Parker Lights Up 'Electric Avenue'

The showery rain just before kick-off made the ball and pitch slippery but it was Olney who came out firing on all cylinders. They took the game to Harborough up front but it was a delightful cross field kick that saw Olney right wing touch down in the corner. Score 0-5
Harborough short of a few regular backs were however glad to see the return of Josh Purnell at scrum half. The home sides forwards had worked their way up the pitch with Ethan Godefroy, Brain Atwiine and Tim Waterfield to the fore. Fast service from Purnell to Slade led to Ed Parker scurrying over in the right-hand corner. Score 5-5.

Harborough failed to clear their lines and were punished by some aggressive Olney forward play which led to the visitors taking the lead half way through the first half. Score 5-10. The rest of the first period was dominated by some powerful tackling by Olney. As hard as the home side tried to break through in midfield, the resolute defence thwarted attack after attack by closing down space very quickly. Harborough came close to scoring on a couple of occasions only to penalised or come up short with the visitor’s line at their mercy. Continued pressure led to a third Olney try, it looked like Harborough were in trouble as the half time whistle signalled a 5-15 score line.

Harborough’s first half rustiness began to improve as the second half progressed. The introduction of Michael Woodford gave a more robust counter to Olney’s forward play. Gradually Harborough began to dominate the game and spent 10 minutes battering the Olney try line. Just as it looked like the referee might give a penalty try for numerous indiscretions, Harborough barrelled over and Michael Woodford scored a push over try. With the conversion missed the score stood at 10-15.

Harborough huffed and puffed but failed to blow Olney’s house down, the visitors remained on the front foot defensively which the Harborough team were unable to breakdown. Olney pushed up the pitch with a series of pick and drives and it looked like a bonus point try was on the cards for the visitors. However, with ball turned over and 78 minutes on the clock, it needed an improbable moment of magic from the home side.

The fairy tale ending started with a slick flick from No 8, Woodford, in Harborough’s half , off went the elusive Ed Parker. He shifted through the gears and blazed a trail towards the left-hand corner. A swerve here and sway there saw sparks from ‘The Harborough Flyer’ who had raced between the posts to touchdown. Olney’s staunch defence was left bamboozled and the home crowd was left delighted. At 15-15, Josh Purnell converted and Harborough led for the first time in the match. The remaining two minutes saw Harborough keep the ball tight and run the clock down. Final score – Market Harborough 17 Olney 15.

It could be argued Harborough played their ‘Get out of Gaol’ card here. Their first half rustiness was worrying after the Christmas break. Coach Richard Bowden was more pleased with a “more dominant second half display”. Credit must be given to Olney whose gritty defence nearly earned them the victory spoils.

Harborough play Pinley away next week and will have to bring their A-game with them to keep second place in their East Midlands League. So, a good turnout is required at training this week.