Town had the ill luck to play a side propping up the table on Bank Holiday Monday and very nearly found their opponents' desperation for points too much for them.

Having gone behind to a soft goal early on, Town did not take long to get back on terms but then struggled to deliver the killer blow.

Defender Chris Moore was still not available for manager Gary Calder while forward Colin Simpson was back in the team, albeit on the substitutes bench.

Otherwise the team looked strong enough on paper to do well.

It had rained for much of the day and storm-like conditions immediately before the kick off had really only partially abated by kick off.

Although squelchy, the pitch stood up remarkably well, although there was a bit of slipping and sliding about.

Harrow looked good as individuals but rarely combined well as a team.

When they did work together, they created some early chances and a Dwain Clarke cross after ten minutes found a way through to an unmarked Harrow player but Steve Blaney put in a telling block.

Another cross a minute later seemed to be falling harmlessly into goalkeeper Gavin King's hands, but the luckless King saw the greasy ball fall from his hands held aloft, hit him on the head and land at the feet of Danny Nwaokolo.

The Harrow man tapped the ball in for probably the easiest goal he will ever score.

Billericay were really much better than their hosts and swept back well, but managed to produce little in front of goal.

Two long range shots, off target from Stafford Browne, wide, and Justin Gentle, over the bar, in the next ten minutes suggested that an equaliser was within Billericay's reach.

And on 23 minutes it came as Browne and Lee Williams ran onto a through ball, and the latter who successfully threaded the ball carefully past the experienced David Hook in the home goal.

Town's approach work continued to improve and on 35 minutes they ought to have gone ahead.

Three forwards this time were through in possession. Gentle held the ball before squaring to Browne whose first touch of the wet ball let him down.

Hook did well to push the ball away, and Browne was quick to react to the loose ball, but Hook recovered it bravely from the forward's feet.

A good build up and a Blaney shot just wide in the last few seconds of the half suggested that Town should do well in the second period.

The players were able to take the field for the second half with fine drizzle rather than rain falling as the floodlights lit up the proceedings.

Calder's men committed themselves to go for the win and should receive credit for that.

Often three and sometimes four players were far upfield in search of the winning goal.

This risk did leave the back a little exposed, but King handled with confidence as necessary despite the earlier mishap.

On the hour mark there was a terrific goalmouth scramble in front of Hook, as players lashed at the ball.

The goalkeeper was beaten once, then he recovered and saved, a defender cleared and cleared again.

And all this as three Town men tried, to no avail, to kick the ball those couple of extra inches.

Harrow went for a double substitution, of forwards, with 15 minutes left and in the course of two minutes, two Harrow shots were charged down and another, from distance, was deflected wide.

Calder too tried the same tactic which saw Simpson enter the fray for the first time in a month.

With Simpson, there is always a chance he will produce something.

And he was soon as muddy as the rest when Hook received rather closer attention than he had done so far and players often ended up in a bundle on the ground.

But as there was some limited excitement at one end, there was trouble at the other, with King doing well to push a shot from Harrow substitute Vladimir Gusavac into the side netting.

This was to be the last notable action of the half so both clubs start the new year with a point when, in Town's case, they played well enough in their build up to have secured tall three

Billericay Town: King, Game, Blaney (Henty), Culverhouse, Linger, Parratt, Penn (Simpson), Gentle, Jordan, Williams, and Browne.

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