|
 John
Hurlock will be having sleepless nights this week, after his awful
81st minute error gave lowly Carshalton only their 3rd league goal
in 11 games, and denied Harrow the win their territorial supremacy
merited.
On
a surface surprisingly playable after all the rain, the home side
missed two early chances, before Borough began to dominate. Home
keeper Osbourne dropped a Steve Barnes corner and was lucky to see
the loose ball cleared. Dwayne Lewis had a shot blocked by Dooley,
and then a 29th minute exchange on the right saw Andy Rose send
Otis Roberts to the by-line. Marcus Richardson rose to his cross
at the near post and headed inches over the bar. Moments later,
Hurlock's header set up Pat Gavin, but his close range effort deflected
off Osbourne, allowing Elverson to clear off the line.
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| Andy
Rose with Carshalton's Lee Dooley |
A
Harrow goal looked likely, and arrived in the 35th minute. Richardson's
persistence forced a corner, and Barnes's delivery was headed towards
goal by Gavin, with Mark Cooper deflecting the ball into the corner
of the net. A few minutes later, Gavin's cushion header from Roberts's
cross was cleared desperately from Lewis's toe. With a cold wind
at their backs, Harrow started the second half strongly.
In
the 50th minute, Hurlock missed Roberts's corner at the far post,
recovering to hit a shot that Osbourne saved on the line. Hurlock's
missing of the ball was to prove more disastrous later at the other
end. Gavin then laid the ball off for Roberts to cross for Richardson
to force another goal-line save by Osbourne.
A
rare home attack saw Dooley arrive at the far post to try a diving
header that Cooper headed off the line. Borough were soon back on
the attack. Richardson's shot was blocked, and then Barnes's cross
slipped through Osbourne's fingers but Gavin headed wide. Two defenders
then held back Richardson inside the penalty area, but referee Crossley
chose to award an indirect free kick outside the box.
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| Pat
Gavin watches a first half effort go wide |
Both
sides could claim to have been denied penalties, however, as Cooper
escaped with what seemed a handball in his own penalty area. Richardson
had a shot blocked, and Roberts burst clear of the home defence
to hit a shot that Osbourne saved with his legs. Richardson then
turned a defender on the edge of the area and hit a 20-yarder that
Osbourne tipped over.
However,
the home side showed that while they were only a goal down, they
were still a threat. Jones failed to connect with a cross at the
far post, before Cooper blocked a shot after a Lewis error. The
equaliser came in the 81st minute. A left wing corner arrived at
Hurlock's feet, six yards out. Instead of clearing or passing it,
he missed it altogether, and the ball was laid inside for Fowler
to ram home.
Roberts
had a late shot wide, but both sides seemed so stunned by the goal
that there was little threat to either goal in the final nine minutes.
As a man who has shown he is not afraid of responsibility, as witnessed
by his taking of Harrow penalties, Hurlock will no doubt hold his
hands up for his error. But his team-mates must also take responsibility
for not making better use of their abundance of possession and numerous
goal efforts.
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