In our final preview of club's in the Blue Square Premier next season this week, we look at Mark Yates's Kidderminster Harriers - two times Champions of the Conference.


Kidderminster Harriers

Nickname: Harriers

Manager: Mark Yates

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Ground: Aggborough

Last season: Conference 6th

2008/09 average attendance: 1,688

2009/10 BSP title odds: 20/1

Previous meetings:

Luton wins: 2

Kidderminster wins: 0

Draws: 0

We met the Harriers twice in 2001/02, our promotion season from Division Three, winning 4-1 at Aggborough and 1-0 at home.

The Hatters were not made particularly welcome on their only visit to Worcestershire when a flu epidemic amongst the Luton squad led to Joe Kinnear calling off the original game in December.

Recent history:

Harriers are another club plying their trade in the Conference who have experience of playing league football.

Their stay among the top 92 teams in the country ended following relegation in 2004/05 - the season the Hatters were promoted to the Championship.

It was former Liverpool midfielder Jan Molby that brought league football to Aggborough for the first time in their history when the Harriers stormed to the Conference title in 1999/2000 - beating off title rivals Rushden & Diamonds by nine points.

The Worcestershire outfit were first promoted to the Conference (then known as the Alliance Premier Division) in 1983 and 11 years later they were crowned the kings of non-league football after winning the Conference title in 1994.

However, the Football League refused the Kiddy faithful the chance of witness league football as Aggborough failed to reach the required stadium criteria.

That season, 1993/94, Harriers shot to prominence in the FA Cup, reaching the fifth round, losing to West Ham United - who then went on to lose out to the Hatters in the quarter finals.

The club's fine cup pedigree extends to the FA Trophy with a victory in the 1987 final as well as finishing runners-up four time including their most recent trip to Wembley when they lost to Stevenage Borough 3-2 (after leading 2-0) at Wembley in 2007.

Stevenage also pipped Harriers to a place in the Conference play-offs last season by two points in their best finish in the league since returning to the division.

FACT: Kidderminster were hosts to the world's first ever match that was officiated by three female officials when playing Nuneaton Borough in 1999. Referee Wendy Toms booked four players. Lineswomen were Janie Frampton and Amy Rayner…

Official website: www.harriers.co.uk

Next week: Mansfield Town, Oxford United and Rushden & Diamonds.


Previews so far - click the teams below:

AFC Wimbledon

Altrincham

Barrow

Cambridge United

Chester City

Crawley Town

Eastbourne Borough

Ebbsfleet United

Forest Green Rovers

Gateshead

Grays Athletic

Hayes & Yeading

Histon

Kettering Town