Penny 19
WEST HAM UNITED 2 (AET)
Rice 90+1, Bowen 120+1
By DAVID RICHARDSONTwo minutes and an England international separated Kidderminster Harriers from producing one of the all-time great FA Cup shocks.
Declan Rice struck the cruellest of equalisers in injury-time to break the hearts of the National League North side – then Jarrod Bowen repeated the trick in the final minute of extra time.
Kidderminster were outstanding and at least deserved to take the Premier League side to penalties having led for 72 minutes after Alex Penny sent them into dreamland.
Their display was not the stereotypical FA Cup performance whereby the ‘plucky’ Non-Leaguer fights and scraps on a mudheap pitch with their goal living a charmed life.
One where bodies are packed behind the ball, hopeful clearances are played up to a lone striker and one dependent on et pieces.
No, sixth-tier Kidinster, playing ninth match in the last four weeks, were simply better than their Premier League opponents in every department – and even the goalmouths were grassy.
STAR MAN MATT PRESTON
Penn’s side were brave, played high up the pitch and hunted and harried from the front, with their forwards Omari Morgan-Smith, Ashley Hemmings and Omari Sterling unable to be contained.
England’s 1966 hero and West Ham legend Sir Geoff Hurst, who was watching from the stands, would have enjoyed their attacking flair. Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant, a Harriers fan, was in attendance too – Kidderminster delivered rock ‘n roll football.
West Ham last came to the Worcestershire town in 1994, eliminating Harriers in the FA Cup fifth round. Kidderminster had beaten Preston in the fourth round who Hammers manager David Moyes was playing for.
Moyes may have benched regular first-teamers Rice, Aaron Cresswell, Thomas Soucek, Craig Dawson and Pablo Fornals – all of whom he later called upon to get his side out of jail – but their starting 11 was still more than capable.
There was West Ham legend Mark Noble in midfield, the in-form striker Bowen, the immensely talented winger Said Benrahma, the Ukraine internation- al Andrij Yarmolenko and the centre-back pairing of Kurt Zouma and Issa Diop, who signed for £30 million and £22 million respectively.
Yet midfielder Alex Kral, a Czech Republic international, had a disaster – not the only one – and looked shellshocked as Sam Austin, Mark Carrington and Geraldo Bajrami ratted around him.
But this day was about Kidderminster, as it was always going to be, who were brilliant from the off.
Captain Austin peaked their belief with a drive from the edge of the area before Hemmings saw his shot also gathered by Alphonse Areola.
Zouma and Diop had a torrid time and it was the latter’s foul on Morgan-Smith which led to the goal. Hemmings drifted in the freekick, Areola came to punch but failed and when the ball dropped to right-back Penny, he coolly volleyed in.
West Ham were unable to muster a shot on target for 60 minutes whereas Kidderminster fancied a second.
Sterling’s free-kick went just wide while West Ham right-back Ryan Federicks put a cross out of the ground.
Hammers manager Moyes made two changes at halftime – he could have easily made 11.
Rice came on for Kral and Dawson for Diop but still Kiddy went forward with Hemmings dipped a shot wide.
Matt Preston headed over from almost under the crossbar before Sterling shot off-target.
West Ham finally showed some of their quality when Luke Simpson excellently saved down low from Bowen, with Preston making a superb block on the rebound, and then the keeper pushed Benrahma’s effort behind.
More Hammers subs came in Cresswell and Soucek before Moyes rolled the dice for the final time as Fornals entered the tie for the final 15 minutes.
But it was sub Rice who ultimately made the difference, surging into the box and slamming the ball into the roof of the net in the first of three added minutes.
Aggborough had finally been silenced, their FA Cup dream, which netted them over £500,000, snatched away. Kidderminster, though, steadied themselves in the first half of extra time then saw the offside flag rescue them in the second when Yarmolenko played the ball across for Bowen to tap-in.
But in the one minute of added time, when they needed the flag again, it didn’t come after Yarmolenko’s shot deflected to Cresswell at the back post, who turned the ball across for Bowen to touch in once more.
ATT: 5,327
ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★
REFEREE: Jonathan Moss
