ISTHMIAN LEAGUE CUP SEMI FINAL: Harrow Borough 3 Ashford Town 1

Harrow overcame adversity on Tuesday night to book their first ever League Cup final appearance.

Goalless after a forgettable first half, Borough's task looked all the more difficult when striker Dewayne Clarke was sent off eight minutes into the restart for kicking Ashford skipper Adam Logie.

However, the Middlesex side were unable to cope with the pace of Gary Noel, who broke the deadlock after 68 minutes for his seventh goal in six cup appearances this season.

Barely ten minutes later Harrow doubled their lead when substitute Jerome Hall wriggled through Ashford's tiring defence before picking his spot past Paul Burgess.

Byron Harrison's 90th minute effort for Ashford from close range set up a tense five minutes of added time.

Yet a lightning quick break from their own half saw Borough midfielder Dorian Smith hare down on goal before firing past the hopelessly exposed Burgess to put the gloss on an absorbing second half display.

Harrow face Ryman First Division North side Tilbury in the final, which will be held at Dartford FC'S Princes Park on Wednesday, April 8.

The Essex side beat Harrow's Premier Division rivals Billericay Town 2-0 in the other semi final.

It will be the Dockers' third final appearance after they won it in the 1974/75 season and came runners up the following campaign.

"It's nice to reach a final and is a good reward for the players," said Borough boss David Howell.

"As for the sending off, I think that suited us as Gary Noel ended up playing like a man possessed.

"The referee should have also sent their fella (Logie) off as he kicked Clarkey first from the ground after they got tangled up. Clarkey turned around and kicked him back and that is what the referee saw. He should not have retaliated, it was petty and stupid."

"I have got to use it as a positive for the other players in terms of how they reacted after," added Howell.

At Earlsmead on Tuesday both sides got off to a sluggish start but it was the visitors who were carving out the better opportunities, yet Harrow goalkeeper and skipper Andray Baptiste was equal to the task, saving from Ricky Wellard and Warren Harris.

Jonathan Constant then wasted two chances in quick succession and really should have done better with his second effort after being played through on goal by Kwasi Frempong.

Baptiste denied Harris once again as Ashford poured forward while he dealt comfortably with Wellard's curling free kick minutes later.

Lively winger Harris then wasted Ashford's best chance of the half three minutes before the break. With only Baptiste to beat from six yards after the ball was deflected into his path, he sliced his shot wide of the target.

Constant blew a similar chance soon after, opting to go for goal and blazing over rather than squaring for the unmarked Clarke at the far post.

Whether that formed part of Clarke's frustration is debatable but his altercation with Logie deservedly saw him receive a straight red card.

Jerome Hall replaced the tiring Constant and, with just Noel leading the line on his own, Harrow looked toothless in attack. Ashford lacked the same urgency and energy they showed in the first half and they paid the price with 22 minutes left.

A hopeful angled ball from midfield to the inside left channel saw Noel onto it in a shot. And despite the Ashford defenders closing in on him fast the 19-year-old kept his cool to slot the ball under Burgess for his 13th goal of the season.

That prompted the visitors to be a bit more adventurous yet they were caught out once again on 77 minutes when Hall was allowed to dribble his way into the box before firing a low right footed drive into the left hand corner of the net.

It should have been 3-0 minutes later when Noel skinned injured Town defender Billie Jeffreys, only to see his flashing shot cannon off Burgess's left post.

In the final minute Ashford reduced the arrears when Harrison walked the ball in after Baptiste spilled Harris's bobbling shot, his only mistake of an otherwise imperious performance.

Credit to the hosts, though, they kept their composure as the five minutes of stoppage time ticked down and were rewarded with a third goal.

With Ashford throwing ten men forward in search of the equaliser, the ball was launched long downfield, where Smith took the bounce in his stride before pulling the trigger for his first goal for Harrow since joining on loan from Welling United.