Devastating display sees Yellas run out 4-1 winners

Ascot United produced a stunning display to come from behind and beat Harrow Borough 4-1 on Saturday. The home side had fallen behind against the run of play, but remained patient – and their high-energy passing game eventually saw them run out deserved winners.

Khalid Simmo made his 50th appearance in yellow, although Josh Edwards sat this one out after tweaking his hamstring during midweek; George Lock in and named captain in the only change to Tuesday’s starting line-up.

Entertaining first half ends all square

From the start, Ascot looked as if they had simply carbon-copied Tuesday’s opening period as they dominated proceedings and should really have been out if sight before half time.

In a fine seventh-minute move, Fope Deru’s neat one-two ended when Simmo beat ‘keeper Harry Irving only to see his goal-bound shot headed over by covering defender Reuben Collins.

Lucas Miller’s shot over the bar for Harrow in a rare foray forwards monetarily eased the pressure on their side’s defence, before Ascot went back on the attack and Ibby Sankoh’s one-two with Deru ended with the former’s deflected shot being saved by Irving.

At the other end, Bailey Lamb’s fine tackle turned Lenny Farhall’s first-time shot wide as Boro came close to breaking the deadlock, but Ascot went even closer at the other end when top scorer Cheick Sylla beat Irving to Troy Murray’s cross only to see it hacked off the line.

Another fine move saw Deru and Jaheim Kamara involved – the latter’s cross just to high for the unmarked Simmo – but Kamara should have hit the target in the 31st minute only to drill over with the goal at his mercy from Luis Le Paih’s intelligent pass.

But for all their pressure, Ascot were dealt a sucker-punch in the 36th minute. With their defence napping from a deep free kick, Ascot allowed David Taylor to nod on for Farhall to smash into the bottom right with all the freedom of The Racecourse.

Plumley’s fine back-pedalling save tipped Reece Robins’s header over from under the crossbar in what might have been a second sucker punch in the 41st minute, but just as it looked as if Boro would escape the half with an unlikely lead, up popped Kamara in the overages to slot into the bottom left – Sankoh and Le Paih both involved in the build-up once again – although in truth Irving went down too soon and would probably have saved Kamara’s shot had he stayed up longer.

Mesmerising second half display reaps rewards

Harrow were initially more in the game in the second half as Jack Hutchinson swept marginally wide first-time from Farhall’s assist in the 48th minutes, but the home side would make changes to galvanise their attack.

But Plumley still needed to be alert to deny Farhall in the 70th minute following a goal-mouth scramble at the far post, before Ascot simply ran away with it.

Le Paih’s thumping header from substitute Baback Dehghani’s outswinging corner left Irving with no chance – 2-1 and 76 minutes played – before fellow substitute Andrio Brandao forced another save form Irving, this time with his feet barely a minute later.

Joden Trickett had earlier been introduced to good effect and he would provide the telling pass for another replacement – Tyrese Osbourne – to bend exquisitely beyond Irving in the 82nd minute, although it was man-of-the-match Le Paih again involved in the set up for Trickett.

Irving then stood up well to thwart Trickett in the 84thminute as Ascot battered Harrow’s defence, before Osbourne’s incredible trickery – bamboozling Boro’s rearguard as he drifted in and across the penalty area – ended with Brandao fashioning an accurate toe-poke across Irving and into the bottom right; 88 minutes played.

There was still time for Dehghani to clatter the underside of the crossbar with a 92nd minute free-kick, but that really would have been the cherry on the icing – on the previous icing – of and already-iced cake.

Ascot climb into the play-offs in fifth, with the top nine at the end of the day’s play having all taken points.

What’s next for Ascot?

Gavin Smith and his troops will need to wait eight days to reproduce their heroics as they travel to Bognor Regis next Sunday – a day when their Women’s team are also in FA Cup action – leaving some of the home faithful to both divide and hopefully conquer.

Ascot United: Plumley, Sankoh, Murray, Lock, Lamb, Allsopp (Brandao 70’), Deru (Williams 70’), Le-Paih, Sylla (Trickett 63’), Simmo (Osbourne 81’), Kamara (Dehghani 63’).

Venue: The Racecourse, Ascot

Attendance: 168

Weather: 17c, cloudy

Reporter’s star man: Luis Le Paih (Ascot United)

Entertainment: 5

Away fans estimate: 20

One-word summary: Mesmerising