A Game To Remember As We Go Top Of The League

It certainly was a game to remember for Danny Chapman’s side, making the short journey up the A414 and beating St Margaretsbury 2-0 in the local derby – in front of one of St Margaretsbury’s largest ever crowds (220), made up predominantly of Harlow Town supporters and going top of the league! That’s the story simplified, but it was a game of immense excitement, which we simply must delve into.

The first chance of the game fell for Junior Dadson who failed to hit the target on that occasion, going for the bottom right corner, but in reality he was simply foreshadowing later events and teasing the defence right from the off.

A couple of St Margaretsbury efforts soon followed: Isaac Stevens went for glory but was ultimately denied by Alex Luque, who made a solid block, and then a loose ball was picked up by the St Mags captain Billy Skinner who took a risk from 25 yards with the effort posing no issues at all for James Pellin.

Our success from corners continued as we came ever-closer to opening scoring – Ruben Santos picked out Taylor Hastings expertly, who launched it goalwards and only a sensational save from Freddie Salmon could stop it. However, this didn’t matter as seconds later, yet another Santos corner reached Taylor Hastings (it seems no-one can beat him in the air), this time it did end in a goal, but only after Junior Dadson got a crucial touch to ensure Salmon had no chance of denying us this time. Once again, Chapman’s men grabbed the early goal.

After being ruled offside in what was an incredibly tight decision to say the least, Gavin Cockman found himself through for a second time and he made sure to thunderbolt it, to the point at which the keeper’s touch simply could not stop it and there it was – the Hawks’ insurance goal. 2-0 in the first half.

Spirits were high for all the Harlow Town players and fans going into the break, knowing that we were top of the league as things stood – an exciting bragging right that we hope to continue, and one that we haven’t seen for far too long.

The Hawks played out the second half incredibly intelligently, not allowing St Margaretsbury to have any chance of recovering: the home side were limited to shooting from distance, including a free kick from about 35 yards that was a simple catch for James Pellin. The home side did come close once as Balogun was denied by a solid save from our number 1, and the disappointment continued for the red side.

As for the atmosphere, the place was absolutely buzzing! Chants could be heard left, right and centre as the fans became the twelfth man, spurring on Chappo’s lads. The home fans had been silenced and it felt like a home game for many.

Towards the end of the game, men flocked forward and Ishaq was denied what seemed to be a clear penalty as Freddie Salmon slid in from behind on him incredibly late, but the referee refused to give the penalty.

The game concluded and the stadium erupted to congratulate the players on a fantastic performance, and one that nobody will be forgetting any time soon. The club once again would like to thank everyone for supporting us through everything, and we hope this may continue indefinitely.

Furthermore, we’d like to wish our warrior captain James Folkes a speedy recovery to full health after he collapsed following the intense heat of the Newbury Forest game. Everyone at the club is well in support of you and we’re sure you will come back strong.