On an ever-windy afternoon in Southend, Harlow Town went to battle with the warriors of the Manor, the yellow side of Southend, and emerged victorious.

Cav Clarke was the only goalscorer in what was a dominant affair for Harlow, played on a dry and uneven surface.

From minute one, Harlow put the pressure on the home side, and Jack Haley almost found the net in the very first attack, with a volley that was blocked on the line and eventually cleared away.

Despite this, Harlow did find an early lead in the sixth minute through Cav Clarke. Jack Haley managed to skip past a Southend Manor defender and get his cross into the box. With Cav Clarke lurking in the six yard box, the made no mistake of heading home and providing a goal to give the away side the lead.

Harlow’s creative sparks continued as Jack Haley excellently picked out Ishaq Ameen, who was running through on goal. The young striker managed to get a shot away, but it caused little issues for Chris Horton, who was quick to respond and catch it.

There were calls for a Harlow penalty in the first-half after Korede Da Silva looked to have been chopped down in the box, but the referee decided against giving Harlow the penalty kick, and play resumed as normal.

Cav Clarke almost netted his second of the game when James Folkes whipped it into him, however this time, Horton was positioned well and the header traversed straight into his grasp.

The question of how did Harlow not double their lead arose when Denzel Effah whipped in a free-kick towards the end of the first half. It was met by numerous Harlow players before a strike on goal was made, but a Southend Manor defender was on the line to block it, and eventually they got it clear.

One of the biggest chances of the game was squandered when Denzel Effah whipped the ball into Ishaq Ameen beautifully, but the forward could not direct his header at goal, having been practically unmarked at the time.

Lewis Braughan was the man to hit the first shot on target for Southend Manor, which was a half-volley that James Pellin simply collected at his near-post.

There were once again calls for a Harlow penalty when Cav Clarke attempted to stand up after being on the ground and shielding the ball, the Manor defender kicked Clarke in the back of the leg, which caused the Hawks’ striker to go down again. The referee did not feel it warranted a penalty kick.

Arley Barker came very close to doubling the lead after whipping a free-kick in, and causing a save out of Horton, as it was dipping in the top-left corner.

With nothing to lose, Charlie Biggs decided to have a crack from 35 yards for Southend Manor in an effort that flew both high and wide.

Harlow almost scored again when a corner whipped in bounced off the top of the crossbar twice, before falling to Fabion Simms, and his effort at goal was blocked well. The lead remained a narrow one.

The final opportunity of the game was actually a Southend Manor one, and it was an overhead kick that wasn’t too far off, but did go wide in the end.

Overall, it was a solid performance from Harlow, and the score did not reflect the performance, we simply should have scored more. However, it was a very important three points, which means we have five straight wins and are six games unbeaten.

We thank you for your continued support and hope to see you at our next game, against Barkingside at home.