| Last home game
it was Adam Everitt. This time
it was Phil Gridelet who let
down his Borough team-mates
with a stupid first-half sending-off
that as-good-as condemned them
to another defeat. With a £5,000
suspended F.A. fine hanging
over the club, manager Edwin
Stein needs to read the riot
act now to his indisciplined
side, as the message doesn’t
seem to be penetrating some
brains that 10 men don’t
tend to have as much chance
of winning as 11 do.
Gridelet’s dismissal
came 30 minutes into a hard-fought
local derby, played on a heavy
but playable Earlsmead pitch.
With the game goal-less at that
stage, Harrow fans were left
to consider what might have
happened had the sides remained
evenly numbered.
Missing the absent Keita Karamoko,
Stein drafted in reserve keeper
Matthew Ferguson for his debut,
and he got an early chance to
gain confidence with a good
save from Clark. At the other
end a clever back-heel by Robert
Charles sent Davis Haule through
for a rising shot that was tipped
over by Bossu. By then, Gridelet
had already been booked for
a foul on former Borough man
Michael Currie. After another
foul, referee Nicholson gave
him a final warning, but when
on 31 minutes he felled Currie
again, on the halfway line in
a position of no danger, the
official had no option but to
show a second yellow card.
To many at Earlsmead, Gridelet
has become like David Seaman
in the England goalkeeper’s
jersey. Too old to do the things
he could manage easily three
or four years ago, but unwilling
to see this for himself and
accept that it is time to step
down from football at this level.
Both sides went close before
the break. Fabio Valenti’s
free-kick was headed across
his own goal by Jarvis, while
Kevin McKenna cleared an inswinging
Hayes corner off the goal-line.
Hayes went in front two minutes
into the second half. A scramble
ended with Ferguson parrying
Currie’s shot, but in
attempting to clear the ball
Dean Marney sliced it into his
own goal.
Marney nearly made amends immediately
at the other end, meeting Valenti’s
corner with a powerful header
that crashed off the post. Hayes
failed to clear the ball, and
Cochrane felled Valenti as he
cut across the penalty area.
The Borough winger got up to
send Bossu the wrong way from
the spot, equalising with 51
minutes gone.
With play opening up at both
ends, Currie held off Darty
Brown and forced a save from
Ferguson. McKenna then made
a surging run to set up Charles
whose shot rebounded off Bossu
and was cleared.
The next goal was going to
be crucial and it arrived in
the 61st minute. The referee’s
assistant spotted a handball
in the home penalty area, and
Clark slammed the penalty past
Ferguson.
McKenna and Jarvis shared yellow
cards after a melee, before
Hayes wrapped up the points
in the 74th minute. Molesley
beat Brown all ends up on the
left, and crossed for Currie
to head home. It was a deserved
goal for the ex-Harrow man who
was clearly motivated all afternoon
to show the Earlsmeaders that
they were wrong to release him
earlier this season.
Borough now have the second-worst
home defensive record in the
Division. Keeping 11 men on
the field would be a way to
start improving it.
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