Third time unlucky for Kenna as Harriers let it slip

May 14 2007 By Colin Stoner, Birmingham Post

Never mind the old Twin Towers or the new 21st Century Wembley, it was still the same old story for Jeff Kenna.

The Kidderminster Harriers full-back has now stepped out of the tunnel at the home of English football and three times he has returned to the dressing-room vanquished.

Harriers took a 2-0 lead after 37 minutes of the FA Trophy final against Stevenage Borough on Saturday, but lost that advantage after 74 minutes and were dealt a crushing blow when Steve Morison pounced in the 88th minute to take the trophy to Broadhall Way.

The 36-year-old full-back and Boro's former Wycombe Wanderers winger Steve Guppy became the first players to feature in the two versions of the national stadium, but Kenna knows he will never have a better chance to walk up to the Royal Box as a winner.

"It is better than the old Wembley but it's still the same bloody result," said Kenna, who lost the 1992 Zenith Data Systems Cup final with Southampton and the 1995 Charity Shield with Blackburn Rovers. "I'm getting sick of it!"

Having raced into a fully-merited 2-0 half-time lead, Harriers had barely given Stevenage a kick but Kenna says conceding a goal six minutes into the second period tipped the balance of play. "If we had kept it tight in the first 15 minutes of the second half, it might have taken the sting out of them," said Kenna. "But they got the goal and that galvanised them.

"Once they got the second goal, I felt we looked a little bit against the ropes. We were hanging on for extra time but it wasn't to be. We ran out of steam. If we had gone 3-0 up, that really would have knocked the stuffing out of them but full credit to them. Their manager made a couple of changes and it really gave them the impetus in the second half."

Kenna, who joined Harriers from Derby County last season on a one-year deal, will sit down with Harriers manager Mark Yates in the next week to discuss his own future. But he has indicated he would like to stay with the Nationwide Conference club and believes Saturday's Wembley experience can be the catalyst for Kidderminster to push for promotion back into the Football League next season.

"We've got to take the positives and build on them," said Kenna. "We know we've got to improve our overall 90-minute performance and that's certainly something the manager will work on in pre-season. If we can do that and hit the ground running, then certainly the play-offs are achievable."

>> Kidderminster 2 Stevenage 3 plus Choker for skipper Whitehead