It was 28 years ago that West Ham ended the best FA Cup run in Kidderminster’s history, with a fifth-round 1-0 win at Aggborough Stadium against the non-league side. And so with the Harriers looking to emulate that feat, fate has taken a hand by giving them another shot at the Hammers on Saturday.
An extraordinary run from Russ Penn’s National League North outfit has already seen them negotiate seven matches in this year’s competition, starting with Sporting Khalsa in September, and most recently seeing Championship side Reading dispatched in January.
In one of a series of uncanny coincidences, David Moyes has brought a team to this part of Worcestershire before in the FA Cup – in the third round of that 1993-94 run when Preston succumbed 1-0. In the next round, Kidderminster took out Birmingham – then owned by current West Ham joint-owners David Gold and David Sullivan.
There are 113 places separating the two teams this time in the football pyramid, and a victory for the Harriers would represent one of the greatest shocks in the long history of even this upset-littered competition.
The manager seems to have struck exactly the right balance between getting the league form right - Kidderminster are pushing hard for promotion to the National League – and allowing the ‘Magic of the Cup’ spirit to spread throughout the dressing room and the town.
To stay in contention in the league behind Gateshead and Brackley, Harriers took 16 points from 21 and seven games played between the win over Reading, and the FA Cup fourth round. And satisfaction from that huge effort gives them in effect a free shot against the Premier League team.
Penn said: “It is a great occasion for the football club and now we have done some catch-up in the league with a large number of games played there with a good points return, we can really look forward to this.
“The enthusiasm around the town is fantastic and contagious. I am speaking from a studio where on Saturday Gary Lineker will be sitting, and that is another reality check!
“We are preparing for one of the biggest clubs in the country coming to town, and it is massive for the community and the local area. Pubs around the town are sold out just for a ticket to watch the game on TV, and I’m getting texts from local businesses to say how they are benefiting. That is special.
⏪ Harriers' 1-0 win against @pnefc is our only ever @EmiratesFACup Fourth Round victory, thanks to a goal from Delwyn Humphries!
❤🦅 #Harriers #COYR
“I think there is a Harriers supporters’ group in Norway with a few coming over, and I worry for everyone else getting a drink with them in town, they have drunk a few pubs dry. They have hats and a drum, and have supported the club for a couple of years. I hope they really enjoy their weekend.
“I hope we are giving the supporters one of the best seasons in the club’s history. The bread and butter is the league, we have always said that. We are being competitive in that, the FA Cup run has been a bonus but our form in one competition has been mirrored in the other.
“After the Reading game in the last round we had seven league games to play between then and now. We managed to get 16 points from those 21, a great return, and now we can give this occasion everything.
“We must prepare for West Ham the way we prepare for every game. I want the lads to enjoy it, but also there is a game we want to win and to do ourselves justice in.
“We won’t set up with 10 behind the ball, even if it goes that way at some stage. We are free-flowing and have scored a lot of goals this season even at our level.
“Of course Premier League players are better than National League North players, that’s why they get paid the millions. They are fitter and quicker. And mentally they are used to the situations and can deal with the problems.
“But we need to be on our game, and hope they have an off day. West Ham will respect us and have been to watch us a few times, the likes of Stuart Pearce at the last three, and also Alan Irvine. They have done their homework.
“The changing room might be a bit of a reality check for them – but apart from that I think they will be pleasantly surprised by the ground and facilities.
“We have to believe, and I have said to the lads, that history can be made one day – and we given ourselves the opportunity to do that on Saturday. We could get spanked and then it’s move and back to the league. But it’s an empty book to be scripted.
“That run for the club in 1994 was 28 years ago now, and David Moyes is still in the game, as are David Sullivan and David Gold.
“I hope they play their best and biggest guns like Declan Rice and Michail Antonio – their second team is pretty strong anyway, so I’d rather play the best. This is our Cup final and we have played seven games to get to this point. I believe they will play a very strong side.”
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