Sky Sports journalist and owner/chairman of Biggleswade United Guillem Balague provided a warm welcome to supporters and officials of Harlow Town and offered to sign copies of his new book regarding Unai Emery’s time at Aston Villa before the match. I personally found it interesting to see just how many legends of the game have been pictured with Biggleswade United shirts, with Maradona and Ronaldo Nazario being just a couple of huge names on their wall of fame.

An illness to Harvey Steel meant that Jack Willson came into the side for his first league start for the club; Mitch Hahn also came into the midfield ahead of Teddy Jones who was serving his one match suspension. Jack Cousins was also named on the bench for the first time in four months after a long-term injury.

It was the home side who registered the first shot of the game as Liam Smyth saw his effort from outside the box curl wide. Down the other end, Ishaq Ameen got to the ball at the front post but saw his effort rapidly saved by Alex Desmond.

Harlow continued their flurry of opportunities as Josh Gruby smacked a half-volley down the throat of Desmond, who managed to get it away. Following this, Mitch Hahn came close with a volley when unmarked on the edge of the box.

The first half wasn’t one with loads of chances, but Harlow definitely had the better of them in the first period, despite the deadlock unbroken.

At half-time, Dwade James replaced Ishaq Ameen after a hamstring injury and quickly found himself with a big chance as Mitch Hahn played him through on goal. James cut onto his right foot and fired a shot goalwards but Desmond did excellently well to tip it onto the right post and deny him.

The deadlock was broken after Mitch Hahn whipped a free-kick into the middle of the box. The ball missed every player and bounced past Desmond, giving Harlow the lead 20 minutes into the second half.

It soon became a very intense game as Harlow looked to hold onto the lead and secure what would have been a superb three points, but in doing this we dropped deep and invited pressure, particularly in the final ten minutes.

A couple of half chances followed for the home side, but nothing massively threatening. At one stage, it looked as though Biggleswade would find themselves through on goal but Dawid Krusinski heroically dived at the feet of the Biggleswade forward, robbing him of the ball.

In the third of five added minutes, Biggleswade goalkeeper Alex Desmond hit it long in an attempt to get the ball into a dangerous position. Trying to clear the ball, Jesse Ansen missed it, leaving Vinnie Baker in on goal with a bit of space. The Biggleswade number three dinked it over Krusinski and the ground erupted as the home side had found an equaliser in the dying moments to the dismay of the travelling supporters.

There simply wasn’t enough time after this for either side to find a winner and the game ended as a 1-1 draw.

Overall, it was a game in which Harlow Town were the better side and defended well for much of the game, winning a lot of fouls and creating a few decent opportunities. Biggleswade were well-organised at the back but didn’t create loads going forward, however when it mattered most, they were able to find a goal.

Despite this, a 1-1 draw against a side who were in the playoff places heading into the game wasn’t bad going and it’s further evidence that the squad at the moment can go toe-to-toe with any side in this league. The unbeaten run now extends to eight games, with the two draws coming against playoff-placed teams at the time.

We thank you for your fantastic continued support and hope to see you on Saturday as we host Crawley Green in the league.