A Battle Well Won At Brimsdown

Following what was a horrid evening on Wednesday night – on which we blew a 2-0 lead to be beaten 4-2 by Tower Hamlets, it’s safe to say a major rection was needed from the Harlow Town players. A positive result would no doubt put a plaster on the wound of that game and instil us back into the ever-changing title race once again.

A response was certainly what occurred, after Danny Chapman met with his players on Thursday night, as reflected by a textbook 2-0 win away from home.

The starting lineup was much-changed from Wednesday’s affairs: James Pellin returned from injury earlier than expected, and so he slotted back into the starting XI; Kyrell Palmer was absent from the team, seeing Taylor Hastings reinstated at centre-back; Junior Dadson returned to the team and Dan Heald received his first start for the club.

Brimsdown are a side that pre-match sat 8th in the Thurlow Nunn League First Division South, having varied results all season – ranging from 5-1 wins against Southend Manor, to being defeated at home by Park View.

The game begun slightly scrappy, which is something the Hawks were well-prepared for, as nobody shied away from a challenge. We certainly won most of the 50/50s and the clear-cut chances fell mostly for us. It took just 7 minutes of action before the first chance of the game; Alex Luque whipped a ball into the box, where Ishaq was bursting forward and subsequently headed the ball just over the bar, however the linesman’s flag ensured that our number 9 was to cause no danger that time, but Ishaq remained hungry for a goal.

It’s this hunger and quality that mix together perfectly to construct a fantastic striker, and it wasn’t long before Ishaq took centre-stage. Just one minute after the offside decision, a delightful delivery from Alex Luque lead to Ishaq Ameen making the net ripple with what was a tremendous goal, in which Ishaq’s acrobatic ability was on show once again, to the fans’ excitement.

Apart from this distinctive moment, there was a lack of chances to note from the first half. However, if the game was a comedy show, Brimsdown would get 5 stars as their number 16 was seen diving and screaming after being challenged well by Jimmy Nottage to no avail from the referee. Just one second later the defender jumped back up and laughed with the away supporters; if you’re gonna try the dark arts, may as well have a laugh whilst doing so. Not only this, but a Brimsdown player also made sure to leather the ball into his teammate’s face in the first half, a move more devastating than any chance they created all game.

Coming off of that sidenote, the second half was a half with ups and downs for Harlow. In the 46th minute, Dan Heald went in for a 50/50 with the Brimsdown number 6, and came out of it with a dislocated shoulder, having to leave the field early. It was an incredibly unfortunate scenario for Heald’s first start for the club and we wish him a speedy recovery. The referee had no choice but to award a penalty for the mistimed challenge and we were gifted with a chance to double the lead and hopefully put the issue beyond doubt. However, most fans will be well aware of our penalty struggles this season, and the situation had not improved as Ruben Santos stepped up. A strong save to Muhammed Boyaci’s left denied him, and it was a chance missed for the Hawks.

Instead of dropping off or losing our heads, we remained composed and kept fighting for the second goal, which had to come. After around 10 minutes of scrappy play, a moment of quality came once again for Harlow. Jimmy Nottage played an intricate pass into Junior Dadson who had set himself in the centre of the box, but with two defenders ahead of him he opted for a pass to his left, and there stood Korede Da Silva. Despite the attempt of two defenders to close him down, Korede unleased a terrific low-driven shot through the legs of a defender and past the keeper, with ease. Rifled into the bottom right, and marking Da Silva’s first goal for Harlow Town. It’s safe to say he enjoyed the moment, screaming in celebration as he hugged his teammates after what was a momentous goal that had “GAME OVER!” written all over it for Brimsdown.

In a contrast to Wednesday’s performance, we kept our feet firmly on the pedal, whilst taking control of the game against a depleted eleven in green. Seconds after the goal, Junior Dadson had an effort that in his words… “I don’t wanna watch that back.” Although not really relevant in the grand scheme of the game, it was certainly a highlight.

Brimsdown tried to create chances but had run out of steam it seemed. They had a number of opportunities to strike from distance, but the shots were worrying the farmers in the fields surrounding the area more than James Pellin in the Harlow goal.

Towards the end of the game, there was a moment that I’ll call the ‘ping-pong moment’. A corner came into the box for Harlow that was met by James Folkes and heading goalwards only to be blocked by a Brimsdown player. On the second ball, a Brimsdown player attempted to clear it but kicked it straight into James Folkes again who accidentally had a shot on goal; blocked again. They say third time’s the charm, and Folkesy got a third chance, this time a header again that was cleared away off the line. Literal ping pong from the corner.

Ishaq had one of the final chances of the game to score, which he narrowly missed, but it didn’t matter as we’d secured the win and a clean sheet on James Pellin’s return.

It was as Danny Chapman called it “a professional performance”, where the lads got the job done on the day, meaning we can comfortably move onto our next game which is away at Southend Manor on Saturday, kicking off at 3pm.

BONUS CONTENT: Logan’s Away Day Food Review
If there’s one thing in this world that I love, it’s food, and one place I love food is on away days. I made sure to grab myself a burger at the Brimsdown game, and I mentioned to the suspended Tom Jelliman and the injured Jack Cousins that it was a “solid 6.5”. I now retract my statement and would like to award the Brimsdown Burger a 6 out of 10. It certainly was solid, a good bit of meat and succulence for sure and the price at £3.50 for a hamburger with onions was very reasonable.