For all their renowned FA Cup pedigree, Kidderminster Harriers might have been forgiven for thinking that Saturday's first-round meeting with Doncaster Rovers was badly timed.

Harriers had not won in the National League in almost two months, to slip from the top three to 13th. So they did suddenly find the winning recipe again?

Their only victory in that nine-game run had been in the last round of the Cup, the 2-1 fourth qualifying round triumph at home to Solihull Moors - and when the two teams met again at Damson Park on the Saturday before the cup rematch, despite taking a third-minute lead, Harriers went down by the same 2-1 scoreline.

So, eight days on, how did Harriers come to then hand out a 3-0 walloping to a League One side? Simply, they all went for a curry.

All paid for by the chairman, Richard Lane. And all the staff came too. As morale boosters go, it is hard to imagine anything hotter and tastier than that.

"We had a little bit of a hangover after the Solihull game," Harriers manager Paul Wotton told BBC Hereford & Worcester. "It really affected us a little bit.

"The chairman took us all out, everyone, the players, the staff, the administration, for a curry on Monday night.

"The mood was great and it kind of really helped us get over the disappointment of Solihull.

"Now we have to enjoy this. The boys deserve a nice cold beer."

The beers were all duly consumed on Saturday night. With afters to follow on Monday of "bread and butter" pudding.

"Monday morning and we're back to work," said Wotton. "Without sounding too miserable, it's back to our bread and butter.

"We've got Halifax at home on Saturday, which is a big game.

"We've only picked the same team once. We've had to navigate a lot of obstacles. A lot of hurdles, but that's what football and life throws at you."

But the main end product for Wotton was the return to the standard he knows his team are capable of - and the realisation that his National League side could actually have won by more against a Rovers side 40 places higher in the English pyramid.

Even Harriers, for all their past Cup reputation, do not beat league clubs by three goals too often. And it could have been more.

"I never get giddy," said Wotton. "I never get low and I don't get too high either.

"The really pleasing thing for me was the fans. That's for them really. The atmosphere at the end was fantastic.

"We could have scored more goals. But we have to remember we're still playing a League One team, whatever the result suggests.

"We had to do an awful lot of defending. We had to be excellent without the ball. And we were. But we had a lot of 8 out of 10s, whereas last week we had a lot of 5 out of 10s and that makes a big difference."