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For
all their best endeavours, Boro' were 'never at the races' in this
two horse contest where they nearly finished third!
Having
bravely competed in a midweek Premier Division defeat at league
leaders Farnborough, Harrow last Saturday faced a team they had
beaten 6-0 in a crucial game last season but who had risen to third
in this season's table.
And
this time around, revenge was sweet for the 'Fleet, as they took
full advantage of a hesitant home team, writes Tony Booth, Gravesend
moving smoothly to their ninth league win on the trot!. The end
result was Harrow Borough's heaviest home league defeat since 1968.
It also lengthened their run since they won at home in the league
this season to almost five months and it's even longer since they
kept a clean sheet in a league game! Which all seems fairly desperate
for a team that, not so long ago, was involved in a profile-raising
F A Cup run and which has reached the county cup semi finals, amongst
all this mayhem.
Injuries
and a coincidentally high player turnover haven't helped, yet it
is now time for the senior team in the Borough to start picking
itself up and dusting itself down, as they have slipped to 18th
place in the table, just five points above the 'drop zone' they
so narrowly avoided at the end of last season.
Things
started off all right for Harrow. Facing a strong breeze, Gravesend
conceded silly free kicks, punching the ball in aerial contests
and grabbing shirts. Skipper Keith Cooper headed a Newby free kick
into goal after three minutes, only to have it disallowed for a
perceived foul on the 'keeper. Another Newby free kick almost brought
dividends. Then the game changed course. It took an excellent save
by 'keeper David Hook to deny Stadhart but the respite was brief.
Boro' fell behind in the 14th minute, when Lee was given too much
room to cross and JACKSON moved upfield to slam an 18 yard drive
into the roof of the net.
Booth
was soon denied by another good Hook save but STADHART doubled the
visitors' advantage in the 26th minute, deftly heading Lee's cross
at the near post, the ball defeating Hook inside the far post. Junior
Hunter, recovered from his broken leg last August, was brought on
to shore up the defence, soon making a goal saving challenge, whilst
Hook again saved well from Stadhart on two occasions.
A
Cooper tackle staved off another attack but half time saw Boro'
go in three down, following another goal, in the 43rd minute. Turner's
free kick was miskicked by the unfortunate Walsh, on a sandy patch,
and SMITH slammed his shot into goal. in reply. Boro's sole first
half effort had been an off target long range shot from winger Barnes.
Another change saw Payne introduced, to stiffen up the midfield,
only for 'Fleet to go four up in 49 minutes. Booth's cross was allowed
to travel across the box to the waiting JACKSON, who once more shot
high into Hook's net. The visitors were now able to attack with
almost the freedom of the pitch, with only their frequent on-field
foul language looking likely to disrupt their numbers, though an
overtolerant referee turned a deaf ear to what was clearly heard
by all others present.
Looking
for some form of minor consolation, a good move involving Walsh
and Barnes gave Gavin a clear heading chance from six yards, only
for the ball to fly narrowly over the 'bar. A Barnes corner was
then hacked off the goalline and Hurlock's shot on the rebound was
deflected over. Then, the inaptly named 'injury time' only served
to bring Boro' further insult. One minute into it, a breakaway saw
Boro's back line outnumbered and, despite desperate defending, SPILLER
was eventually able to take his time in steering a shot past Hook.
A
minute later, SPILLER repeated the treatment, racing along his wing
before shooting inside the near post. Rarely was the final whistle
heard with such pleasure by such a heavily defeated team. Now the
real battle for Premier Division survival must begin.
Harrow:
Hook; Rose, de Matos ( Hunter ) ( Alleyne ); Lewis, Cooper, M. Walsh;
Hurlock, Newby ( Payne ), Gavin, Richardson, Barnes.
Gravesend:
Turner; Lee, Jackson; Lindsey, Duku, Wilkins; Crawley ( Hegley ),
Smith, Stadhart ( Restarick ), Booth ( Spiller ), Barnett.
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