For sixty minutes, Maidstone United played the style of football that had seen them rise to the top of the Ryman Premier Division as they raced into a 4-1 lead.
But, to say that injuries affected the Stones would detract from a spirited fightback from a Harrow Borough side that, in the end, fully deserved their hard won point.
Maidstone dominated the opening exchanges, and had enough chances to be out of sight, before Harrow opened the scoring against the run of play. The home side struck back with two goals in the five minutes that followed to take a lead into the interval. Two early goals saw the Stones take advantage of Harrow’s defensive frailties. But a string of substitutions saw the roles of the two sides reverse, and it was Harrow who looked the more threatening and Maidstone reduced to hitting on the counter-attack as the visitors closed the gap.
Jay Saunders, the Maidstone manager, admitted “We just switched off, thought the game was won and it’s frustrating because you can’t do that. Even at 4-2 I thought we were in control. We’ve created enough chances and scored four at home; when you score four you expect to win anywhere but we haven’t. When you’re losing a game 4-1, Harrow had to go for it, chuck people forward, and we’ve not dealt with it. We haven’t cleared our lines or won those second balls. Graeme Andrews was having a good game, but we’ve had to take him and Frannie (Collin) off through injury and reshuffling hasn’t helped our case, but we stopped doing the good things. Every time we put the ball in the right areas we looked like scoring.”
The first chance of the game came within seventy seconds as a flowing move Zac Attwood and Tom Mills, through Frannie Collin found Attwood bursting into the area, and only a sliding block from Harrow’s Brandon Horner denied a shooting chance.
The home side had three chances in a ninety second spell after 15 minutes, with Collin denied by Berkley Laurencin’s right foot after good work from Orlando Smith. From the throw that followed, Steve Watt stayed up in the attack, beat left-back Adam Louth with ease and put a dangerous ball into the six-yard box, where Attwood reach the ball first but could only steer his effort over. Collin also had another chance from Laurencin’s poor clearance kick, but couldn’t direct his shot on target.
Laurencin did well to turn a Michael Phillips effort over the bar, then Michael Peacock had to use his full height to block Attwood’s shot following another threatening burst from Smith through the middle of the Harrow defensive line. Watt glanced a header wide from the resulting corner, as it seemed inevitable that the home side’s pressure would result in a goal.
But, completely against the run of play, Harrow stunned the home crowd as Simeon Akinola conjured a goal from almost nothing. Receiving the ball on the edge of the Maidstone area, Akinola created half a yard of space off Watt, and in one motion turned and curled a left foot effort beyond Lee Worgan’s dive, giving the Stones’ keeper no chance.
Within ninety seconds through, Maidstone were level through Alex Brown. The midfielder was central to the build-up, breaking through the centre circle and feeding the ball in to Collin on the right side of the area. Collin put a deep ball in towards Smith, who tried an extravagent bicycle kick, but the ball broke to the edge of the box for Brown to take a touch and rifle the ball into the top right corner.
They say you’re never more vulnerable as when you’ve just scored, and Worgan was alert to parry Christopher Benjamin’s shot as Harrow waltzed through the Maidstone defence. But in an end-to-end period of the game, it was Maidstone that capitalised, and exposed Laurencin’s uncertainty on crosses.
An Alex Flisher inswinger from the right flew over Laurencin, but Louth had positioned himself at the back post to clear off the line. Smith then repeated this from the left, but Louth was now at the near post, and the inswinging corner curled over Laurencin and into the top corner.
Apart from an Attwood shot that the Harrow keeper was able to hold comfortably, neither side was able to create any clear cut chances at Maidstone closed the half with a 2-1 lead.
Harrow made two changes at the break, but it only took 50 seconds for Maidstone to extend their advantage. A throughball released Collin into the area, and he drove to the by-line before cutting the ball back for Attwood to tap home his third goal in three games since arriving from Margate. And Brown quickly added a fourth, although Collin is likely to claim a touch, as a quick corner saw Smith play in the rampaging midfielder, who connected first time to steer the ball past an unsighted Laurencin.
Collin, playing in a number 10 position behind Attwood, played a one-two to release Flisher into the box, but the winger’s shot was blocked by Laurencin’s legs. When the rebound ran lose to Smith, he fired wide from the edge of the box, although both the keeper and Danny Leech were making efforts to get back on the line.
Ten minutes into the second half, Harrow got what proved to be a crucial goal. Substitute Marcel Barrington went on a mazy run in from the right wing, and laid the ball in between Graeme Andrews and Richard Davies. Akinola had already started his run and picked up the pass in space, drove into the Maidstone box, where Worgan waited on his six yard line, before slotting the ball into the bottom left corner.
The introduction of Ronnel Dennis, whose movement and strength meant he played more like Romelu Lukaku, saw Harrow become the team who played the better passing football. Maidstone were sitting back and finding it difficult to get out of their own area, and Worgan was a relieved man as he challenged Dennis outside his area. The Stones’ keeper tried to chest the ball past Dennis, only for the ball to hit the Harrow forward and Watt had to slide in to clear with an inviting open goal.
The home side lost Collin and Andrews to injuries, which seemed to disrupt them further, and Harrow scored a third from a freekick that Maidstone had chances to, but failed to clear. Jake Gilbert had two efforts charged down before sliding a precise ball through to Michael Peacock, who smashed his angled drive low to Worgan’s left and in at the post.
Smith had two threatening runs at the Harrow defence; the first found Attwood in the box, but the big forward couldn’t get the ball out from his feet to steer a shot on target, then Smith’s pullback deflected off Peacock, only for Leech to hook off the line.
But it was Harrow who found an equaliser, through full-back Horner. Maidstone again struggled to clear a Harrow cross and the ball fell to Horner 25-yards out, who fired a rising shot into the top left corner, with Worgan unable to reach the shot.
Both teams became more frantic in their efforts to claim the three points, and it was the Stones who came closest, as Watt’s header dropped agonisingly past the post with Davies and Paul Booth in close attendance.
MAIDSTONE UNITED: Lee Worgan, Richard Davies, Tom Mills, Steve Watt ©, Graeme Andrews (Jack Sullivan 70), Michael Phillips (Fabio Saraiva 90), Orlando Smith, Alex Brown, Zac Attwood, Frannie Collin (Paul Booth 66), Alex Flisher.
Subs not used: Danny Lye, Rory Hill.
Goals: Alex Brown 27 & 49, Orlando Smith 30, Zac Attwood 46.
Bookings: Graeme Andrews 70, Steve Watt 87.
HARROW BOROUGH: Berkley Laurencin. Brandon Horner, Adam Louth, Danny Leech ©, Michael Peacock, Jake Gilbert, Shaun Lucien (Ronnel Dennis 55), Saheed Sankoh, Christopher Benjamin (Marcel Barrington 46), Simeon Akinola, Rhys Murrell-Williamson (Jordan Berry 46).
Subs not used: Zsolt Mezel, Daniel Llacer.
Goals: Simeon Akinola 25 & 55, Michael Peacock 73, Brandon Horner 78.
Bookings: Saheed Sankoh 58, Brandon Horner 62, Marcel Barrington 87.
Attendance: 1,935
Referee: Mr Michael Webb
Assistants: Mr Craig Melinn and Mr Steven Scott