Harrow Mens 1st XI vs. Banbury, Sat 14th February 2015
Banbury 3 - 3 Harrow
Spoils shared in top-table clash.
This week saw table toppers Harrow make the long journey to Banbury, a side who were
promoted with the visitors last season. Finding themselves near the top of the pile as well,
this guaranteed to be a competitive matchup between two ambitious sides keen to progress.
Proceedings however were hampered by the tragic fatal road traffic collisions on the M4 and
M1, delaying the previous game by over 30 mins. A very late start for the visitors saw
Captain Tim Marshall speak at length about concentration and focus.
As the Harrow side took to the pitch, the game began positively, with the visitors pressurising
Banbury and forcing them deep back into their half, and incisions and space began to be
exploited. It was Banbury however that drew first blood. A quick counter attack down
Harrows left flank and some neat interplay from the Banbury forwards allowed their strike
into space to tuck home from the far post, with Goalkeeper Pete Walking exposed through no
fault of his own.
Recognising the potent threat, Marshall quickly reorganised the defence, dropping Chris
Soares into a deeper position and pulling Colin Jones and Hantarjeet Singh back into a more
defensive posture.
This approach paid dividends, and Harrow began to exploit the openings. H. Singh was
getting comfortable in a midfield role, using his skills to good effect to win opportunities
further up the pitch, ably supported by Jones who was using his range of passing to develop
plays.
It wasn't long before Harrow struck back to level affairs. A short corner fell to Jones who,
with the routine breaking down, improvised to devastating effect, using his skills to beat three
defenders before flicking into the side netting.
As Banbury started to probe the Harrow defence once more, the visitors suffered some
sustained pressure, with the full backs of Joe Castle-Giffin and Mike Harman being pushed to
their limits by the pacy wingers. The star of the show however was Walking, who brushed
away the cobwebs from a quiet season so far to turn out one spectacular save after another,
utilising stick glove and helmet to protect the nets.
Against the run of play, it was Harrow who struck once more. A surging run from James
Mansell across the back of the defence was found by a long ball from Tim Marhsall. Mansell
then fed to Singh who, in a superb Solo effort beat several players with lighting skills and
pace, before striking under the keeper into the bottom corner of the net saw Harrow take the
lead, 2-1.
A quick halftime regroup, and Harrow returned to the field. Immediately Banbury pushed
onwards, seeking to exploit a wavering Harrow side that were keen to retain their lead. As the
game became increasingly stretched, it became a counter attacking affair for
both sides, with Calum Redpath, Govind Singh and Nick Lendon trying to
make best use of the extra space, with limited success. The side then looked
for creation from elsewhere, and the ever reliable Jones delivered, a drag flick
from a short corner being hoisted high into the netting from a slick routine to give the visitors
a 3-1 lead.
It was not to last however, as Banbury surged forward and put increasing pressure on
Harrow. As the pressure mounted, tempers in the Harrow side flared, and the questioning of a
decision by Jones led to a yellow and Harrow reduced to 10.
Eventually the pressure told and Harrow gave way under the pressure, firstly a counter down
the Harrow right side saw a man left in space, who was then able to feed the striker in space
to finish from an easy angle. The home side levelled things up a short while later when
another interplay exploited the tiring legs of the Harrow defence.
With proceedings nearing a close, Harrow desperately surged forward to try and find a goal
to put them ahead and secure the three points, but it was not to be and the game concluded to
a hard fought 3-3 draw.
Harrow however keep Banbury at arms length by 3 points atop the table and will look to
continue to secure results to solidify their position at the pinnacle of Division 4.
Team: Walking, N Marshall, Harman, T Marshall, castle-giffin, Soares, Jones, H. Singh,
Redpath, Mansell, g. Singh, Lendon, nachiappan.
Scorers: Jones(2), H. Singh
Motm: Walking