Ryman League Premier Division
Earlsmead, South Harrow
Admission: £9.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 235
Match Rating: 4
The second instalment of my bank holiday action took me to north-west London for another very local derby between Harrow Borough and Hendon. With Hendon sharing Wembley's Vale Farm ground these days, the clubs are separated by only a couple of miles.
Earlsmead is located about a half hour walk from South Harrow underground station, although Northolt Park mainline train station is about half the distance, indeed, one walks past Northolt Park station to get from South Harrow tube station to Earlsmead. The ground has the feel of a very typical old-fashioned Isthmian League ground in London, although that is not to suggest the ground has any character. Facilities are very good for the level though. Along one length there is a seated stand (which costs an additional £2 to enter), the only relatively modern stand present, with small stands covering terrace steps either side. On the opposite side there is a long stand covering terraced steps stretching around two thirds of the length of the pitch. Behind both goals there are uncovered small banks of terracing. The programme was a reasonable effort, with sufficient content to preview the match, although there are certainly considerably better programmes available at this level.
Both teams have had very similar starts to the season, both winning one and losing one of their opening two games, then on Saturday they both teams had good results over the weekend, Harrow winning at Tonbridge and Hendon getting a point from early pacesetters Hastings United. It is hard to imagine anything other than another season of mid-table obscurity for both clubs, though.
On an occasionally sunny but mostly overcast afternoon, Hendon were certainly quick out of the blocks, opening the scoring with just three minutes on the clock when Aaron Morgan nodded in from 8 yards out after a good cross. Hendon went on to completely dominate the first half as the home side barely ventured into the opposition third and were guilty of countless sloppy passes. How Hendon did not add to their one goal was a mystery as half time approached, and they were made to pay when Harrow equalised deep into added on time in the first half through Troy Hewitt.
The game was much more equal in the second half, but it was still something of a surprise when Harrow took the lead on 72 minutes with a powerful header from Dean Marney. A game that became increasingly fractious exploded on 79 minutes when Hendon were awarded a penalty, sparking a mass brawl consisting of almost all of the players and both benches. Despite punches being thrown, only two bookings resulted, which was indicative of how the referee lost control of the game in the second half. Once the fracas finally died down, Lubomir Guentchev showed excellent composure to smash home the penalty. Five minutes from time, Hendon were awarded another penalty, although this one was rightly barely disputed and Guentchev again coolly slotted home the penalty to give Hendon the lead. Harrow had a couple of attacks before the end of the game without really looking like scoring and so Hendon claimed the derby bragging rights which they deserved on the balance of play and chances.
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