Wealdstone 1-1 Kidderminster Harriers
The National League battle for survival continues to heat up with Wealdstone and Kidderminster Harriers sharing the spoils at Grosvenor Vale
Left-footed finishes towards the end of both halves ensured Wealdstone and Kidderminster Harriers shared the spoils at Grosvenor Vale.
On a day when the weather couldn’t make up its mind, a game of two halves played out with Wealdstone hitting bar and post before Max Kretzschmar finished.
The second half saw Kiddy take control and after Marcus Dewhurst denied Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Ashley Hemmings stepped up to strike low into the corner.
Another important game for both as they look to avoid the drop, the Stones needed a response having lost 1-0 at home to Bromley in midweek, despite playing against ten men for over 70 minutes. They sat 16th, knowing they have four games in hand on most sides but remaining just three points clear of the bottom four.
That’s a bottom four that included Kidderminster Harriers, who have done brilliantly since the arrival of Phil Brown but need that final push to exit the drop zone. They were in 22nd, two points adrift of safety.
David Noble made four changes to his side from midweek with Sean Adarkwa returning to the XI with Micah Obiero, Kretzschmar and Kallum Cesay, making his full debut, joining him. Mason Barrett, Kyle Smith, Aaron Henry and Manny Duku dropped out.
Brown acknowledged the feel of his side improved when Sam Bellis and Jack Lambert came onto the pitch during their own tussle with Bromley and both returned to the XI, replacing Emmanuel-Thomas and Gold Omotayo.
The visitors made the brighter start, putting plenty of energy into the game and trying to steamroll opponents that had had less time to prepare but The Stones stood up to the challenge and had the first big moment of the game, Jaydn Mundle-Smith breaking into space and finding Kretzschmar, who won a free-kick from which he forced a decent stop.
A break in play followed due to an Alex Penny injury and though Kiddy continued to go direct and play for seconds, the better chances were coming for the Stones, who almost scored with their next big chance.
A corner routine saw Kretzschmar’s effort blocked. In the aftermath, Cesay cracked an effort from distance against the bar and when the ball sent back into the area, Adarkwa could only head against the post.
Adarkwa got the better of Krystian Pearce but Brandon Mason couldn’t finish the job. Charlie Barker thought he’d given his side the lead only for the offside flag to deny him and Kretzschmar’s snapshot fell the wrong side of the net. At the other end, Amari Morgan-Smith decided he’d seen enough and bodied his way through the Stones defence and poking just wide.
Adarkwa had done a decent job against Pearce before being subbed off and replacement Duku needed to follow suit. He did his job, tangling Pearce to the ground where he was sharp enough to poke the ball forward. Kretzschmar reacted quickest, promptly firing the ball into far side of the net.
Now, one of the downsides to watching from home is that the National League TV streams aren’t always the most stable. So having seen Obiero turn nicely only for Pearce to block his effort, the stream cut off.
One of the positives is that when that happens, I can take a quick detour. So I did. Aldershot Town vs Solihull Moors. I saw Joss Labadie and Ollie Harfield get into a tussle, Callum Maycock almost round Van Stappershoef before Tyrese Shade his the inside of the post. All happening.
Then the voices of Paul Franklin and Joe Pope returned. Here we go.
That occurred as Kiddy made a double substitution, replacing Reiss McNally and Bellis with Matt Preston and Emmanuel-Thomas. It helped.
Patient work down between Lambert and Hemmings led to Emmanuel-Thomas firing at goal from close range only for Dewhurst to show fantastic reactions. Morgan-Smith then held up possession and fed Lambert for a low strike on target.
The changes had allowed Lambert and Hemmings to play close together and they made the most of it, the former with a gorgeous dragback that send his markers the wrong way and finding the latter inbetween the centre-halves to take a touch and finish off the inside of the post.
From there, the visitors had the territory but the hosts were quick to exploit space in transition. Mundle-Smith found himself in the right-hand side of the area but his effort lacked conviction. At the other end, a corner was flicked on by Alex Penny at the near post for Pearce, who could only head against the bar from close range.
That looked to be that, only for substitute Charlie Weston to see his clearance blocked, but the Stones couldn’t make the most of their man advantage and Henry’s effort was charged down.
Not a pretty game for the neutral, but an enjoyable one nonetheless. A draw does need side too much good, but not losing games at this point of the season is a positive.
