Kidderminster Harriers are eyeing an FA Cup shock against West Ham after reaching lowest ever point

The day before West Ham fell to an agonising 2-1 defeat against Manchester United after a late goal from Jesse Lingard and a 94th-minute penalty miss from Mark Noble, Kidderminster Harriers, of the National League North began their FA Cup journey against Sporting Khalsa.

A 3-1 victory sparked a remarkable cup run which has seen Russ Penn’s side beat Ware FC over two legs and then conquer three higher-tier teams – Grimsby and Halifax (both from the National League) before an eye-catching 2-1 victory over Championship strugglers Reading.

On Saturday, 109 days later and five rounds on from that first nondescript cup win in front of 687 people, Harriers are the lowest-ranked team still in the competition. They face the Premier League‘s fifth-placed team, West Ham, in the fourth round, with five divisions and 113 places separating the two clubs in the English football pyramid.

“Did I think back in September that we’d be in the fourth round? Not a chance,” Penn tells i. “I don’t think there are many bigger games than this. Everyone wants a Premier League team away, but the next best thing is a Premier League team at home.

“Not just any Premier League team, a proper team managed by a proper manager who respects lower league football. So it will be a fantastic occasion.

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“It’s great for the community, puts the town on the map and it’s positive all round really. I’ve heard we’ve got Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards presenting it on Match of the Day live and it’s just fantastic the names that will be coming to the ground. For a sixth-tier team as we are, it’s special.”

Reaching the last 32 of the competition and being drawn against a team that has been flying domestically and in Europe this season has brought attention back to the one-time EFL club after a period in the shadows.

Harriers were relegated from the National League at the end of 2015-16 and after narrowly missing out on an immediate return the following year, they have slowly trickled down the table in subsequent seasons.

“We’ve never been this low as a club,” Penn, who is approaching his two-year anniversary in charge, concedes. “Disappointingly we are at this level, but we are at this level for a reason, it hasn’t quite worked out, but we’re on the way back up now in terms of how we’re structured as a football club on and off the pitch and this is a just reward.”

Far from being a distraction, the club’s exploits in the cup has aided an overdue promotion push. Kidderminster are currently third in the table and four points behind leaders Gateshead after winning five and losing just one of their seven league games since beating Reading.

“I don’t like to compare ourselves to Premier League teams because we’re miles apart,” Penn acknowledges. “We’ve got a better chance at home than we would have had away in my opinion. We’re in good form. They’ve got everything to lose and nothing to gain and we have everything to gain so I’m looking forward to it.

“We’ll plan as usual as if we’re playing a league game, that’s all we can do. Yes the opposition are far better but I don’t want to go into it in damage limitation. We’re here for a reason and want to give it a good go but we’re also not naïve enough to lose the game in the first 10 minutes.

“Everyone loves the underdog and everyone wants an upset so we will have probably got more fans on Saturday. But I also think after the Covid situation over the last two years and just having crowds back in, it does feel that extra bit special.”

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Penn has been leaning on his own FA Cup experiences as a player to give his squad added motivation. “I’ve got to the fourth round myself with Burton Albion. We beat Middlesbrough [in 2011] but that was League Two against Championship so not a gap as big as this.

“I’ve got Phil Neville’s [shirt] from when we played Everton, Niko Kranjcar from Spurs… I kept all my shirts from the FA Cup. They aren’t all hung up otherwise I’d be a real saddo, but they’re all in my mum’s wardrobe! But you look back at it now and think ‘oh God yeah, that was a good day’. Memories like this you can pass on to your kids and grandkids. That’s why it’s so special.”

Although a glamour tie away at one of the biggest stadiums in the country is the dream scenario for a non-league club, Kidderminster still stand to earn a sizeable profit from having West Ham in town.

“It’s massive, monumental. We don’t even budget for winning in the first round of the FA Cup because it’s a bonus so to get this far and the prize money that we’ve got in the first six rounds – the crowds, the gates, the TV money, the sponsorship that we’re getting through – it’s massive.”

from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/BJOr8vK