HARROW BOROUGH 0 HORNCHURCH 0
On a bumpy pitch Hornchurch took time to settle and the first home move
led to a corner which Lewis Cook took and Elliot Styles cleared. Urchins
form some rhythm when Michael Spencer, again playing in midfield, made
ground and touched the ball back to Duane Jackman whose first time drive
almost found the net. Jo Flack mistimed a shot which was easily
gathered by Andraj Baptiste, and at the other end a thirty yard first
time volley from Kwasi Frampong went dangerously close to the far post.
Kurt Morlese almost managed to break through the middle but was stopped
by a well timed tackle by Ronnie Fletcher.. Andy Tomlinson then switched
the play from one side of the pitch and out to Jonathan Hunt who
touched on to Michael Spencer and the resulting centre was just
intercepted by Tobi Jinadu as Jo Flack moved in.
Rocky Baptiste made a good run along the left and turned the ball inside for Cook whose shot went just wide, and a Cook corner was cleared by Billy Coyne. Hunt deflected James Fraser’s pass for a corner which Cook took and Darren Behcet punched away, and Fletcher conceded another corner, and this time Cook’s kick was headed on by Richard Orlu to Morlese, who put his shot wide of the post. Michael Spencer saw his shot deflected out for a corner and Hunt’s inswinging kick was gathered by Andraj Baptiste, and Hornchurch began to press forward. Mark Janney out to Jackman and Duane made ground on the left before easing the ball back to Jo Flack whose shot went was well saved by Andraj Baptiste. Spencer to Tomlinson and back to Flack and this time his shot was a fraction wide of the post. Almost on half time Jo Flack homed in from the left and was blatantly checked by Jinadu, but the massed shouts of the Urchins supporters behind the goal for what appeared to be a certain penalty were ignored by the referee.
Urchins gave under some pressure immediately after the interval when Jamie Dormer, Hunt and Tomlinson blocked three shots in quick succession, but the ball was quickly played upfield where Jackman was pulled down and Hunt’s free kick curved inches wide of the post. Jackman then took a pass from Spencer and made ground on the left before floating the ball over to Flack and Andraj Baptiste made a good save from Flack’s goal bound shot. Harrow won a corner and Cook’s kick was gathered by Darren Behcet who was then bundled off the ball and Wayne Walters followed up to hammer his shot goalwards, where Elliot Styles was in the right place to clear.
Mark Janney was replaced by Ben Boyce, who was immediately called into action to race on to Jackman’s low cross and Ben hit his shot just narrowly wide of the post. Then it was Boyce on the right, who turned the ball back to Dormer and thence to Flack, whose shot went tantalising close to finding the net. Morlese was booked for a foul just outside the area, and with Dormer lurking it was Hunt who stepped up to hit the free kick over the wall, only for the ball to drift wide of the far post. Hunt to Jackman on the left and another corner resulted, with Andraj Baptiste doing well to hold Hunt’s inswinging kick. Styles won the ball in midfield to send Boyce away on the right and Ben crossed to Jackman whose shot forced Andraj Baptiste into making an excellent save.
Darren Behcet then hit a long ball up field and Jackman ran on and through the defence, only to be chopped down, but no penalty was given. A minute later it was Jackman again, out on the left, touching the ball back to Hunt, and Jonathan quickly played it into the path of Ben Boyce was immediately hacked down, for what was a blatant penalty, only for the referee to wave play on. Play was then stopped as the linesman was waving frantically but the result was a yellow card for Ben Boyce, to jeers of derision from the away following for what was best described as a cop out.
With the away following seething at the injustice of two clear cut penalties not given inside a minute, to add to the one on the stroke of half time, Ross Wall came on for Jo Flack, and Ross took a good pass from Spencer only for Andraj Baptiste to save well. In a rare home attack Cook came in from the left and rounded Behcet but was tackled by Ronnie Fletcher and Jonathan Hunt moved in quickly to tackle as the ball ran loose into the path of Morlese.
Ross Wall made a good run in from the left and Andraj Baptiste did well to save, and the ball ran loose to Ben Boyce whose thunderous shot was saved well by Andraj Baptiste. In the fifth minute of stoppage time, and with Urchins piling forward, Duane Jackman surged through the defence and was once again scythed down, with one hundred Urchins first roaring with delight at the penalty and then roaring even louder with anger when the fourth blatant penalty of the match was equally blatantly ignored.
So just the one point in the end, in a match where four penalty appeals went unheeded.
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