Lineups
Wealdstone
Dewhurst; Cesay Cook Barker JMS; Obiero Bowen Young Mason; Kretzschmar (Henry 74); Adarkwa (Duku 40; Barrett 86). Unused: Adams; Seaman .
Kidderminster Harriers
Dibble; McNally (Preston 59) Pearce Penny; Hemmings Griffiths (Weston 74) Brown Richards; Lambert; Bellis (JET 59) AMS. Unused: Hesketh Omotayo.
Tactics
Two teams with different playing styles but similar approaches without the ball.
Kidderminster started the stronger and it was a case of taking no chances. Every time Dibble received possession, he went long. They particularly looked for the right-hand side. Morgan-Smith would usually compete for the first ball with Hemmings, Bellis, the two centre mids and McNally nearby for seconds. It was clear that they had targeted the smaller side of the Stones backline. Although they went long on numerous occasions, it always look calculated rather than going long for the sake of going long.
Hemmings was heavily involved with the ball once they got it down. He had license to drift inside with McNally overlapping or spreading play towards the left, where Lambert and Richards were often available and free with Wealdstone covering across the pitch.
One notable aspect is that when they did receive play in deeper areas and needed to move the ball to get set, Krystian Pearce would drop very deep with Penny and McNally wide of him, allowing Pearce to receive the ball and make the decision of when and where to play from. McNally also had license to make forward runs when Pearce was in possession, with Hemmings dropping into pockets. They weren’t afraid, if Pearce wasn’t free or had less time, to go back to Dibble to launch the ball forward.
Wealdstone weren’t particularly fancy in their work off the ball. The defence and midfield stayed narrow when the ball was moved to one flank, shifting across side to side. It was generally in a 4-1-4-1 shape with Young, occasionally Bowen, sitting behind his midfield partner and the front four. It stopped Kiddy being able to play into midfield and ensured they were ready for the seconds when the ball was pumped long. The gaps were fairly tight between units, so the ball often needed to be moved wide, especially as Kiddy lacked the quality to play through.
In possession, their 4-1-4-1 became more of a 3-4-3 with Cesay having license to step forward on the overlap and Obiero able to step inside. Mason remained high and wide on the left with Mundle-Smith a supporting over or underlap rather than a consistent option. It allowed Kretzschmar to float and Bowen and Young to always be available to receive and spread play.
Much of their play was built up down the right-hand side Kretzschmar got involved drifting into space, Adarkwa, then Duku, could go up against Pearce in a physical battle and Cesay could overlap Obiero, which occupied Penny and Richards. While many of the passes were moved initially towards that side of the pitch, Kretzschmar did find himself with license to drop off the front and join the midfield two, while Adarkwa/Duku pinned Pearce, giving the Stones options to play direct across the ground through the centre.
While the Stones built a fair amount of their play down that side in the first half, their best work tended to come via the left. With Mason high and wide and Adarkwa/Duku looking to pin their defender, Mundle-Smith tended to have space inside to drive, which caused problems for Kiddy’s shape and led to early chances.
Kiddy started the game defending with a back five, Griffiths just in front then Morgan-Smith or Bellis stepping out to the right and joining Lambert and Brown behind the striker. It meant the ability to play through the middle was generally cut off but that Wealdstone could work the ball across the back while the midfield were capable of playing one-touch and drawing people on, which gave them a foothold in the game.
Something was clearly amiss because by half-time, a change was made. Hemmings moved from right-wing-back to up top alongside Morgan-Smith with Bellis out on the right, Lambert wider on the left and Griffiths stepping up higher, going for a full press and man-for-man in an attempt to stop Wealdstone dictating the game.
That continued into the second half, including once the substitutions were made. To explain the changes, Preston and Emmanuel-Thomas replaced McNally and Bellis. Kiddy moved to a 4-1-4-1 with Penny now at right-back (previous left-side of the back three), Emmanuel-Thomas as an inside right, Hemmings left-wing and Morgan-Smith up top. However, out of possession, Emmanuel-Thomas had license to stay high, supported by Lambert, with Morgan-Smith selflessly shifting out to the right. It meant a lot of chopping and changing but keeping the ball down the right-hand side with the fluidity helping.
