Spartan Premier Division Cup

Harlow Town 2 v 0 Welwyn

HARLOW Town, under the management of Tom Cunningham as Danny Chapman served the first game of his two match suspension, got the job done against a young AFC Welwyn side, in the Premier Division Cup, that were very dissimilar to the previous time we faced them this season reports Logan Young.

It was a dominant display from the Hawks, who could have won by a lot more, with the Welwyn side causing little trouble throughout the ninety, but did well to keep the score down.

The away side did begin the game on the front foot, and James Pellin almost got chipped in what was a fast counter-attack from Welwyn, however the ball bounced just wide of the goal, and Pellin quite possibly got a touch on it.

They continued in their stride as a half-chance fell for Bradley Jamba, who hit a left-footed volley just wide of the left-post.

Harlow then went down the other end and Denzel Effah was denied by the feet of Liam Reed after Teddy Jones squared the ball across to him.

Reed went on to make another save later in the half after Arley Barker’s whipped free kick was directed goalwards and the keeper took no chances and pushed it wide.

A moment of heroism occurred as Darcy Grant made a last-ditch tackle to prevent Josh Gruby from tucking it away. Gruby was picked out over the top by Louis Stead and was one-on-one with Reed, but took slightly too long to think about it all things considered.

The second half was where Harlow really turned it up a gear and started to create ample chances, the first of which involved Denzel Effah hitting the crossbar after it was squared towards him by Josh Gruby.

Early in the half, Harlow were awarded a penalty after Josh Gruby went down from a foul. Denzel Effah stepped up, having scored a penalty in our last game against Baldock Town. He dispatched the penalty with panache and the reds grabbed the lead.

Merely a couple of minutes on from this, Harlow hit Welwyn on a swift counter-attack and Dwade James threaded it through to Denzel Effah who slipped it past Reed and doubled the lead, taking his personal tally up to nine goals for the season – four of those coming in the last two games. It also makes Denzel our out-and-out top scorer so far this season and in light of Stef Georgiou’s injury, it’s increasingly likely that he may be the first player to reach double figures for the Hawks this season.

Welwyn missed from one of the biggest chances of the game as Bradley Jamba found himself a chance to shoot in the box from the left-hand side. He cut across the ball and hit the inside of the right post, before the ball bounced out and Fabion Simms cleared it. Harlow continued to hold onto the clean sheet.

The Hawks almost scored from a few chances following this; for one, Ishaq Ameen had the ball cleared into him from roughly seven yards out, the ball bounced off Ameen and into the outside of the right-post before going out of play. After this, Teddy Jones decided to have a crack from twenty yards out which drifted inches wide of the right post with keeper Reed rooted to the spot.

In between these two chances, Welwyn forward Quaidoud cut inside and shot but it was a weak effort that went wide.

In the final moments of the game, Harlow were on the ropes slightly as James Pellin attempted to claim the ball but missed it, spilling it out to Welwyn striker Ryan Ansell, who played it into Bradley Jamba. With an open goal apart from Harlow defender Jack Willson, Jamba skied it, blowing what could’ve given Welwyn an ounce of hope in the dying moments.

Overall, it was a solid performance from Harlow, who definitely deserved the win all things considered. Standout performers, as voted for by the supporters were Teddy Jones (who won player of the match) as well as Denzel Effah of course, who netted twice on the night. New signing Jack Willson slotted in well and also looked solid in the defensive unit and the team as a whole all performed to a good level, particularly in the second half.

The stats also indicated a dominant display with Harlow registering 7 attempts on target compared to just 1 from the away side, and whipping 20 crosses into the box compared to 3 for Welwyn (courtesy of Richard Annis).

We thank you for your continued support and hope to see you all tomorrow as we face Arlesey Town in our return to league action away from home.