Harrow Borough 2 Poole Town 4 (26th August 2023)
A touch of laziness and a forecast of bad weather saw me opting for an afternoon at Harrow Borough, just an hour away, and generously covered on both sides. With each of these clubs having had 35 goals between them in their opening games so far, it also meant the odds of a 0-0 would be somewhat lengthened.
After a beer in a pub up the road, whose ceiling was oddly covered in mugs, jugs and the odd lantern, I strolled to the ground in brilliant sunshine, wondering about the accuracy of this forecast poor weather, hoping my feelings about goals being likely not being as equally misplaced.
Harrow Borough’s crowds are far from the best in the division, and that’s a shame, as anyone coming to a game here will find a ground where every improvement has been with spectators in mind, rather than to meet some basic league requirement. Decent steps of terracing on all four sides, cover on two, and a main stand that look smart and offers a decent view. And for traditionalists, they still have proper goal nets, and do a programme.
The attendance today would be boosted by a contingent travelling up from Poole, no doubt thankful they weren’t among those making the trip in the other direction, going down west on the morning of a bank holiday weekend with no trains running.
As the minutes to kick off ticked by, I noticed the arrival of another visitor from their direction – some rather ominous black clouds, and the odd rumble of thunder. Having warmed up in sunshine, the players took the field under dark clouds unleashing a torrent of rain from the skies. Watching on, only a loyal/foolhardy contingent from Poole opted to brave the elements with their team.
They might have doubted that decision early on. With Poole being one of the top scorers so far, and Harrow having one of the leakiest defences, they would have arrived with confidence, only to find it dented very early on. Early Harrow pressure had seen the ball barely leave the Poole half. A shout for a penalty in a crowded area was waved away, and the Poole defenders seemed to momentarily relax at that escape, only for the ball to be fired in low and hard to give the hosts a surprise lead in the 3rd minute.
It didn’t last long. The visitors were finding a lot of space when they attacked, and they drew level just three minutes later, when a shot was fired in from an angle. And just three minutes after that, a Poole corner was deflected in from close range to turn the game round, a game that was now raining goals to match the actual rain that was still chucking it down from above.
The rain did eventually give way to more sun, but there was no let up from a Poole Town who had the smell of blood in their nostrils, and looked intent on putting the game to bed before half-time. Harrow had gone down 0-5 to Basingstoke the previous week, and had only picked up one point so far, so confidence probably wasn’t at its highest, and they were struggling to contain the lively visitors.
Just before the half hour, it was 3-1, with the finely named Destiny Ojo making an equally fine contact on a cross from the left to guide the ball past the home keeper. It should have allowed Poole to step up a gear and ease to victory, but some wastefulness, some good goalkeeping, and renewed efforts by Harrow saw them fail to add to their tally before the break,
Instead, to a bit of a surprise to many, it was Harrow who got the last goal of the half. With things a little disjointed due to stoppages, and maybe the odd Poole defended already thinking of the half time break, too much space was given to a Harrow’s Harlem Hale, who nodded a too simple goal to change the complexion of the match.
The second half was intriguing. A decrease in the number of bolts of lightning in the distance was matched by a reduction in goals, and the honest neutral in me would have wished for another five goals. Harrow though, did a really good job of reorganising after the break. Poole still did most of the attacking, but now the wingers were having a much tougher time, being closed down rapidly and nullified, and the general pressure being put on Poole by the very hard working backline meant clear chances were harder to come by.
Harrow were also having enough of an attacking threat to make the game fairly poised. I did feel that if Poole got a fourth, it would probably break the host’s spirit, and they’d probably run in another goal or two after. If Harrow got the next goal, and made it 3-3, it really could be anybody’s game.
Such a combative approach is not without risks though, as the hosts found out with about 15 minutes left, when reduced to 10 men due to a second yellow. To add insult to injury, the red-carded Harrow player had to run past the supportive/gobby (delete as appropriate) away fans to get back to the changing room.
With a 3-2 lead under their belts, and not that long to go, many teams would have gone into game-management mode, so you have to give credit to Poole for maintaining a commitment to attack.
They didn’t get a 4th until deep into injury time though, when a shot from just outside the box deceived the home keeper, who’d had a fine game up to that point, and sailed it right into the top corner. He atoned a bit with another fine stop to prevent Poole adding a 5th right at the death, but his efforts weren’t enough to stop Poole running out deserved winners.
It’s early days, but it does look like these two will be sat at opposite ends of the table in the coming months. Few would begrudge Poole a bit of good fortune after their struggles in recent history, but Harrow, as a club, probably deserve better, and deserve to have more people watching them.
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