Lively conditions led to a lively match and despite the amazing lack of goals at half time, Harrow scored three times in nine second-half minutes, and despite Frome getting a quick consolation goal, the visitors were well worth their 3-1 away win.
How this match remained goalless in the first ten minutes was a mystery as in the 4th minute, a deflected right wing cross from Dan Demkiv allowed Kane Simpson a clear shot on goal from 8 yards, only for Hafed Al-Drowbi to pull off an excellent save from close range, with the ball ending up lodged under his body.
Three minutes after and Harrow missed a chance that could become famous on YouTube if the action was captured. As Frome committed players up for a corner, Harrow broke with a long ball clearance. James Carey and Ricky Scott collided going for the ball and Harrow’s Anthony O’Connor found himself clear through on goal, with an empty net in front of him and all the time in the world to do whatever he wanted to do, though he probably didn’t want to shoot yards wide of the far post – which is what he ended up doing!
Relieved by the let off, Frome started to play some decent football and both Demkiv and Connor Roberts went close with telling crosses from either wing. After Carey had done well to save a close range header from George Moore in the 16th, Frome carved out a chance from a corner only for Ollie Knowles’ shot to cannon into the back of Marcus Mapstone when it might have been heading goalwards.
The game then flowed from end to end, with Harrow keen to get both full backs into the action and Moore causing problems whenever he went forward. However Frome went closest when their left back and captain, Ricky Scott, hit a telling cross to the far post that Ryan Bath did really well to stretch and pull the ball back, only to be foiled by a very good reaction save by Al-Drowbi, who then managed to grab the ball at the second attempt.
Harrow twice went close just before the break as first a stunning left foot drive from Lewis Cole was tipped over the bar by an even more stunning save from Carey. From the resulting corner, mayhem erupted in the Frome area with the ball being cleared off the line two or maybe three times in the space of a few seconds, but their luck held. With the whistle blowing immediately, the score remained an amazing 0-0 at half time.
Harrow started to look the better side at the start of the second half, and after Carey had punched away a near-post shot in the 48th, there was little he could do to prevent the visitors opening the scoring in the 51st. Frank Keita dummied the ball, pulled Roberts out of position allowing left back Ryan Haugh time and space to drill a left foot volley into the far corner from the edge of the area.
The visitors doubled their lead in the 55th as right back George Moore was given too much time and space just outside the Frome area and buried a right foot shot into the far corner from a similar distance to the first, but from the other side of the pitch.
At this stage, Harrow were effectively owning the Frome half, while Frome seemed to be occasional visitors to the visitors’ half. The home side were punished again in the 60th as the very impressive Moore overlapped on the right, got to the dead ball line and drilled a low, hard cross into the Frome box that took a wicked deflection off Connor McCormack, to fly past Carey for an own goal.
Frome did pull one back three minutes later as Demkiv produced a perfect right wing cross onto the feet of Simpson, who finished with ease from eight yards to make it 3-1. Simpson did well again in the 74th as he turned Mitchell Gough in the area only for Al-Drowbi to again save from close range.
In the 77th, Demkiv cut in from the left to hit a screaming right foot shot that Al-Drowbi palmed away, and Simpson had a huge chance to reduce the arrears in the 85th as he beat the offside trap by several yards but shot straight into the body of Al-Drowbi who wasn’t missing very much in this match.
A clinical sweeping move from Harrow in the 87th ended with a shot from Ryan Moss hitting the outside of the Frome post after Moore had again caused trouble as he surged forward. But with the match ending with Mapstone heading a corner over the bar, the general feeling was that Harrow always had the measure of Frome, especially in the second half.
Frome now travel to Wimborne on Tuesday night, and with Wimborne having won 5-0 today, but sitting one point above this drop zone, but three behind Frome, this is beginning to look a little like a “six pointer” at this stage of the season.
Kane Simpson was chosen for the Man of the Match Award.
