Riley sweating after one-match ban
Kidderminster Harriers defender Martin Riley is worried about getting his place back after serving a one-game ban which will see him miss the FA Trophy trip to Matlock.
The young defender turned 21 in Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Stevenage and got a fifth yellow card of the campaign as a birthday present, so must sit out the next game.
An evening out after the game was also out of the question as fuming manager Mark Yates dragged in the players for training on Sunday morning but the birthday boy was pleased - as he wants to catch the eye of the Harriers boss in training before the Blue Square Premier trip to Hayes & Yeading on Saturday week.
Tom Sharpe is set to step in for the trip to Derbyshire and, after making the breakthrough himself to become an established regular when Luke Jones was suspended last November, Riley has been left sweating.
He said: "I reckon it will be Tom that comes in, he's a good player who trains well and deserves a chance. I am sure he will be fine if he gets thrown in.
"Obviously I know how important it is to take your chance when it comes, and I would like to hope that my place won't be gone in the following game. We have seen it with our left-back Lee Baker, who made a silly tackle at Fleetwood, got suspended and hasn't played since.
"That sort of stuff can happen, we may have a small squad but we have got some good players. All I can do is train well in the next couple of weeks and get my spot back, if you will."
Harriers are widely expected to dispose of Matlock on Saturday and book their place in the second round, against a team some two levels below in the Unibond Premier League.
Riley concedes he could have missed bigger games, but reiterates the importance of getting the job done.
He said: "I have picked quite a good one to miss perhaps, because it's expected to be an easier tie for us. But it's a game we need to win, so we have to be careful. We need to go far in this competition, because all a player ever wants to do is play at Wembley.
"I haven't done it, the club obviously has in the past but not many of us here now have. That is what everybody is aiming for, and we are capable of doing it. It's a great chance of some silverware."
