HARLOW TOWN 0 BISHOP'S STORTFORD 3 Pre-Season Friendly 4-08-07

HARLOW TOWN 0, BISHOP’S STORTFORD 3
Pre-season friendly 04/08/07
Match report by BILLY SHAW

THE Hawks were three times denied by the woodwork, and made life very hard for the Blues’ keeper during Saturday’s pre-season friendly at Barrows Farm.
Having dominated for most of the first half, a lapse in concentration saw Ryan Kirby’s men fell behind four minutes after the interval, before Stortford scored twice more to complete a very unflattering scoreline.
Jason Mason tried his luck 45 seconds into the game when he dispossessed Leon Lalite in midfield and saw keeper James Hasell off his line, but the stopper retreated to keep out his audacious lob.
James Bunn’s shot was blocked by Stortford keeper Andy Young at the other end on three minutes, before Roy Essandoh shot marginally wide for the visitors five minutes later.
Bunn forced another save from Young on 24 minutes after Shaun Glidden’s quickly-taken free kick caught the Blues’ defence napping, before Clark Akers’ header from Leon Lalite’s resulting corner was pushed onto the bar by the keeper.
As Harlow mounted a sustained period of attack, Danny Chapman saw his header cleared off the line by Mark Wright a few second later, before new signing Gavin Taylor blazed over after another Akers effort was parried into his path by Young.
James Bunn’s glancing header from a clever Kenny Davis cross flew just wide on 27 minutes as the Hawks further upped their game in search of an opener.
Mark Taylor then struck the outside of the post seven minutes before the break with a right-footed free kick which he curled around the Stortford wall.
Kenny Davis fired over and Clark Akers shot straight at the keeper as the Hawks looked to maintain the pressure in the opening stages of the second half, but Roy Essandoh took the wind out of their sails with a well taken goal against the run of play on 49 minutes after being fed by Greg Pearson.
Dean Williams, who made his first Harlow appearance of the pre-season, slid a tempting ball across the face of Stortford’s goal on 55 minutes, but James Bunn couldn’t make contact to divert the ball home.
With the hosts tiring, the visitors moved further ahead when referee Mike Smith adjudged Ryan Kirby to have fouled Greg Pearson in the area and awarded Stortford a spot kick in the 63rd minute. Pearson duly stepped up to make it 2-0.
Hasell’s heroics denied Stefan Gaisi 13 minutes from time, but the keeper couldn’t backpedal in time to prevent the charging Alex Martin from nodding home the third.
Mark Taylor’s 25-yard free kick beat Young in the Stortford goal on 82 minutes, but the full-back’s effort struck the face of the bar. Young appeared to hurt himself as he stretched to reach Taylor’s shot, and after receiving treatment was replaced by substitute goalkeeper Joe Welch for the closing stages.Harlow Tn: James Hasell, Mark Taylor, Lee Miles, Ryan Kirby (sub: Kevin Warren, 75), Danny Chapman (sub: Beckett Hollenbach, 67), Clark Akers, Leon Lalite (sub: Reece Prestedge, 69), Kenny Davis (sub: Tom McGowan, 73), James Bunn, Shaun Glidden (sub: Danny Green, 52), Gavin Taylor (sub: Dean Williams, 45).