| It was a case
of ‘rewind four days’
at Earlsmead on Tuesday evening.
Again Harrow were in the lead,
again they lost the game, again
they had a man dismissed. But,
against one of the teams fancied
to take the Ryman title, there
were some encouraging signs
in this display.
Following Saturday’s
late disintegration at Hitchin,
manager Edwin Stein pinpointed
a major area of weakness on
that occasion by changing both
his wing-backs, moving back
Steve Dogbe on the right-hand
side and giving a debut to former
QPR man Danny Murphy on the
left. Wayne Walters came in
to stiffen up the midfield Murphy
was in first-minute action with
shot following a corner that
was saved by visiting keeper
Pettinger. At the other end,
David Hook, back in the Harrow
goal, had to make a smart save
from Clarke’s header.
Exchanges were even in the
early part of the game. Pat
Gavin’s shot was saved,
while at the other end King
broke through and had a shot
saved. On 14 minutes, Clarke
had a clear chance in front
of goal, but shot wide. Back
came Harrow and Wayne Walters
had an effort held by Pettinger.
In Abdulai Yoki, Harrow have
signed a forward whose pace
will trouble many opposing defences.
In the 19th minute he outpaced
Lodge to a through ball and
whistled a shot over the bar.
Lodge was injured in his efforts
to keep pace and had to be replaced.
Harrow went in front in the
25th minute. Yoki again outpaced
the defence and forced Pettinger
to scoop the ball clear. Ross
Fitzsimon was first to the loose
ball and stroked it home from
the edge of the box.
Holding on to leads has been
a long-term Harrow problem,
and this game was no exception.
Moments after going in front,
Hook made a brilliant reflex
save to deny Clarke, but was
powerless to keep out Murphy’s
header from the resulting corner.
Before half-time, Hook saved
well from King, and Yoki and
Dogbe shot over the bar for
Borough.
Murphy and Fitzsimon twice
combined well early in the second
half but first Fitzsimon’s
shot was saved, and then Murphy
was stopped by weight of numbers
in the Kettering defence. At
the other end, Solkhon poked
the ball wide when the home
defenders allowed a free-kick
to drop in the middle of the
penalty area.
In the 63rd minute, Perry Norman
found himself on the wrong side
of a visiting attacker. Down
went the forward and in went
Murphy’s resulting penalty.
Norman was booked and worse
followed three minutes later
when a rash challenge saw the
Borough defender pick up his
second yellow card and depart
the field. It was the third
consecutive League game where
Harrow have had a man sent off.
Hook saved from King and Clarke,
but the 10-man Borough were
not finished and Yoki’s
shot was held by Pettinger,
who then saved very well from
Murphy who had slipped past
two defenders. Borough had a
lot of the ball late on, but
couldn’t create a significant
chance, and the whistle went
on a seventh consecutive defeat.
There are some encouraging
early season signs for Harrow
supporters, despite the opening
pair of results. Nevertheless,
Saturday’s home fixture
with Heybridge has the early
season look of a relegation
six-pointer and it looks essential
for Borough to end the losing
run then. |
