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Jimmy
Aggrey takes on the Ford
defence |
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| Last season,
it wasn’t until mid-February
that Harrow hit the 20-point
mark. They reached that milestone
on Saturday with a four-goal
second-half demolition of a
Ford side that helped to bring
about its own demise.
For the first time this season,
Edwin Stein named an unchanged
team after the fine midweek
win at Aldershot. Borough nearly
got a flying start when Harvey
had to make an acrobatic catch
to stop Robert Charles reaching
Richard Goddard’s perceptive
pass. Keita Karamoko was also
soon in action at the other
end, diving full-length to catch
Poole’s shot from the
edge of the box.
First-half play was bright
and end-to-end. Harvey saved
Daniel Dyer’s shot following
John Lawford’s corner,
before Vaughan’s long-range
shot went wide for the visitors.
Goddard headed down for Charles
to shoot past the post, and
Poole’s 30-yarder for
Ford was saved by Karamoko.
Dyer’s pin-point cross
was then headed wide by Charles,
and Ross Fitzsimon danced into
the box to set up Lawford for
a shot across the goal.
Harrow began to take control
of the match mid-way through
the half. A great crossfield
ball from Lawford sent Clemente
Lopez clear on the left. He
played a one-two with Charles
and shot just past the post.
Fitzsimon then saw Harvey off
his line, and tried an audacious
lob from 50 yards that the visiting
keeper managed to touch onto
the crossbar and over. Karamoko
save Aransibia’s header,
before Lawford took a little
too long when Goddard put him
through, allowing a defender
to block.
Borough’s new centre-back
Jimmy Aggrey was lucky to stay
on the field when he reacted
angrily to a challenge from
O’Sullivan. Referee Chittenden
booked both players.
The second half had barely
began when Harrow had a goal
disallowed in mysterious circumstances.
Goddard won the ball 10 yards
out and set up Dyer to fire
home, but the referee appeared
to have seen a foul that no-one
else in the ground had. Charles
shot wide after Goddard had
nodded down Dyer’s pass,
before Harrow went in front
after 56 minutes. This time
they had some luck with a decision,
as Dyer appeared to foul Poole
at the start of the move that
ended with Aggrey floating the
ball in from the right for Charles
to glance home a header.
Poole was booked for complaining,
and his anger seemed to spread
to his colleagues, for two minutes
later a melee broke out, and
Vaughan, who had started it,
pushed the referee and was shown
the inevitable red card.
Playing against 10 men has
not been a Harrow strength in
recent years, but today they
stepped up a gear, with Fitzsimon
and Wayne Walters running the
show in midfield while, behind
them, Aggrey, Pat Gavin and
Dean Marney handled Ford’s
attack with ease. Charles broke
clear to shoot just wide, and
Lopez finished a nice dribble
in from the left with a 20-yard
shot that Harvey tipped onto
the bar. Aggrey then had a shot
blocked from Dyer’s cross.
It was 2-0 after 75 minutes,
when Lawford evaded the Ford
offside trap with a run from
inside his own half, taking
the ball round Harvey before
firing home.
A short-corner routine between
Dyer and Lawford then saw Lawford’s
cross go through Harvey’s
grasp and seemingly come back
out into play from inside the
goalframe. But any concerns
that a good goal had not been
allowed to stand diminished
when, after 79 minutes, from
another short-corner, Goddard
headed home Lawford’s
cross to make it 3-0.
Lawford than shot just wide
from Charles’s pass, before
Charles finished off Ford with
a fourth goal after 82 minutes.
The young Borough attacker ran
on to Gavin’s excellent
pass, beat Harvey and ran the
ball into goal. There was still
time for Harvey, who must by
now have felt like he’d
been in a boxing ring, to make
a good save from Gavin’s
35-yard effort.
Because they are out of the
FA Cup, Harrow now face a two-week
break, but can be looking forward
to the coming weeks with some
optimism.
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