Just as Tottenham Hotspur had won the FA Cup in 1981 and 1991, but couldn’t win it in 2001, so with Harrow Borough and the Middlesex Senior Cup. Winners in 1983 and 1993, their attempts to win it in 2003 ended in disaster on Tuesday as they crashed out to Essex Senior League high-fliers Enfield Town in a woeful display at Earlsmead. Harrow have now lost 11 of their last 15 games and unless performances improve, they will not just get sucked into the relegation battle, they will be relegated.

Every match now seems to feature a personal nightmare for a Harrow player. On Saturday it had been keeper Keita Karamoko; tonight it was defender Richard Clarke’s turn. After 9 minutes he was skinned by namesake Daniel Clake, whose centre was blasted home by Danny Alleyne to give the visitors the lead. Worse followed in the 17th minute, as Clarke dithered on the ball. The Enfield Clarke stole it from him and ran on to beat Karamoko.

Borough quickly pulled a goal back, Clemente Lopez converting crisply from Ross Fitzsimon’s cross, and for a while looked like drawing level. Richard Goddard headed wide from Adam Everitt’s deep cross, and Fitzsimon had a shot blocked, before Hall in the Enfield goal made a magnificent save from a powerful Goddard header from Marvyn Watson’s cross. But as half-time approached, former Harrow favourite Martin St Hilaire shot wide from close in, before cutting in from the left and hitting a screamer just past the far post.

Harrow emerged for the second half lacking any pattern in their play, with long balls from defence replacing earlier attempts at constructive passing. It was abject stuff, and Karamoko had to make a great save to tip Clarke’s shot onto the bar and keep the deficit to one goal.

Borough woke up as the game entered its final quarter, and substitute Eseyas Yhdego crossed for Goddard’s header to beat Hall but come back off the post. Enfield centre-back Brotherton then made a last-ditch tackle as Everitt was about to shoot.

With ten minutes to go, referee Skinner waved away strong Enfield penalty claims when Clarke was felled in a three-way clash. One minute later at the other end, Fabio Valenti missed a golden chance to take the game into extra-time, when Pat Gavin’s header found him on the penalty spot with only the keeper to beat, but he placed his shot too close to Hall and allowed him to make a good save. It was a cameo of the whole evening.

  1 - Keita Karamoko
  2 - Marvyn Watson
  3 - Chris Henry
   (sub Eseyas Yhdego 60)
  4 - Richard Clarke
  5 - Adam Everitt
  6 - Dean Marney
  7 - Wayne Walters
  8 - Ross Fitzsimon
  9 - Clemente Lopez
   (sub Fabio Valenti 56)
10 - Brian Haule
   (sub Pat Gavin 75)
11 - Richard Goddard