Harlow Town 1 – 2 Ashford
Saturday 24 October 2020 | The Pitching in Isthmian League
The Tangerine train steamrollered on with a hard fought away win at Harlow Town. It may not have been the best performance so far, but the will and desire was enough to get out with all 3 points. The reward – second spot in the league.
FIRST HALF
Ashford were at it right from the kick off, and it was only 2 minutes before they grabbed the lead. Jack French receiving the ball out on the right wing before turning in and curling an absolute beauty of a goal inside the far post. It was the visitors that then controlled large parts of the play. Harlow had their first good opportunity in the 12th minute when a poor headed clearance fell nicely at the far post, but the resulting shot was wide of the goal. The visitors continued to create some good attacking moves.
Brad Sweeney collected the ball just inside the box on 20 minutes, shielding the ball well with his back to goal he managed to get a shot off on the turn but it was blocked at close range. A moment later Jack French was on hand again with another good effort. Just before the half hour mark it was Ashford on the attack again when James Cottee laid off well to Jack French whose well hit shot fizzed across goal and wide. However, it was then Harlow who struck next (much against the run of play). An in-swinging corner was met with a powerful header at the far post, saved well by McCarthy but Christian Adu Gyamfi was in the right place to slot home at the second attempt. All even at the break despite Ashford having had much the better of the play and chances.
SECOND HALF
The second half started exactly the same as the first. Another quick chance for the Tangerines in the 46th but it was saved well for a corner. three minutes later it was Halrow’s turn to come close to a second. Their shot was blocked by Paul McCarthy and the follow up was fired wide much to the relief of the travelling fans. With Harlow having the better of the half Ashford made a double change shortly after this. Kane Fitzgerald on for Steven Duff, and new signing Tim Pitt on for his debut replacing James Cottee. The changes helped Ashford get a hold back on things, especially in midfield. Fitzgerald adding fresh legs down the left and the option to get forward again.
As the game moved in to the last 10 minutes Ashford started to create again, looking to finish strongly. Brad Sweeney had a great chance in the 80th when he was put in on goal by Dan Brown, but Rob Budd was out quick from the Harlow goal to block. Three minutes later it was Sweeney in on goal again but he was closed out strongly and could only manage to shoot in to the side netting. Then in the 87th minute another quick attacking move from Ashford saw Dan Brown played in on the left side of the box where he managed to square to the centre for the open Sweeney to collect and round Budd to slot home in to the open net. Third time lucky for Sweeney, and huge celebrations for the visitors.
Possibly a bit of a smash and grab in the second half, but mostly deserved with the chances created throughout the game. Another good team performance to bring home the points.
GOALSCORERS:
Jack French, Brad Sweeney
NEXT GAME:
Chertsey Town – Pitching In Isthmian League | Tues 27 October 2020 KO 7:45pm
Venue: Robert Parker Stadium TW19 7BH – VIEW ON MAP
TICKETS & INFO – CLICK HERE
FOOTBALL WEB PAGES REPORT
You can view more info on both teams and the game stats on Football Web Pages – CLICK HERE
The full match is also available via the Harlow Town YouTube channel HERE