Sensational Comeback From 2-0 Down In Win Against Tower Hamlets

A rollercoaster of emotions is the only correct description of the clash between Harlow Town and Tower Hamlets. It was a game that was described by the away side to ‘have it all’, and we couldn’t agree more!

It had been a while since the Hawks had played in the league, our last game was a friendly against Bishops Stortford Swifts that we came back and grabbed the win 2-1. 2 weeks ago, we beat Burnham Ramblers 6-0 and that’s where we left off.

Danny Chapman recruited 3 new signings ahead of the game: Dan Heald (a defender who’d played the last few games) made the move official from Bishops Stortford Swifts, Kyrell Palmer - a young right-back who joins us on a dual registration from Leyton Orient, and Jimmy Nottage – a left-back who joins us from Basildon Town. All three of the signings were in the squad yesterday, with Nottage and Palmer starting the game.

It wasn’t the greatest of starts for the reds, with Tower Hamlets getting the better of the Harlow defence within 2 minutes. Connor French burst through the space on the right-wing, and created a perfect opportunity for a Solomon Aomah tap-in. They carried on with momentum as Aomah was gifted with another chance, however on that occasion Glenn Roberts got the better of him, saving the near post effort.

The Hawks started to show some positive signs as Kyrell Palmer pulled it back for Ishaq, who registered Harlow’s first shot on target, albeit it was straight at Jordan Stansbury. Just minutes later, space opened up for Junior Dadson who struck it with his left, which is not unusual for Junior as if he was on EA FC he’d have a 5-star weak foot, and almost caused problems for Tower Hamlets with Stansbury having to push it away.

The home side continued to put pressure on Tower Hamlets, with a chance falling for Tom Jelliman on the edge of the D, but his shot narrowly missed the top-right corner. Ruben Santos later had a crack, after the ball fell perfectly for him, but his shot didn’t trouble Jordan Stansbury.

Completely against the run of play, Hamlets found themselves in on goal and it was Aomah once again. This time, he beat Glenn Roberts, smashing it into the top of the net – an unsavable shot. Glenn then unleashed a superb save, using his feet to end any danger from Tower Hamlets.

Harlow had a staggering mountain to climb, and it seemed as though they were down-and-out. That goal had hit hard and it’s very rare that any side come back from 2-0 down. However, there was a glimmer of hope unleashed through the Jelliman himself. The Tower Hamlets defence wobbled, Kyrell Palmer laid it off and with nothing to lose, Tom Jelliman hit one. The one that he hit was Junior Baker, who clearly knew that one Junior had scored his 100th goal in that very net and wanted to mirror that. The defender decided to deflect it into his own net, and Harlow had momentum going into half-time, whilst Jelliman had his first goal for Harlow Town.

As the second half begun, Tower Hamlets put their best foot forward. Unfortunately for them, their best foot didn’t emerge, and Connor French got on the end of a cross with his head, wasting a great opportunity to kill the game. Aomah then came so close to putting the nail in the coffin, but Alex Luque made a crucial block, that deflected Aomah’s shot onto the post as the entire stadium held their breath, praying the shot wouldn’t go in.

Harlow capitalised on the supporters’ belief and put their best foot forward in the form of Kyrell Palmer. Junior Dadson got on the end of a cross which was saved well by Stansbury, straight into the path of Palmer, who pounced, grabbing a debut goal and levelling the game.

Moments later, Tom Jelliman was challenged by a Tower Hamlets player, before George Mulunda decided it would be a great idea to push Tom to the floor, creating a massive conflict between both sides. As a result, the officials halted play, and decided to send off Jelliman, who didn’t retaliate after being pushed, whilst also sending off Mulunda, so both sides were reduced to 10 men.

This just added more fuel to the burning fire, and the supporters became even louder. A cross was delivered perfectly to Ishaq, in the 86th minute, however he attempted a side volley, which sailed just over the bar.

Harlow soon won a free kick in the 88th minute, on the edge of the box. Ruben Santos delivered, Ishaq sealed it. The reds had secured a sensational comeback and the stadium were no longer on fire… they erupted – as did the players! To the frustration of Tower Hamlets, Harlow Town leaded 3-2.

The game was not done at that point, with the referee adding on over 10 minutes due to the earlier events, and Korede Da Silva had a golden opportunity to truly put the nail in the Tower Hamlets coffin, but Jordan Stansbury produced an epic save to keep it just 3 and that was the final action of the game, a truly commendable team win, with all the players’ great efforts clear to see.

Our focus now turns to Wednesday night, when we face Clapton away from home, kicking off at 7.45pm.