Bowman on the Road: Brilliant day out in Essex but Ryman Premier safety still unclear

Many thanks to Harlow Town and our local Ryman Premier league team Burgess Hill Town for providing a top quality match.
Dan and Steve on routeDan and Steve on route
Dan and Steve on route

The action which unfolded complimented a very exciting away day experience for a handful of Hillians fans.

For Steve, Dan and myself we had been deliberating train verses car for the tricky trip to south Essex.

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After much discussion it was felt that a good old train trip was very much overdue.

Players happy after the gamePlayers happy after the game
Players happy after the game

Plus Steve managed to find tickets for £15 each a real bargain. We left home at 10.15 making our way to Farringdon where we stopped for a quick livener in the Spoons. We then travelled from Liverpool Street to Harlow getting a cab out to Harlow Arena. Its a good couple of miles from the station.

On arrival we were very impressed with their new home, complete with a neat modern stand, covered terrace on the other side and most importantly a state of the art 4G surface. Last years Ryman North promotes have clearly taken to the RPL with gusto and still have faint chances of making the play offs come April 22.

With superb spring like weather as a back drop everything was in place for wonderful afternoon of football.

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We got a flying start when a deep cross from Fisk was met by Richardson-Brown at the back stick. One-nil after two mins.

Players happy after the gamePlayers happy after the game
Players happy after the game

That set the tone for a competitive match which the accompanying report will give the full details.

As tipped up by manager, Ian Chapman, Harlow do play a rather aggressive front foot style and seem to get the ball forward very quickly.

Indeed it was two long throw ins which caused all the trouble, the hosts scoring twice to take a deserved lead. But this Hillians team will never go down with out a fight and with time running out a sublime Lee Harding corner was met by a towering header from Pierre Hazet 2-2.

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To be honest it felt like a win and the boys were buzzing after the game.

There is a real team spirit in this squad as the old guard mix happily with the new guys. It does seem that Ian and his back room staff have their team in a good place right now. But with five cup finals still to come all that spirit is going to be needed to keep Burgess Hill Town in the RPL. It looks as though things could go right to the wire and a home match against Merstham on April 22.

We all go again on Monday evening with yet another away test this time in South London at Kingstonian FC. Its a real six pointer so a victory for either team will be critical. A win for the Hillians will see them 6 points clear of the relegation zone.

We will bring you that game here later in the week. But for now lets bask in the comfort of taking an excellent point in Essex.

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