ROCKY Baptiste fired a double as Harrow ended the season in style to relegate Ashford at Short Lane on Saturday.
The veteran striker underlined his status as Borough’s leading marksman for the season as he struck twice after the break, but in truth the contest was over long before that in a game fit for an own goals and gaffs video.
Victory saw the men of Earlsmead finish 14 th in the final standings.
The visitors threatened early in a game which was stretched from the very beginning, with Toby Jinadu’s far post header from Lewis Cook’s corner forcing a brilliant save from host keeper Craig Ross after just four minutes.
Danny McGonigle should then have done better when he headed over from close range, and for a brief moment it looked as though the miss would be costly when Ashford took a shock lead courtesy of a goalkeeping clanger on 22 minutes.
Femi Ilesanmi’s innocuous looking lob forward appeared easy for Adray Baptiste, but the Grenadian international allowed the ball to bounce in front of him and it ballooned over his head and into the net.
However, Dave Howell’s men were level five minutes later. Wayne Walters’ ball forward set McGonigle racing clear. Ross saved his effort, Cook squared the ball to the edge of the box from where Kurt Morlese’s shot squirmed beyond the Short Lane custodian.
Just five minutes later it was 3-1. There looked to be no danger when Kwasi Frempong played a harmless ball into the Ashford penalty area, but Brett Cooper’s attempted clearance rocketed into the back of his own net, leaving Ross stranded.
Borough were now dominant, and when Ross dropped Morlese’s long throw a minute before half time Cook accepted the gift, poking the ball over the line from a yard out.
Within seven minutes of the restart the contest was over as Baptiste capitalized on a mistake by Vinnie O’Sullivan on the edge of the box to slide in number four.
Coopwe’s second own goal of the day added to Ashford’s misery just before the hour, before teenage striker Mark Bitmead’s first senior goal provided brief respite for the Tangerines.
However, 11 minutes from the end Ryan Watts found acres of space on the left side of the box, before squaring for Baptiste to make it 6-2.
Substitute Dean Fenton even had a seventh ruled out for offside before the end as Borough ran riot.
