This opening fixture was an unveiling of the new for the Blues but the downright Dunstable predilection to blunder was still in evidence with a startling own goal that put Borough back into a game that was being slowly taken from them.

A tricky journey to White Hart Lane was made more difficult as the local football league side had some sort of pre-season kick about at 747 High Road, Tottenham, and traffic was heavy.

At the tail end of last season we came to Coles Park for an evening match and lost by the only goal in a close match. Borough were avenged for their 6-2 reverse at Creasey Park.

Grant Carney’s first selection included goal-keeper Paul Taylor whose astonishing injury time save just about sealed the victory when the match had reached a boiling point of controversy.

It was a good game overall, but Borough were rightly aggrieved that Steve Howarth ought to have been sent off for a near goal line hand ball.
He received just a yellow. But Borough’s Mario Georgio scored from the penalty kick, only to be dismissed shortly after for serious dissent.

With their new kit, sponsored by new treasurer Paul Croft, Dunstable entered this new campaign to discover if the squad were up to this latest challenge after some indifferent pre-season friendly games.

Well, they were, and pitted against an eager Haringey they began in fine fettle, with notable contributions from Damen Pickering and a very busy man of the match John Cooper.

Pickering was rock steady as a right back and proved no slouch in going forward and often picked out Carney and Luke Lincoln as Dunstable looked the busier in front of goal.

A dry hard pitch made for a good pace and pleasingly open play. Haringey were caught off-side in their first real foray, but their centre forward, Fabio Durimel needed close monitoring.

A seventh minute corner from Kyle Lincoln was rather deep but Carney was able to strike but his shot cleared the bar. A following snap attack from Haringey brought a half-hearted appeal for handball and Taylor had to charge back for a strong back pass that was going for a corner.
It proved to be something of an omen since Haringey were presented with a goal later from a similarly strong back pass.

The game settled into a pattern of attack and counter attack as both teams sought the best start to the campaign. A Dunstable free kick was parried awkwardly by Christofi, who won a free kick for the challenge on him as he rose to clear.

Pickering’s defensive work was again of note, and Dunstable were astute enough to be patient in their preparatory play. Christofi tipped a good effort over the bar, but no corner was given, as the move was adjudged off-side.

Dunstable were the more enterprising, with Carney playing ahead of Luke Lincoln, and Cooper began to impose himself with more effectiveness.

A Pickering free kick from within the centre circle was aimed at Carney but headed away, their resulting attack again caught off-side.
Borough had another penalty appeal soundly dismissed, but they were finding ways to penetrate. But neither goalkeeper had yet been sorely tested. Carney was robustly tackled in the area which brought the obligatory shout for a penalty, rightfully dismissed.

It was clear that the first goal would be of lasting importance, since both defences were stretched at times. A Dave Boal shot from Haringey proved a token effort that gave Taylor few worries. After half an hour of intelligent and probing play the first goal fell to Dunstable.

Carney’s twenty-eighth minute header was not too far of the mark, but two minutes later it was Nathan Miller who nipped in to score the opener.

James Potter had put one over the bar but it was advantage Dunstable and the pressure brought reward. Miller finished off a well worked move, finding the bottom corner and this enabled the Blues to be more assertive and they finished the half looking the stronger side.

Paul Taylor was gathering corners comfortably and borough failed to penetrate, with Rob Newman and Damen Pickering effecting good intervening moves. Carney battled for control in the penalty area but had to be content with a corner, but that flurry ended in a goal kick.

Carney had a further chance but ultimate control eluded him, but he was probably content that his side had taken the lead to the interval. When he emerged he reminded me that the job was only half done and his caution was well founded. This was perhaps keeping in mind a narrow off-side decision that almost let in the borough for a late first half equaliser. It showed that the second half would be far from an easy task.

Whatever Dunstable team I have watched and reported on over the years has displayed a curious Achilles’ heel. There is sound team work often resulting in gaining the lead, sometimes against the run of play. Then we see focus forsaken, and all too frequently, a goal conceded cheaply, to stack the odds against victory.

