Harlow Town 1-2 Stow

Stow bounced back from two disappointing defeats to take a hard-earned three points on the road at Harlow. The home side were yet to taste defeat this season, making Stow’s victory all the more impressive.

But it could have been a different story had Harlow taken their first half chances. They flew out of the traps, and should have been ahead when a cross ran in front of goal and just past Fabion Simms at the back post. Moments later Jared Small had volleyed narrowly wide, getting on the end of a deep free kick.

The goal eventually came when Cyrus Gordon latched onto a ball over the top and cut back to Hani Berchiche to side-foot home. Instead of building on their lead, Harlow began to sit back and invite pressure onto them.

Panny Boxer had a huge shout for handball in the Harlow box turned down when his cross appeared to strike the had of a defender, and Tommy Fletcher could have done better with a free header six yards out. It didn’t matter for long though, as Samir Bihmoutine’s free kick was nodded back across goal by skipper Adalberto Pinto for Kieron Cathline to shoulder the ball in for his first Stow goal. It should have been a routine clearance for Chiedozie Nwosu in the Harlow goal to deal with, but he couldn’t jump as high as either Cathline or Tommy Fletcher who were in front of him.

A first half substitute for the injured Tommy Spillane, Demaray Anyadike changed the game for Stow, and could have put his side ahead before the break; his cross just evading Jeremiah Maja at the front post, and then stinging Nwosu’s fingertips with a long-range effort after a surging run from midfield.

The second half continued as the first had ended, and Stow were soon ahead. Anyadike picked the pocked of Layne Eadie who was trying to marshal the ball out of play, and passed across goal to Maja for the easiest of tap-ins.

While Stow continued to look dangerous on the break, all the running was now from Harlow who were starting to get more and more frustrated with each other and the decisions of the officials. On three occasions they claimed for a penalty, but were turned down each time. They were lucky to keep 11 men on the pitch when Gordon went in two-footed on the chest of James Dillon in the Stow goal.

But their frustration stopped them from creating any meaningful pressure on the Stow goal, and thanks to some savvy defending, Stow ran the clock down to make it two wins from two away games to start the season.