Fleetwood see off Kidderminster to reach FA Cup second round

Posted Monday, November 06, 2023 by PA

A tale of two headers decided Sunday’s FA Cup contest between Kidderminster and Fleetwood in the Cod Army’s favour, as their 2-1 victory set up a trip to divisional rivals Cambridge in the second round.

After a cagey opening to affairs, visiting skipper Josh Vela provided the first moment of note when flashing a header narrowly past Christian Dibble’s far post, while Promise Omochere should have scored when turning a right-wing centre over the bar on the stretch.

Josh Earl then drifted a header wide of the mark with minutes remaining of the half, foreshadowing his later impact, before Harriers provided a sucker punch against the run of play.

Winning the ball back in the final third, a quick turn and exchange of passes from Amari Morgan-Smith to Ryan McLean saw the latter square for Bailey Hobson to side-foot into the far corner of the net.

But that advantage lasted little more than a minute, Earl afforded a world of space to sink a header home from a corner kick.

Then, seconds after the restart, Shaun Rooney directed a left-wing centre back across goal to leave Dibble with no chance, dumping out the non-league hosts.