Afrustrating performance saw Wimbledon’s poor form continued into September after a 2-1 loss against pointless Harrow Borough. Jake Leberl scored his first goal for the club to cancel out Harrow’s 8th minute opener but Adomah’s wonder goal was enough to give Harrow their first win of their season.

Tony Finn’s return to fitness allowed Terry Brown to restore his preferred starting eleven. Marcus Gayle was fit enough for a place on the subs bench. Once again Wimbledon dominated from early on. Finn provided a constant threat from the flanks and after just two minutes his cut-back narrowly evaded everyone in the box. Two minutes later another Finn cut-back did find a blue shirt but Ferguson blazed over from 6 yards. However it was Harrow who took the lead against the run of play. On eight minutes, after a cross wasn’t cleared efficiently, Jamie Lawrence hit the ball sweetly into the top corner from the edge of the penalty area. Within 60 seconds the scores were level. A clever short corner to Jolly allowed Hatton space to cross and Jake Leberl headed home from close range.

Wimbledon continued to pressure but as has been so common already this season there was no end product. Haswell’s looping corner hit the bar and Jolly’s point-blank header was tipped over. It was Webb who had the best chance of the half when a Tony Finn cross found him completely unmarked in the six-yard box but Webb didn’t make decent contact and the header drifted wide of the mark. Undeterred by this miss, Webb soon turned provider when his flick-on sent Richard Jolly free behind the defence but the striker dragged his shot wide. Wimbledon had one more chance before half-time when Webb’s header was headed off the line. Wimbledon went in at the interval knowing they should have been ahead and the wasteful opening forty-five minutes ultimately cost them three points.

Within a minute of the second half’s opening Finn had a chance when he broke into space in the middle of the park but his weak shot went wide. Although this seemed to signal a continuation of the dominance that the home side had shown in the first half, it was actually far from the case. While Wimbledon had the majority of possession once again they continued to draw blanks creatively and the Harrow goalkeeper was rarely tested.

In fact it was Harrow that took the lead after 59 minutes. The impressive Albert Adomah bought the ball down well 30 yards from goal and let fly. Andy Little was well beaten and the ball whistled into the top corner. This spurred the Wimbledon bench into life and Beckford replaced Jolly and Gayle replaced Webb five minutes later. Marcus Gayle’s emotional return to competitive football with the Dons lifted the crowd but the chances didn’t come. Beckford had a long range shot deflected but that was all Wimbledon could muster as they tried to get back into the game.

As the game drew to a close it was obvious that the Wimbledon were not going to equalize and the final whistle was met with jubilant celebration from the Harrow side. Once again the Dons faithful was left wondering how they didn’t go in at half-time ahead and why they didn’t create the numerous chances of the first-half in the second. Terry Brown must now re-focus his players for the challenge of an away trip to Boreham Wood in mid-week.

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