Wingate & Finchley earn valuable victory over Harrow Borough with 10 men

Ten-man Wingate upset the odds to beat Harrow Borough 3-1 on Saturday and end a three-match losing run while moving away from the relegation zone.

The Blues broke away to take the lead in only the ninth minute as Ahmet Rifat played a slide-rule pass through to Tommy Tejan-Sie, who bore down on the visiting keeper and slotted past him.

But the game changed dramatically in the 20th minute when Bobby Aisien was sent off for a professional foul in the box – and Victor Osobu equalised with the resulting penalty.

Seven minutes after the interval, Wingate lost Lewis Jones to an injury, but his replacement Jemal Fredericks incredibly scored with his first touch, heading home after a deep cross from Tejan-Sie.

Harrow dominated possession but Rifat and Marc Weatherstone were assured in central defence, and the hardworking Adam Bolle nearly doubled the lead, forcing James Shea to save at full stretch.

Harrow threatened as ex-Blue Spencer Bellotti found space inside the box, but he was denied by an incredible sliding tackle from Paul Wright – and W&F made it 3-1 in injury-time as Ola Sogbanmu played a through-ball to Jack Read, who who lobbed the stranded keeper.

Wingate’s director of football David Norman said: “It was a fantastic team display, and it is very difficult to pull out exceptional performances between them all, but Marc’s and Ahmet’s were superb.

“This extends the gap below us, and it is a good sign that we have competed with and gained many points from teams within the lower half of the table.

“Everyone at the club must now set a target of consolidation and build to be a force within the league.”