HARTLEY Wintney shared the spoils with Harrow Borough at a rain soaked Earlsmead.

Hartley gave a start to new signing defender Luke King from Farnborough, while striker Jack Beadle, who arrived from Met Police this week came on as a sub. The Borough had the advantage of a strong wind in the first half but it was the Row who scored first in the fourth minute.

Nic Ciardini tried a snap shot which was blocked by the home defence.

However, the Row captain re-acted quickly and scored from the rebound.

The lead was to last just six minutes.

A right-wing corner from former Northern Ireland international Michael Byrne was caught in the wind causing goalkeeper Adam Desbois and the Row defence problems before Ryan Moss headed home.

Lively Hartley striker Mikey Campbell found space on the left and his cross found Nathan Smart who was unlucky to see his header deflected wide on 21 minutes.

From the resulting corner by Nathan Smart, new signing from Farnborough Luke King headed wide.

The Row held a distinct edge and after some good build up play on 35 minutes Mikey Campbell set up Josh Webb who saw his effort go over the crossbar.

Five minutes later, the best move of the match involving a number of Row players gave Ty Smith a chance and his parting shot went wide.

On the stroke of half time Harrow had a chance when after a bit of pressure George Moore had an effort from 20 yards which found Desbois well placed to save.

The second half continued with the Row having an edge in the game and helped by the wind the flow of the game was mainly towards the Borough goal.

Hartley took the lead on 51 minutes helped by the elements.

A corner on the left from Nathan Smart took a sharp left turn in front of the Harrow goal and went straight into the net with Borough goalkeeper Hafed Al-Doubi flapping around in the breeze.

Harrow almost had an instant response when George Moore made good progress up the right before cutting in. His shot from 20 yards found Desbois well positioned to save. The Row should have sealed the game soon after when a precision pass through the middle by Jack French gave Mikey Campbell a chance, but the striker pulled his shot wide.

Hartley continued to exert pressure but were unable to fashion a clear cut opening.

Mid way through the second half the Borough went for a ‘ship or bust’ approach as they threw on their three substitutes at once.

This made a difference to the flow of the game and it was Harrow who suddenly looked the more threatening with a number of quick breaks and dangerous crosses.

They were rewarded on 84 minutes with the equaliser.

A good move down the left saw substitute Harry Rush get a good cross into fellow substitute Anthony O’Conner who stole in at the back post to score.

Hartley finished strongly and in the last minute were awarded a free kick some 25 yards out. Josh Webb took the kick and his well struck shot found Al-Droubi well placed to save.

A game in which Hartley shaded play for the most part with strong midfield performances. However, the brave decision with the Harrow substitutions was probably worthy of securing a draw. Josh Webb was well received by the Harrow faithful as he returned to one of his original clubs.

The midfielder gave another first class display for the Row and would have been a popular man of the match by both sets of supporters.

Hartley’s joint manager Anthony Millerick said: “We made a bright start and went a goal up. After that we let our discipline slip and gave away a soft equaliser. I felt we were mainly on top for the remainder of the first half.

“We started the second half well and went ahead again helped obviously with the wind. At this level it is important to see games out. If the performance level is not maintained to the end things can slip like today.

He added: “I felt we seemed to lack composure when the three Harrow subs came on. All things considered to have lost just once in ten outings is better than any of us could have wished for and great credit to the players, their spirit and togetherness.”