As for Wealdstone, they had gone fairly like-for-like with Henry replacing Kretzschmar, just less of an advanced threat. Their last substitute saw Mason Barrett come on for Duku. Barrett stepped in at right-back, Cesay into the midfield and Obiero as the lone striker.
One final note. Whenever Kiddy had a free-kick within 35 yards of goal, Jack Lambert simply stepped up and tried to hammer the ball towards goal. Clean strikes. They didn’t reach the box, however. Interesting approach.
Players
If you had asked me before the game which two players I would expect to have the biggest impact on these sides, I’d have plumped for Max Kretzschmar and Ashley Hemmings and the experienced pair stepped up.
Kretzschmar is a very intelligent footballer and pulls the strings high up for Wealdstone. He knew when to drop off, when to go in behind, where his team-mates and his reaction time for the goal was very quick. Nice finish, too.
Hemmings is a different sort of player but just as lively with quick feet and devilish delivery. Whether on the right, left or in the centre of the pitch, his confidence with the ball showed.
Elsewhere, Marcus Dewhurst had a good game in goal for the hosts. Jaydn Mundle-Smith came under pressure but handled himself well and stepped forward with the ball well. I thought Sean Adarkwa was excellent until injury forced him off and for a first start in professional football, Kallum Cesay handled himself very well.
For Kidderminster, I thought their defence struggled. Penny had a period where he was recovering from a knock, Pearce had a good tussle with Adarkwa but found himself a little isolated at times while McNally had positional difficulties. The midfield needs more quality and drive. Morgan-Smith led by example up top while Jack Lambert had a quiet game yet still showed a real moment of quality to assist the goal.
Conclusions
Not a result that does either side many favours in the grand scheme of things.
If one side does benefit from the result, it’s Wealdstone. A loss would have left them a point above Kidderminster and the dropzone, so not losing the game could be important in that sense, especially with so many more opportunities to pick up results given the number of games they still have to play.
There were positives to take. The quality and knowhow remains, which is important, despite the change of manager. David Noble hasn’t been afraid to utilise the experience of Kretzschmar and Alex Dyer, leaders under the previous regime. And they held their own despite the early, physical ambush. They were prepared for it, coped and picked their moments to play rather than putting themselves under pressure.
However, whether it’s a mindset thing, whether it’s not having some of their more experienced players on the pitch, whether it’s confidence to stay in control while ahead or tired minds/legs as they embark on a run of 12 matches in five weeks, allowing themselves to fall short in the second half will be frustrating. This looked a good opportunity to get three points at home for the first time since late January and ease the pressure ahead of the aforementioned run of games.
Given the amount of games they have to play, you have to assume they’ll be okay. However, we saw in the Championship with Rotherham United a few years back how difficult things can become when breaks are few and far between, so the sooner Wealdstone accrue the points they need, the better.
As for Kiddy, Phil Brown said before the game “there’s only one way to enjoy yourself and that’s by winning games”, so you have to assume he and his squad are frustrated they couldn’t get the second. They came close enough, Emmanuel-Thomas forcing a big stop and Pearce hitting the bar late on. Over the course of the 90, the draw was probably the fair result but it doesn’t mean you don’t regret missing those opportunities.
I’m not 100% sure how to feel about them. Brown has certainly been given the opportunities to bring players in that Russell Penn seemingly didn’t and he’s brought some big fish to the club. Yet he has openly spoke about relying on those that were already there to avoid chopping and changing too much. What affect has that had on the squad? Well, they’ve drawn their last four and won two of nine since a four-match winning streak upon Brown’s arrival.
When you’re cut adrift, getting back into the mix is the easy part with the pressure off. Going again once you’ve caught up with the pack is more difficult, as Kiddy are finding. Getting over the line. Getting the winning goal. It’s not easy.
They are now 22nd, two points adrift of safety, with only five matches left to play while Dorking Wanderers, Boreham Wood, Maidenhead United and Eastleigh have games in hand. Three of their final five are at home, which is the positive, but four are against sides in the top nine, while Eastleigh are the other opponents, a side that have some of the most feared goal threats in the division. Can they pick up the 7/8 points they probably need from that? It’s tough.
As always Easter will be the tell for those sides at the bottom. That point certainly didn't do much for Kiddy, and honestly not really for Wealdstone, gotta win your home games against fellow strugglers.