The All give their all but Borough are better- just!

When Southall were drawn against Harrow Borough in the Second Round of our Velocity (League) Cup, it seemed that it was time to head to Burnham. It would be an opportunity to watch two of our Pitching In Isthmian South Central promotion favourites meet for the first time this season, with the added jeopardy that comes with knockout football, and perhaps a penalty shootout to look forward to. And yet, here we were at Earlsmead, home of Borough, to watch the hosts play ‘away’ whilst the away side played at ‘home.’ 

Life as a Southall fan cannot be easy. The All have been homeless now for thirty two years, and every home match sees those who live in the bit of West London the club used to call home make a seventeen mile journey along the M4- or an hour via public transport and shanks’s pony- to watch their local heroes. Since the clubs eviction from their old Western Road, which is now housing, they’ve played at a leisure centre, a University, a rugby club, at Hanwell Town, at North Greenford United, at Hillingdon Borough, and at Ashford Town- as well as at Burnham, this being their second spell at the 1878 Stadium. 

And tonight…at Harrow Borough, for one night only. The problem with being a tenant in someone else’s ground, particularly a ground with a 3G pitch which is always in use, is that sometimes that ground isn’t available for you when you need it. So here we were, tie reversed, Borough with home advantage, and another match which clearly advertised the need for The All to have a home of their own once more. 

The way that Borough had played so far this season, giving them an additional advantage seemed rather unfortunate. Until defeat at Farnham in their last match, ten days ago, they’d won their opening five league fixtures. They remained unbeaten at home in all competitions, having conceded a single solitary goal on their own patch. The sides will meet again in Burnham, and in the League, in eleven days time- but everyone wants a cup run, and, county cup aside, this was now the only show in town for both sides. Who would deliver a knockout?

Borough, in their yellow away kit, got us underway- kicking towards the clubhouse end. The All, as they were nominally the home side, were in their usual red and white quartered shirts, 

Borough had the first chance. On four minutes they went quickly from defence to attack, and neat interplay between Dan Williams and Leo Sery ended with the latter forcing Michael Edegbe into a diving save, the rebound hoofed away. 

The opening stages were played at a rather frantic pace. The All perhaps edged the possession, but it was Borough who looked the most dangerous, and it was no surprise when they went ahead on twelve minutes. A corner was curled in from the right, the ball dropped right under the bar, and seemed to hit a defender on the way in- although the inswinger might have done the damage all on its own. Immediately there could have been another, a shot from Jordan Hamilton-Olise requiring a fine save, and from the resulting corner we had another desperate goalline scramble before the ball was cleared. But, for now at least, Harrow had to settle for one.

Goal: Southall 0 Harrow Borough 1, Mack Miskin, 12 minutes
 

Finally Southall turned their possession into a chance, as a shot from Romney Eccles- Meodad was deflected narrowly wide, but the corner came to naught, and a quick clearance saw us up the other end, Williams forcing a fine diving save from Edegbe. 21 minutes. More Southall pressure, Jordi Ebanda shooting wide, and a couple of minutes later another effort from the All number nine, this one a header, caused little trouble for Andrew McCorkell in the Borough goal.  A moment later a shot from Florian Ada had a similar outcome, this time the Borough keeper able to watch it wide. 
 

Borough’s second goal was the entire match so far in microcosm, as it came from a Southall attack. The All had a free kick around twenty five yards out, Ryan Hope over it, facing a three man wall. He didn’t shoot- it always looked unlikely- but his cross, hit towards the far post, was too strong and had to be rescued by the touchline. However the ball was won by Borough, and they broke forward at speed, two passes and Carl Stewart was found eighteen yards out, wallop, unstoppable.

Goal: Southall 0 Harrow Borough 2, Carl Stewart, 35 minutes
 

The next ten minutes followed the same pattern. Borough were content to hold their opponents at arms length, to let them have the ball in areas where they could do no damage, and indeed remained in control. The half time whistle went, and Southall keeper Edegbe, overworked, seemed desperate to get back to the dressing room and tell his team mates what he thought. He was right, too.

Half time: Southall 0 Harrow Borough 2

The second half started how the first ended, The All with the majority of the possession, Borough delivering all the danger, but gradually our ‘hosts’ began to assert some control on proceedings. On fifty three minutes they had their best chance of the match, Florian Ada drawing a fine save from McCorkell. It gave them a boost, and down the left Shyon Dennis began to give the Borough right back a torrid time. The Southall number eleven had the next chance, but McCorkell was equal to it. Christian Mulindwa was next to try his luck, cutting in from the right to fire over. 

As we reached the midway point of the half the pace slackened a little, perhaps affected by a collection of substitutions, but the next chance came against the run of play- for Borough. Hamilton-Olise had been significantly quieter in the second half than he had been in the first, and his last contribution was a shot which forced a decent save from Edegbe. Soon afterwards he was withdrawn from the fray. 

Southall moved Dennis into a central position, which seemed rather strange given the inroads he’d been making down the left, but as we moved into the last twenty minutes the ‘hosts’ were in almost complete control, Borough with everyone behind the ball and far less threatening on the break. Sub Mayowa Adaje was the latest to threaten, McCorkell making something of a drama out of a save, and a few minutes later The All should have done better after a fine cross from the left ended with a misdirected header. 

With six minutes remaining, Southall finally got the goal their pressure deserved. A shot from sub Kyla Williams was tipped over by a flying McCorkell, but the corner found Ebanda, and this time he made no mistake. 

Goal: Southall 1 Harrow Borough 2, Jordi Ebanda, 84 minutes

Southall kept up the pressure, and Borough couldn’t escape their own half- although to some extent that was their own fault, as they had everyone behind the ball. With two minutes to go Adaje was unlucky, a fine turn and shot just wide, but the pressure didn’t abate. Could they get an equaliser? On the touchline, six added minutes was indicated. 

Another wave of Southall attacks. On ninety one minutes a shot was deflected just wide, and up came Edegbe to make a nuisance of himself from the corner, but it was cleared. The home fans in the stand were beginning to panic, with shouts at their team to get a grip, to leave a player upfield, and to stop taking risks. They did break, however- could they clinch the match? Williams tried to find space for a shot, substitute Jethro Odumosu also tried to fire goalward, but both were blocked and Southall broke away, resulting in more desperate defending, another corner, and two goalkeepers standing nose to nose as the ball came in. As it turned out both McCorkell and Edegbe were passengers as the ball found David Amate in the box, and he swivelled, shot, and…goal! Ninety six minutes had been played.

Goal: Southall 2 Harrow Borough 2 David Amate

Immediately, Southall were on the attack once more. Such was their pressure, and such was Borough’s desperation, that you felt that if there was to be five more minutes they may score again- but luckily for Borough there was only one more minute, and that was that. Were were off to penalties.

Full time: Southall 2 Harrow Borough 2

A penalty shootout may be exciting for the neutral but it seemed an unsatisfactory way to end a fine feast of football. It saw some great penalties, some fine goalkeeping, and went to sudden death, before Borough finally triumphed five-four to reach the Third Round.

Was that a fair result? A draw would have been a fairer one, but, of course, we can’t have one of those! 

Borough were superb in the first half, and deserved their lead- indeed had that lead been bigger it would not have been a travesty. The second half, however, was a different story entirely, and Southall can take great credit for their attacking prowess after the break- had it been visible during the first forty five minutes we might have had a different outcome.

The rematch on October 5th should be greatly anticipated, as should their next meeting at Earlsmead in February. Perhaps we might end up with another, too- in early May? On the basis of what we saw tonight, you’d be foolish to bet against it.