Matt Maher: Sentimental? Yes, but Kidderminster deserved replay
Fans attend football matches hoping to see their team win. Journalists go wanting a story.
Boy, did we nearly get one at Aggborough last Saturday when Kidderminster Harriers came within seconds of pulling off what would, statistically, have been the biggest FA Cup shock of all-time.
Ultimately the gut-wrenching nature of Declan Rice’s stoppage-time equaliser and Jarrod Bowen’s even crueller last-kick winner could not detract from a tremendous occasion for Harriers, a club which has spent recent years in the doldrums but now feels reborn.
There was, however, one lingering gripe over the finish. In any other season, Rice’s stunning late leveller would only have been enough to earn the Premier League club a replay.
That scenario was taken off the table just before Christmas when the FA agreed to scrap replays in the third and fourth round this season, in order to ease fixture congestion caused by a slew of Covid-19 related call-offs.
A necessary step? Perhaps. Or maybe another example of the FA bowing to the needs of those with the deepest pockets by compromising their own competition?
Either way, it still felt a little disappointing and there was a financial impact too for Harriers, who would have been entitled to half of the gate receipts at the 60,000-capacity London Stadium.
No-one at the club, in truth, was making too much of a fuss about it. There will be those who argue Harriers stood their best chance of pulling off the upset in extra-time, or in a penalty shoot-out. Had replays still been in the competition, Manchester United would have dodged their embarrassing exit against Middlesbrough.
But to us rank sentimentalists, replays are part of what makes the FA Cup special. Without them, it does lose a little of its glitter.
P.S. Spare a thought for Harriers media manager Matt Paddock. Aside from Kidderminster, his other footballing love is Southampton. So it was a nailed-on certainty once West Ham had scraped through on Saturday they would be drawn away in the fifth round at St Mary’s Stadium.
If only that were the half of it. When Harriers were edged out 1-0 at Sunderland in the fourth round eight years ago, the Black Cats were drawn away at – you guessed it – Southampton. “I think the FA are trolling me!” messaged a miffed Paddock earlier this week. He could well be right.
