parts of the country that only football fans could ever wish to visit.

Harriers were simply awful, and could only improve. Thankfully, they did. 'Marvellous' Marvin Johnson, a second half substitute, led a counter attack that top scorer Anthony Malbon merely had to tap home for the equaliser.

It's one of the quirks of this division that not every team has full-time players on its books. Harriers are full-time; Braintree are not. The disparity in fitness showed, in truth, and you sense that games such as this in the Blue Square Premier follow a similar pattern. Harriers were strikingly bigger and fitter than Braintree, and the centre-half pairing of Cheyenne Dunkley and Josh Gowling were a monster outfit.

Gowling, my Man of the Match (although the sponsors gave it to Johnson), resembled a cross between Marouane Fellaini, Don Goodman, and Curtis Davies. He was excellent, remaining on his feet, making inch-perfect interceptions, and keeping his side in it in the first half. It's not surprising to discover with a little bit of research that Gowling has over one hundred appearances in the Football League.

Three minutes after the equaliser, Harriers were in front. A dangerous cross into the 'corridor of uncertainty', an uncertain touch, and Braintree's Wells was putting the ball past his own 'keeper.

You could see the confidence and fitness drain from Braintree, and they mustered little threat for the remaining half-hour. With Mansfield picking up three points at nearby Tamworth, this was a huge win for Harriers, and if they win their remaining four games, they'll take some catching. One thing's for certain- they'll have to improve from this performance.

Vital Facts
Final score: Kidderminster Harriers 2-1 Braintree Town
Attendance: 2,266
My Man of the Match: Josh Gowling (Kidderminster).
Match Rating: 5 (five minutes of inspiration, 85 of perspiration)
Soup Rating: 10

I didn't want this to become a patronising piece on how wonderful and homely Kidderminster and non-league football is, nor did I want it to be a rant on how Sky Sports is 'killing the game' and we should all go and support our non-league team like Bear Grylls crossed with Lenin. However, it was pleasant to stand on the terraces, giving a non-league game a far better atmosphere than most of the Birmingham games I've been to this season.

Less charming was the announcement advertising 'Ladies Night' in a couple of weeks. Strippers, drag queens, and an Ann Summers raffle. I think I'll stick to watching matches against Braintree, thanks.