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Stuart
Elliott - scored from
the penalty spot |
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| Despite a promising
first-half performance, Harrow’s
woes continued with a 2-1 defeat
at high-spending Hornchurch
on Saturday.
On a hot and sunny Essex afternoon,
Borough started brightly. In
the first minute Fabio Valenti’s
far post cross was chested down
by Danny Murphy, but he screwed
his shot past the post. Richard
Goddard then rose to head Stuart
Elliott’s corner past
the keeper, only to be denied
by Gooding’s goalline
clearance.
Harrow’s early pressure
paid off in the 9th minute when
Robert Charles sent Clemente
Lopez clear of the defence.
Out came home keeper Gay and
felled him with a stiff challenge.
Referee Chittenden chose just
to book the home custodian,
and after lengthy treatment
to Lopez, Elliott drove the
penalty past Gay’s right
hand.
The first home threat came
after 15 minutes when John held
off Goddard and hit a shot past
the post, but Harrow had the
next good attack when Murphy’s
cross was headed goalwards by
Darran Hay but held under the
bar by Gay.
The referee made another lenient
decision after 32 minutes when
McGowan’s truly awful
challenge on Kevin McKenna produced
just a yellow card. The decision
was to have further repercussions
later, not just early in the
second half when McKenna extracted
retribution and was rightly
booked himself.
Having had very little pressure,
the home side equalised rather
out of the blue after 38 minutes.
A long free-kick was allowed
to drop in the Harrow penalty
area, and West was quickest
to react to drive the ball past
David Hook.
Although in the closing minutes
of the half, Hornchurch began
to threaten, Harrow still made
some openings before the interval
and Valenti shot wide and volleyed
over with two efforts.
There was a feeling at half-time
that Harrow would need to sustain
the level of their first half
form if they were to get anything
from the game, but once again
they showed an inability to
compete for all 90 minutes of
a match. West threatened the
Harrow goal with two early second
half corners, Douglas headed
a right-wing cross over the
bar and was then foiled by a
good save with the legs by Hook.
On the hour, West again outjumped
the Harrow defence, only to
be foiled by a full-length dive
by Hook. At the other end, a
breakaway Harrow attack ended
with a shot by Charles saved
by Gay.
As with the first home goal,
the Borough defence was at fault
with the second, scored in the
69th minute. A free-kick was
allowed to travel right across
the Borough goalmouth and Bradley
Allen, who has scored goals
at higher levels than the Ryman
Premier, could not miss.
Borough couldn’t sustain
any decent pressure in a search
for an equaliser, and Hornchurch
should have doubled their lead
when John shot wide.
With the game into stoppage
time, McGowan made another nasty
challenge, for which he rightly
got his second yellow card.
But Steve Dogbe, only just back
from suspension for being sent
off in the opening game of the
season, had retaliated and was
shown another red card.
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