Harrowby United lose to Clipstone in the United Counties League

Harrowby United were left disappointed not to get something out of the second-against-third clash with Clipstone at the JRL Stadium on Saturday.

The visiting Cobras secured a 2-1 victory in the United Counties League Division One match with the Arrows left to reflect on a point apiece probably being a fairer outcome.

The table-topping clash attracted a cracking crowd of nearly 180 on a great afternoon for football, writes Mark Fardell.

The Arrows had Tom Harris, Kyle Reek and Kane Hutchinson-Wilkes missing through injury which saw Luke Peberdy, Harrison Dee and Bradley Gothard come into the starting eleven.

On a good playing surface, both teams started by trying to get a foothold in the game but both defences were on top in the early stages of the contest.

Clipstone had the first chance of the game but Jake Frestle in the Harrowby goal made a good save low to his left.

The Arrows countered again with Max Baker putting in some telling crosses but the final finish eluded Harrowby in the first half.

Frestle again came to the Arrows' rescue with a fine save from a free-kick just outside the box.

But Clipstone did take the lead two minutes before the break when a needless foul saw a free-kick awarded and, from the well-worked setpiece, Tim Gregory finished well to open the scoring.

The Arrows came out with more purpose after the break with John Smith and Baker getting on the ball a lot more.

A fine run from Smith saw him upended in the box but, to the astonishment of everybody in the crowd, the referee waved play on.

However, just minutes later, Harrowby had their equaliser as Lord Marfo cut in from the left and placed a fine finish into the bottom right-hand corner.

The Arrows were now on top but too many times, when well positioned, the final ball eluded them.

As the game now started to get stretched, the Arrows were hit with a sucker punch when a back pass was not dealt with by Frestle and Liam West finished well to give Clipstone the lead.

This really knocked the wind out of the Arrows and they never really looked like equalising as Clipstone managed the game well to take all three points.

Harrowby are without a league game this weekend and will return to action with a home match against Leicester St Andrews on November 11.