Wealdstone 0 – 3 Harrow Borough
Wealdstone
0 - 3
Harrow BoroughSeventy one years as neighbours and numerous meeting in County and FA cup competitions, but this was the first ever League match between the two sides.
Match is probably too strong a word though as it seemed anything but competitive for the first half hour, neither side making any progress forward and both seeming content to play out a midfield struggle. It was the visitors that made the first foray forward during this spell, but on two occasions the ball was given away in the penalty box.
Stones first (and only meaningful) effort in the first half was a header from Carvell that sailed just wide, but on 40 minutes probably the best piece of play of the afternoon (it had little competition) saw the visitors take the lead when a ball was played behind the Stones defence and Valenti ran on, looked up and coolly chipped the onrushing Carter from 15 yards.
The second half saw Stones push forward with a little more purpose early on, but again without putting any pressure on the Boro defence. A mistake from Cahill on the hour as he gave his man too much room and allowed him to turn and knock the ball into the path of Valenti increased Boro’s lead, Valenti running through the defence to beat Carter with a low shot.
Substitutions brought Stones a little more power and passion with Alexander up front and he was thwarted on 80 minutes in Stones first real attempt on goal, Karamoto saving well, but with the home side at last pushing on to try and make a game of it, there was more space than ever for Valenti and he finished Boro’s third chance with another one on one, giving Carter no chance. In fact he almost had a fourth late on but Carter saved this and an effort from Haule in the last few minutes.
It was a dull match generally, played in front of a crowd of 602, but at least 80 will have gone home happy with the result. Many will also have been convinced that they had watched a game between two poor sides that will struggle as the season goes on. One at least now has three points more.
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| Harrow Observer Match Report | |
| Harrow Times Steve PAull | |
Wealdstone 0 Harrow Borough 3THE issue of the best football team in the borough has been comprehensively decided in this first ever league meeting between these clubs. Boro cruised almost effortlessly to victory with a hat-trick of well taken goals from former Wealdstone player Fabio Valenti. This was a humiliating capitulation for Stones, who were second best in all departments all afternoon. There are very few Wealdstone players who should be holding their heads up after this. Valenti, Brian Haule and Abdul Yoki were lively all afternoon and Dean Marney, despite taking plenty of abuse from the hostile home crowd, was a defensive rock. That is not to say Wealdstone did not have their moments. Poor Richard Jolly has lost all confidence in front of goal this season and continues to snatch at the chances that his intelligent running continue to create. Marvin Morgan will always be a nuisance to defences, but a regular goal-scorer he is not. Early exchanges slightly favoured the home side, not that Keita Karamoko had a shot to save, but Matt Carvell headed over, Jolly scuffed a chance wide, and a last ditch tackle by Perry Norman stopped the Stones striker in the act of shooting. Carvell was playing his first game of the season, replacing the suspended Danny Wolf. Possibly the lack of understanding between him and Chris Cahill can explain the disappearance of the Wealdstone defence for the first two of Valenti’s goals where a cruelly exposed Andy Carter was beaten by a clever lob and a shot into the far corner. Two new Wealdstone signings, Adam Shaefer and Younes Nabil were introduced into the fray soon into the second half and a cut out pass from the latter led to Valenti scampering away, unchallenged again, to round Carter for the third. The game was over now, and Wealdstone did have some late efforts on goal, most notably a header from Dave Ryan that Karamoko saved at the foot of a post but from the blue side of the borough, this was a terrible day and diaries are already noting down the date of the Earlsmead return-February 5. It cannot be this bad again. Wealdstone: A Carter, Shaw, Michnowicz, Ryan, Carvell, Cahill, Bubb(Shaefer), McKeown, Morgan, Jolly, Williams(Nabil). Harrow: Karamoko. Neilsen, Lopez, Walters, Norman, Marney, Dyer(Newton), Dogbe, Haule, Valenti, Yoki.
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