Last-minute penalty stops Harrow comeback in it's tracks

1 Dec 2012

The OHAFC 1st XI suffered a second consecutive defeat for the first time this season, going down 4-3 at Forest in a dramatic game that saw two highly questionable penalties awarded in the last three minutes.

The visitors played well in the first half and took the lead through a well-worked goal that saw Freddie Brunt cross for Ed Martins to head home at the near post.

Forest equalised after a fumble from Luke Raffety after half an hour, conditions proving tricky for the Harrow stopper.

The second half saw the home side on top and they scored twice through Harrow failing to deal with balls crossed into the box - although the thrid goal had an element of farce about it when the referee appeared unsure that the ball had crossed the line but signalled for the goal anyway.

Harrow found a way back into the game fifteen minutes from time when Nick Defty's superb 30-yard strike flew into the bottom corner and the last ten minutes were more akin to a basketball game, with play whizzing from one end to the other.

A dramatic final few minutes saw Harrow awarded a spot-kick when Johan Harder went down under a minimal shove from a Forest defender, Lederman converting to equalise. Incredibly, with seconds remaining, the home side were awarded an even softer penalty of their own, the ball being drilled against Luke de Rougemont's arm, which was down by his side, from no more than two yards away, the referee pointing straight away to the spot.

A full report on the game plus the Harrow lineup can be found in the results section.