Ashford Town (Middlesex) 1 Harrow Borough 0
Harrow sorely missed Robin Shroot on Tuesday as Byron Harrison sank his former employers with Ashford's winner.
With Shroot on international duty with Northern Ireland U21s his place went to Kwasi Frempong and Harrow still created enough chances to have won the game comfortably.
Instead it was a breakaway goal in the dying minutes of the first half which proved to be the difference.
"It was disappointing,'said David Howell, the Borough manager. "We missed some clear cut chances and took the game to them in the second half. Ultimately, we lacked a little bit of cutting edge with Robin missing but I am pleased we still created chances. It is down to us to bounce back on Saturday."
Jon Constant and skipper Wayne Walters both went close early on for the visitors while Andray Baptiste kept the score line goalless with a super save to thwart Harrison.
However, Harrow shot themselves in the foot a minute before half time. After Bobby Highton was robbed of possession on the edge of the Ashford area, the hosts broke upfield quickly where Harrison was on hand to fire past Baptiste.
Warren Whitely replaced rib injury victim Kurt Morlese at the interval but was all too often crowded out by Ash-ford defenders. Lawrence put a header wide of the post before another Borough substitute, Josiah Hunte, wasted a glorious chance to level at the death.
Constant picked out Hunte at the far post and, no more than three yards out, he got his header all wrong and watched in horror as the ball bounced up and over the bar.
Harrow Borough: Baptiste,Hall, Watts, Walters, Leech, Highton, Lawrence,Morlese (Whitely, 45), Clarke,Constant, Frempong (Hunte, 71)
