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Hat
Trick Hero Fabio Valenti |
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| Fabio Valenti’s
splendid hat-trick, allied to
a couple of key saves by Keita
Karamoko, highlighted a very
professional performance as
Borough rolled over a potential
‘banana-skin’ and
cruised through to the 3rd round
of the League Cup.
On a wet but flat Stag Meadow
pitch, Borough survived an early
scare when Clarke’s shot
was blocked, but soon had the
hosts in trouble when Godfrey
Torto’s header set up
Valenti for a shot that was
blocked, and a nice build up
involving Tobi Jinadu, Jimmie
Berry and Valenti led to Daniel
Dyer screwing his shot wide.
Harrow went in front after 20
minutes. Adam Everitt’s
ball up the left found Torto,
who laid it wide to Jinadu.
His cross found Valenti whose
crisp volley from ten yards
gave home keeper Bunting no
chance.
Harrow’s Division One
South opponents nearly hit back
immediately, but found Karamoko
in inspired form, as he tipped
over O’Connor’s
goalbound effort and then saved
from Stevens. Torto should have
doubled the Harrow lead, but
his attempt to redirect Dyer’s
cross into the goal rolled agonisingly
past the post. But for a while
the hosts looked dangerous,
especially O’Connor who
was causing Perry Norman a lot
of trouble. He held off the
Borough defender in the 32nd
minute to force Karamoko to
save again.
Harrow weathered the storm
and, before half-time, Everitt
shot wide and Torto clipped
the bar with an overhead kick.
In the 49th minute, Valenti
broke on the right and crossed
to the far post for Torto to
head against the bar.
Windsor keeper Bunting collapsed
while taking a goal-kick in
the 51st minute and could not
continue, outfielder Hill going
in goal. Harrow took a while
to test him, but found their
range in the 72nd minute. Dyer
got round the defence on the
right and crossed for Valenti
who played a clever dummy to
fool the defence before finding
the corner of the net from 15
yards. One minute late Fabio
completed his hat-trick, running
through a square defence to
slide the ball under Hill. Substitute
Eseyas Yhdego forced a save
from Hill before Harrow finished
the evening’s work with
a last minute goal, Darty Brown
beating three defenders and
the keeper to score a great
individual goal.
The game was controlled very
well by young lady referee Alison
Chapman. This was the second
time this year that she has
refereed Harrow, and on each
occasion she has earned the
respect of players and spectators
by her firm manner, good humour
and informative style. Seeing
Borough’s giant Jimmy
Aggrey and the almost-as-tall
Stevens of Windsor slinking
away after a firm ticking-off
by someone half their size was
worth the admission money on
its own.
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