Leatherhead 3 Harrow Borough 0
Leatherhead put another three points on the board with a hard fought win against a
strong Harrow Borough side at Fetcham Grove on Saturday.
Leatherhead’s persistence eventually paid off, with late second half goals from Kane
Fitzgerald, Anuar Ceesay and Ruben Bartlett-Antwi sealing the win for the hosts.
In the opening minutes Tanners tested Borough keeper Daniel Hosier with long range
efforts from Ceesay and Rhys Murrell-Williamson.
Borough produced a good break on 28 minutes with the ball played forward through a
series of short passes, from deep within their own half to the edge of the Tanners
penalty area. But Mack Miskin’s attempt on goal was anti-climactic for Borough, with
the midfielder’s shot flying wide of the target.
Leatherhead came close to scoring on 37 minutes when Murrell-Williamson’s long
range effort clipped the top of the Borough crossbar.
Tanners missed a good chance to break the deadlock on 51 minutes, with Bartlett-
Antwi firing wide from close range.
Leatherhead’s patience was rewarded with a sublime opening goal from Fitzgerald on
74 minutes. The Tanners skipper received the ball on the edge of the penalty area,
before turning past one defender and curling a wide-angled shot over the keeper and
into the top corner.
Leatherhead continued to press forward with Ceesay doubling their advantage on 82
minutes. A swift counter attack saw the midfielder break clear unchallenged to fire
home from the edge of the box.
And with Borough pressing players forward into Leatherhead’s half, Bartlett-Antwi
got his name on the score sheet two minutes later with another breakaway goal.
The Borough defence turned to the referee’s assistant for an offside flag, as the
Leatherhead striker calmly took the ball forward to the edge of the penalty area before
firing past the static Hosier. To the visitors’ dismay, the linesman’s flag stayed down
and goal was given.
Tanners missed further opportunities to add to their lead in the closing minutes.
Bartlett-Antwi fired wide after receiving a well-directed pass from Ty Butler before
Fitzgerald set up another good chance for Adam Morley on this right, whose shot was
blocked for a corner.
Overall this was a very assured performance from Leatherhead. Not only did they
look more confident pressing forward as the game progressed, but they will also take
encouragement from not having conceded a goal in a league match for the first time
since a 2-0 away win against Met Police at the end of November.
Tanners are back in action at Fetcham Grove on Tuesday when they face Hendon in
the fifth round of the Velocity Cup. Kick-off is at 7.45pm.
Leatherhead: Sonny Wheeler, Cerny Ando (Adam Morley 86), Cameron Black,
Kelvin Massango, Niran Butler, Alfie Huckle, Anuar Ceesay (George Hedley 85),
Marco Haigh (Ty Butler 61), Kane Fitzgerald, Rhys Murrell-Williamson (Kenny
Beaney 71), Ruben Bartlett-Antwi
Harrow Borough: Daniel Hosier, Keegan Bloom, Bailey Lamb, Sam Jenkins (Carl
Stewart 78), Louis Udeh, James Gurteen, Mack Miskin, Harry McCorkell, Lamin
Ceesay (Stephane Bombelenga 67, Tyrese Osbourne 76), Jordan Hamilton-Olise, Kai
Hamilton (Dennis Kelmendi 76)