By Tom Bason
July 27 2012

Tonight, a Wolves (Development) XI lost 1-0 at Kidderminster Harriers thanks to a 79th minute goal from Danny Pilkington. Please note, I left on 65 minutes to catch the train, so everything here is based on the first hour or so.

Lineup: Aaron McCarey; Matt Doherty, Ethan Ebanks-Landell, Michael Ihiekwe, Jamie Reckford; Adam Hammill, Jack Price, Sam Whittall, Johnny Gorman; Jake Cassidy, Jake Kempton
Subs: Jamie Tank, Aliaz Cotman, Dominic Iorfa, Tim Jakobsson, Robbie Parry, David Moli, Kristian Kostrna

Aaron McCarey in goal is a lot bigger than I realised. Early on, he was clattered by a Kiddy striker, but he stood his ground and the striker bounced off him. He also very quick off his line, something Wayne Hennessey needs to work on, and wasn't frightened to come beyond the edge of his area to clear. He also always looked to pass the ball out to the defence, rather than kicking long.

In defence, I was pleased Matt Doherty started as he was a player many fans have high hopes for. As it was, he was quite quiet tonight, but was solid enough when called upon. On the opposite flank, Jamie Reckford was more tested, and early on struggled as Kidderminster's right winger beat him both in the air, and was able to take advantage of Reckford being caught up field. All of Kiddy's openings in the first half came due to Reckford being caught out. Saying that, he got forward to better effect than Doherty, despite not being able to actually create any real chances. Neither centre half stood out, although it was noticeable that it was Michael Ihiekwe who was the more talkative of the two, constantly talking to Ethan Ebanks-Landell and the midfield in front of him. Unfortunately, the most noticeable moment for Ebanks-Landell came when he carelessly gave the ball away in the second half, attempting a far more difficult pass than was necessary.

In front of the defence sat Jack Price and Sam Whittall. Again, neither really stood out, with both of them happy to sit deep and neither particularly breaking forward. Both of them were tidy enough in possession, but neither looked to make a particular impact going forward. Neither was massively needed in this role, seeing as both Adam Hammill and Johnny Gorman played very narrowly. I was surprised to see Hammill warming up when I arrived, and can only think that he needed to play more minutes than he otherwise have been able to play in tomorrow's Walsall match – he didn’t play or warm up like a player who’s been stuck in with the kids as a punishment. Hammill was obviously the highest quality player on the pitch, at times gliding past players as though they weren't there, and provided the best Wolves chance with a whipped in freekick that should have been converted. But, both he and Gorman spent much of the match cutting inside into a mass of Kiddy defenders. The couple of times Hammill did isolate the fullback, he was able to deliver dangerous crosses, but he spent too much time running up blind alleys.

Given the positions that Hammill and Gorman took up, it seems strange to say that the strikers Jakes Cassidy and Kempton were isolated. Yet, despite both working hard, the game seemed to pass both of them by, with neither ever looking like scoring, or even particularly getting a chance. In fact, the most relevant thing I can remember about either is that Cassidy won one header well in the first half. Hardly a glowing report.

I don't know how relevant this match was to the first team. Of the starting eleven, Doherty and Hammill are the only ones I'd expect to be anywhere near the first team. From a tactical point of view, it was a fairly basic 4-4-2 formation, with two tucked in wingers and two out and out forwards. Again, I doubt the relevance to the first team - the team was managed by Steve Weaver, with new boy and former Kidderminster Harriers player Sean Parrish there as well. Also present was Terry Connor who took a seat in with the fans - I did look for Ståle Solbakken, but did not see him. Seeing as Connor sat on his own in the stand, I suspect that Solbakken wasn't present.