Danny Chapman's side went down early against the Essex Senior League side in their "first real test" of the 2025 Pre-Season campaign, but an improved second-half performance saw them come away with a draw.

A pre-season fixture against Woodford Town was always going to be a tough one for the newly-promoted Hawks. Woodford, an experienced Step 5 side, only fell short of Step 4 in the playoff final last season after being defeated by Takeley. The side finished 3rd place in the Essex Senior League and retained the majority of their squad, adding some new additions too.

Woodford are the Hawks' former tenants, who groundshared there between 2018 and 2020, and their former reserves manager Adam Connolly is part of the coaching team at Woodford Town, alongside manager Shane Baptiste.

The Hawks begun the game on the front foot, with a trialist forcing a save out of the Woodford goalkeeper, and then going on to find the net. However, the flag was promptly raised and the goal did not stand.

From this point on, Woodford dominated the ball, which led to an early goal after a shot from distance was spilled by Finn Rushton, which was tapped home on the rebound.

Harlow never really got going in the first-half after this point, and whilst Woodford had a few half-chances, they never massively threatened either, and at the break, the away side held a one goal advantage.

Woodford continued how they left off, with some blistering counter-attacks almost threatening James Pellin, who was in goal for the second-half.

The introduction of Jack Cousins sparked an improved second-half performance, with Cousins operating as a forward and immediately registering a few shots, one of which hit the target.

It had become a much more end-to-end game at this stage, and Woodford continued to try to hit Harlow on the break, to some success, but James Pellin stood strong and denied them. Harlow were in control of possession.

Teddy Jones came close to scoring following a good move from the home side, with quick build-up play, but his left-footed shot drifted just wide, with the Woodford keeper rooted to the spot.

The Harlow pressure finally paid-off when Denzel Effah whipped a cross into the box, which was headed down by Dan Heald and headed in with panache from Jack Cousins.

The final moments of the game saw a Woodford Town player sent off after a strong tackle.

The game ended 1-1 after a tense second-half and the Hawks managed to salvage a point from a game in which they were second-best throughout the first-half. But after an improved second-half display, the final score appears justified.

Our focus now shifts to Saturday's game in which we travel to Ely City in our penultimate pre-season game. We hope to see you there and thank you for your continued support.