Super Mario

The Hawks went into the game on the back of three home wins, looking to put the troubling away form behind them. Mario Noto took the lead with a finish from inside the box to put the visitors in control, and in truth Staines never looked likely to get back into the contest.

Staines defender Mitchal Gough saw red early in the second half, and when Mario Noto buried another chance soon after the match was effectively over for the Hawks to record only their third away league win of the season.

Junior Dadson set the tone early on, with a trademark cut-in from the left. Staines goalkeeper was equal to the effort though, palming away the rasping shot.

Charlie Dickens, in the starting line-up in place of Lawrence Yiga, settled straight into the team superbly. The hosts’ Jonathan Hippolyte burst through the Harlow defence, but a well-timed tackle from Dickens dispossessed the striker as he was about to shoot.

The young defender was called upon again when Hippolyte’s neat turn made space in the box, but Charlie Dickens once again timed the challenge to perfection.

The best chance of the game came after half an hour. Alex Read and Fabion Simms played a great one two around the defence, before Read put Junior Dadson behind the backline with a chipped through ball. With the goal at his mercy, Dadson blazed over a chance that would have finished a wonderful move.

Staines Town then went close when Adrian Clifton headed on for Jonathan Hippolyte, but his wasteful shot didn’t trouble David Hughes as the shot was dragged wide.

Harlow took the lead on 36 minutes. Junior Dadson played Layne Eadie into the channel, who lashed a low cross into the box. The ball was cleared to Mario Noto 12 yards out who finished low past the defender on the line.

The Hawks continued to press for another goal. Junior Dadson skipped past two defenders before seeing his shot saved, and then Jared Small’s close-range flick towards goal was kept out to keep the deficit down to one.

HT: Staines Town 0-1 Harlow Town

The Harlow defence had held firm against anything that the hosts could muster, and the challenge was made much harder early in the second period. On 53 minutes Mitchal Gough lunged into a rash two-footed tackle on Fabion Simms, leaving the Harlow man in a heap. The referee reached for a straight red and the hosts had to play most of the second half a man down.

The lead was doubled on 62 minutes. Substitute Khale da Costa jinked into the box before playing the ball to Alex Read. The striker had no space for a shot, but looked up to pick out Mario Noto arriving into the area. The shot was rifled into the roof of the net for Noto’s second of the game.

The man advantage began to count as the visitors pushed forward again and again. Jared Small’s ball over the top put Alex Read in on goal, but Wadah Ahmidi got a foot to the shot, taking the power out of it.

Staines' best opportunity of the game came in the final ten minutes, when an end-to-end counter attack forced David Hughes into the only real save he had to make. Max Worsfold’s blistering run down the left found Mohamed Bettamer in the middle, but Hughes saved brilliantly to deny the attacker.

The rebound fell to Adrian Clifton, who shot past Hughes only to find the impressive Charlie Dickens on the goal-line to clear the effort.

The hosts battled bravely until the final whistle, with the substitutes proving particularly effective, but the damage had been done earlier in the game and the Hawks saw out the match, keeping a clean sheet with an assured defensive performance.

FT: Staines Town 0-2 Harlow Town
ATTENDANCE: 239

Harlow move onto 50 points from their 32 games, moving up into 7th in the league and only two points outside the playoffs.

The Hawks next match is a trip to Burgess Hill on Tuesday 7th February. It’s a 7:45pm kick off.