McCollin Thunderbolt Gives K’s a Big Win
Pace, power, but more pertinently at Harlow, patience. Kingstonian had to wait until seven minutes from time to get the better of an Essex outfit that had been reduced to 10 men midway through the first half. But as it turned out, the goal was certainly worth waiting for.
Andre McCollin, hitherto quiet, picked the ball up some distance outside the box and, sensing prettier routes to goal were not forthcoming, let fly. The home side’s stopper, David Hughes, got two hands on it but was beaten by the ferocity of the strike. The travelling supporters, dwarfed by the Poundland warehouse behind them, jigged with joy. So did McCollin. The relief was palpable.
Despite our numerical advantage it was actually Harlow who had the best chance of the game before that point. Alex Read, the scourge of K’s last term, raced through one-on-one but, as the ground held its breath, fired wide of Rob Tolfrey’s goal.
That was early in the second half and before Andre struck late on, it required a quite remarkable bit of keeping from Tolfrey to divert a dipping, top-corner bound effort over the crossbar. Even by his very high standards the save felt extra special.
The game’s big talking point arrived on 26 minutes. McCollin was sent clear only to be halted in his tracks, just outside the box, by Craig Pope. Whether the ball was completely under McCollin’s control is debateable, but there was no question Pope was the last man so he had to go.
Sean Francis and Mark Phillips combined from a corner to create our best first-half opening, but the latter volleyed over. And, aside from a couple of efforts from Palace loanee Victor Fundi that Hughes saved, K’s struggled to break down a resolute Harlow rearguard scrapping for their lives near the foot of the Bostik Prem.
That was until McCollin’s eye-catching intervention.
Match report by Rupert Cane.
