BY Chris Vince

AS far as 0-0 draws go this was a pretty exciting game of football. Harlow had most of the chances, coming out strong right from the first whistle. They got the ball into the West Ham box a number of times and might consider themselves unlucky not to have got some reward for their efforts.

There was a crowd of over 800 people and this really added to the atmosphere inside the McCulloch Arena, albeit also adding to the queue for the bar before the match!

Although this was only the West Ham Youth team it did give Harlow the opportunity to test their metal against a well organised and well trained unit and they certainly stepped up to the mark.

West Ham started the second half positively, with their young legs showing. Harlow keeper David Hughes was forced into making one particularly athletic save. However, it was Harlow who might consider themselves unlucky not to take the win with a shot from striker Christian Adu Gyamfi skimming the top of the cross bar in the closing minutes. I was also impressed with Harlow number 14 Jason Raad who came on in the second half.

Overall an enjoyable evening and with such a large attendance a great money spinner for Harlow. Although West Ham’s team might not be house hold names perhaps one day we might be talking about the likes of Longelo, Watson and Okotcha again on a bigger stage!