An impressive 2s display against bottom side Cholms saw Harrow move to within 2 points of the top of the table.

Preparation for the game was not ideal, with last minute changes affecting the side deep into Friday night. A late stubbed toe ruled out Joe Bone after Arjun Chopra had agreed to help out the 3s, leaving Orr-Ewing with just 12 men. Fortunately, keeper Pritchard had decided against a trip to New York, and made himself available on Friday night, allowing Harder to move into midfield.

In their strongest line up of the season, the 2s started 4-4-2 (Right to Left): Pritchard - Woolley - Will Orr-Ewing - Jack Orr-Ewing - Jack Robinson - Alex Cater - Ben Kerry - Johan Harder - Cyprian Owen Edmunds - Max Curry - Dave Stead with subs of Conti von Hirsh and Kamil Amin.

Will Orr-Ewing got the team match ready while Dave Stead did the captain's duties as Jack Orr-Ewing raced to make it in time for KO with his Eurostar arriving in King's Cross less the an hour before.

Harrow started the first half robustly, but lacked the rhythm to find the opener. A good defensive shape, aggressive central midfield tackling and some good running both out wide and up top got Harrow into some good positions, but with no end product. When Stead was hacked down on the edge of the box by the Cholms' last man, the referee shied away from the red (or the yellow) declaring "I want to keep my cards in my pocket". The resulting free kick failed to trouble the keeper.

Harrow went ahead on the half hour mark. Ben Kerry won the ball from a Cholms goal kick, Harder turned on the half way line and fed Cater, whose return pass to Harder opened up the Cholms defence. Stead's run was well timed, the through ball perfectly weighted, and the finish into the far corner sublime. Unfortunately, during the move Stead's ankle buckled, perhaps due to the power of the finish, and that ended his afternoon. Kamil Amin replaced him and the team moved to a 4-5-1, with Harder the most advanced of the midfield 3.

More pressure from Harrow either side of half time yielded little. It was Cholms that came out stronger after the half time whistle, putting Harrow under pressure and forcing technical mistakes. Harrow must improve their start to the second half, as too often they're slow to wake up again. Just as against Forest, when some pressure gave an inevitable sense of an equaliser, Harrow failed to show the composure and commitment to resist. Will Orr-Ewing and Harry Woolley both made seemingly strong tackles and were unlucky not to come away with the ball. The striker then found himself bearing down on Robinson and JOE. He found his strike partner, Robinson's tackle broke back to the striker, whose feigned shot flummoxed JOE and JR to leave the goal at his mercy. Pritchard could do nothing to prevent his first clean sheet since April 2013 being sullied.

Harrow came back into the game shortly afterwards. Woolley made an excellent foray down the right hand side, as he had done all afternoon, and his cross was expertly left by Cater. The ball rolled to Curry, who made no mistake in finding the top of the net with a confident finish.

Jack Orr-Ewing had a header well saved from the Cholms keeper after a well taken Cater free kick, and Curry had many shots blocked as he tirelessly led the line. Cater and Cyprian Owen Edmunds linked well with the central midfield three, with crosses and interchanges tiring out the Cholms defence.

A particularly stand out moment came in the 60th minute as Cater, who last season would long have been subbed due to chronic lack of fitness, took on the moustachioed Cholms left back for pace and gassed him with ease, only just missing out on another assist as Curry was unable to convert.

Harder missed a sitter of a header from a Cater cross, and Cater missed a similarly easy header, unmarked on the six yard box, after a first time Woolley ball. However, the game was wrapped up with 15 minutes to spare when Cyprian Owen Edmunds bagged his first goal for the club. Cater's cross could have found Curry or Harder but broke to the young left midfielder in space at the back post. His first touch almost allowed the defender to get across, but the shot got away and rifled under the Cholms keeper into the bottom corner. The resulting celebration, involving 6 hugs, 3 high fives, a mini fist pump and a tiger Tim pump was followed by declaring "I'm f**king buzzing now, boys".

After Owen Edmunds was unlucky to miss out on his second, denied by the post, Max Curry made it 4 with his 5th goal of the season, rolling the finish cooly past the on-rushing keeper.

The goals were made possible by a combative central midfield platform. Harder won a lot of ball and distributed simply and effectively, often sliding through to Curry or wide to Owen Edmunds and Cater. Amin, after a few loose passes, grew into the game and provided some much needed steel against a physical side. Kerry's "some strapping and some pain killers and you can play on anything" rule seemed to hold true until a crunching challenge ended his game after 50 mins. Conti von Hirsh showed great versatility filling in at centre mid, and went about his business with a ruthless aggression. Between Kerry, Amin and von Hirsh, few opposing midfields will win the physical battle in the crucial central areas, providing a platform for the attacking 4 to have good possession in the final 3rd. With Bartlett, Bone and Pridham to come back into the side, there's a healthy competition for places.

Harrow have improved every game this season as players get used to each other and grow in confidence and fitness. Curry and Cater, benched for much of last season, have become consistent performers, while new comers Owen Edmunds, Pridham, Beresford and von Hirsh have freshened up the team.

Harrow have two remaining fixtures before the Christmas break, away to league leaders Old King's Wimbledon before a trip on the 14th December to Essex to face old rivals Brentwood.

6 points would put them in very close contention for sitting top of the league at Christmas, and in this form they deserve it. Harrow were unbeaten in 4 games in November, taking 10 points from a possible 12.

The full edited highlights package will be available shortly, with a sneak preview being offered by Lederman to those who attended post match drinks in the Jam Tree.

Team lineup can be viewed here