© 2008 Harlow Town Football Club
Match report and photos from Waltham Abbey friendly
HITCHIN TOWN 3,
HARLOW TOWN 1
Pre-
Match Report by GARY LEHAL
Photography by TONY FOWLES
UNLUCKY Harlow hit the post twice and failed to turn their possession into goals
on Tuesday, as Hitchin snatched a 3-
The horrendous weather conditions
affected neither team, with the game starting at a good pace and players’ from both
teams getting stuck in.
Harlow dominated the match in the first ten minutes, creating
early chances hoping to score the first goal.
Player-
Hawks captain Bunn
once again found the ball in the area, but this time he chipped the ball towards
Jamie Richards. The ball looped over keeper Martin Bennett, but Richards’ low shot
was saved by Bennett’s feet and cleared out.
The Canaries responded on the counter-
Two minutes later, Ryan Kirby’s men looked for an early
equaliser after Bunn’s pass beat the offside trap and found Jamie Richards on the
attack. Richard’s controlled the ball and unleashed a shot that beat Bennett, but
hammered off the post to the relief of the home supporters.
In the 25th minute,
the Hawks hit the post again, bemoaning their bad luck. Leon Lalite delivered a corner
to Bunn, and the striker tried an audacious over-
Harlow fought
back hard, but despite having the majority of possession, few chances were created
and fewer shots on target.
Just before half time, Hitchin added more misery onto
the Barrows Farm outfit. Jon Woolf delivered a corner towards Michael Cox, who angled
a header inside the far post to score the second goal for his team. The goal came
seconds after a similar chance for Hitchin, after Cox again produced a header towards
the visitors’ net only to be cleared off the line by Clark Akers.
The second half
picked up were the first had left, as both teams looked for more scoring opportunities.
Harlow had two shots through Clark Akers only minutes into the half, although the
first chance was saved by Bennett and the second shot blocked by a Hitchin defender.
The home side also looked lively, and nearly extended their lead after a first time,
right-
Harlow continued
to play with authority, and it almost paid off in the 68th minute after Lalite threaded
a ball into the path of Danny Green. The forward looked assured on the ball, but
his low shot was parried clear by keeper Bennett.
Hasell almost conceded for a third time, as he rushed out of goal to stop Paul Barnes
from receiving a long ball. However, the keeper misjudged the pace of Barnes, and
the forward was able to take the ball around him and bear down onto an open net.
Mark Taylor came to the rescue, sprinting onto his line to stop Barnes’ fierce shot
and send the ball out for a corner.
Both teams looked to have a sense of urgency
as the game approached full time.
And on the 87th minute, an outstanding shot by
Scott Orphanou from outside the area beat Hasell to increase the hosts’ lead. Max
McArdle squared the ball to Orphanou, and the forward took one glance at goal before
striking the ball into the back of the net.
Two minutes later, the visitors’ opened
the Hitchin defence after Mark Taylor hit a right-
Harlow Tn: James Hasell, Mark Taylor,
Beckett Hollenbach, Danny Chapman, Ryan Kirby, Clark Akers (sub: Shaun Gliddon, 72),
Leon Lalite, Jordan Fowler, Jamie Richards, James Bunn, Danny Green. Subs not used:
Chris Groves, Lewis Baker, Jason Hardy (GK).
