Thamesmead fight-back punishes Harlow

Harlow Town will come away from Thamesmead Town wondering where it all went wrong after a dominant first half should have seen the title-chasers well in the lead. Shane Stamp and Billy Jones had put the Hawks ahead, but three goals for the hosts in the final 20 minutes saw Harlow leave empty handed, missing the chance to top the table in the process.

Harlow came flying out of the blocks in the opening minutes with a fast-paced attack that Thamesmead were unable to deal with. Four corners in the first five minutes set the tone, with the Hawks looking to take an early lead.

Shane Stamp was looking threatening, firstly dribbling around three defenders in the box before shooting high, and then playing through Junior Appiah whose shot went just wide. Stamp was rewarded with a goal on 14 minutes, when a corner fell to him at the far side of the box and he struck it well on the volley into the bottom corner of the net.

Harlow continued to press on following the goal, creating a host of chances. Billy Jones’s close range volley flew over the bar, Alex Read was denied by a last-gasp tackle, and Appiah’s low shot was saved well by the Thamesmead keeper, and it seemed a second goal was imminent.

Thamesmead’s first real attack didn’t come until 20 minutes, and with the exception of a corner scrambled clear on 36 minutes, the Harlow defence had very little to do for most of the first half.

Despite the dominance of possession and chances, Harlow went into the interval only one goal to the good, hoping the missed opportunities wouldn’t come back to haunt them.

HT: Thamesmead Town 0-1 Harlow Town

The second half began much the same as the first, with excellent work down the left hand side. Shane Stamp was unplayable at times, always looking to take it past the defenders, and it was his neat play with Layne Eadie that led to the second goal.

Stamp passed the ball for Eadie to run onto, who reached the byeline and crossed low and hard. Billy Jones tapped the ball home from a yard out to double the lead on 51 minutes.

Thamesmead were fighting to get back into the game, and Harlow custodian Ed Thompson performed a great double-save to deny the hosts before the ball was cleared.

Thamesmead did get on the scoresheet, however, on 68 minutes. A free kick was pumped forward and Thompson, coming out to collect it, ended up in a heap on the floor, allowing Calum McGeehan to shoot into an empty net.

The goal sparked Thamesmead into life and they started to play with purpose. Despite Harlow creating further chances it was the hosts that scored the next goal. Fabion Simms shot just wide from another good cross from Stamp, and the resulting long goal kick was collected by Leslie Thompson to shoot low into the net with just over 10 minutes to play.

Five minutes later, the travelling fans were left wondering in disbelief as Thamesmead took the lead for the first time in the game. The Harlow defence failed to clear a corner which bounced in the area, and despite Thompson saving the initial shot the rebound was hit home to the delight of the home side.

The Hawks desperately searched for an equaliser, but with the clock running out they were unable to find the breakthrough and the home side held on to inflict only the second league defeat of the season for Harlow

FT: Thamesmead 3-2 Harlow Town
ATTENDANCE: 73

A scintillating first half from Harlow seemed sure to lead to another win on the road, but the missed chances proved costly in the end. Thamesmead produced a dogged display, and lacklustre defending from the Hawks allowed them back into the game.

The result keeps the Hawks one point behind the league-leaders Needham Market with both teams having played 25 games. The next game for Harlow is away to Cray Wanderers on Sunday 21st December, 3:00pm kick off.