So it was today, but is a rather remarkable way.
The second period was just six minutes old and Dunstable had, to all intents resumed their control, when a spectacular own goal from Steve Howarth, not even under undue pressure conspired to turn the game in Haringey’s favour.
They leapt upon it of course and when they went ahead from a penalty conceded by the unfortunate Howarth, the Dunstable travelling contingent thought it might be all up for the Blues.

Howarth’s robust back pass was tantamount to a shot; indeed Grant Carney told me he would have been pleased at such a strike - at the right end of course.

There was much chortling in the stand and the consensus was that that was perhaps the ‘best’ own goal they had seen. In any case in transformed the hosts who began to play with more assurance. Dunstable were clearly unsettled by the own goal, and Carney bounced the ball angrily in the centre circle before resumption. He has seen all that before, of course, and his task on the field from the present and later when he substituted himself, from the bench, was to rally the team.

It was a tricky period for the Blues and Borough pressed forward looking to make the most of the situation. They looked increasingly likely to score and on sixty-four minutes, they were granted a penalty after Howarth handled almost on the line. It was expected that he would be sent off, as that is the general understanding of the rule, but the referee only gave him a yellow card. This, of course, enraged the Haringey players and supporters, and it was conceded by the Dunstable followers that a red was the right punishment. A Spartan league official explained the decision in the board room after the game and in his opinion the referee had made the correct judgement. As far as I could make out the card was yellow as ‘Taylor was behind Howarth and there was no Borough player near’.

In any case this was a match that will not figure highly in Steve Howarth’s memory, but hid fine tackle in the box later almost certainly prevented a further goal for the Borough.

Mario Georgio converted the penalty quite easily and Haringey had thus taken the lead, yet they still nursed the grievance that they should be facing just ten players in blue and white.

This was also translated into a rather volatile closing stage to a game that had been largely free of controversy, allowing for routinely optimistic penalty claims. The tell-tale signs of pushing and shoving post tackle and glares more founded in bravado meant for a tense time.

It resulted in a dismissal and a number of bookings - the kind that are due to frustration and discontent. Haringey were perhaps a tad fortunate to be ahead, but they looked good for maximum points until a couple of costly defensive lapses let in the experienced Jonathan Barnett, who with Paul Taylor and Grant Carney are the survivors from the team that once took the South Midlands Leagues by storm on their way up to the Ryman League.

Full credit to Barnett who poached the equaliser after Kyle Lincoln’s excellent cross close to the goal line. Barnett seized the opportunity not heeding the fact that no-one had seemed to pick him up. Ten minutes remained and in an instant the advantage returned to Dunstable.

The winner, also a close range steal by Barnett, was hotly disputed and as the Blues celebrated, the referee was surrounded by Borough players who felt there was an infringement immediately before the goal.

The referee, faced with excessive protests from penalty scorer Georgio, produced a red card and then a further yellow for Nicou who had continued the vehement protests.

This spat meant a full five minutes of stoppage time, when, to their credit, the ten Haringey men almost pulled it off. They had no fewer than three free kicks, which goalkeeper Chritofi elected to take and they caused some frenetic moments. Durimel’s vicious late shot was met with a desperate save from Taylor and a following shot saw the Blues keeper at full stretch. Leaning well back he parried rather than elect to concede the corner and he recovered to save the following effort.

I suspect sheer anger was paramount on the Borough as they used each second of stoppage time to good effect, but the Dunstable defence held firm and thus presented Grant Carney with a debut win as manager.

That last ten minutes contained what Carney is looking for.

‘You can remember,’ he told me later, ‘when I played in teams that did not give up, and there was some of that today. We had a strong last ten minutes, but we did make it a bit hard for ourselves.’ I do indeed, but I still recall how on so many occasions that if we did not give up we have conceded an advantage cheaply. The Blues used substitutes Kerran Birch, Dale Turney and Dale Housden at varying stages of the second half.

But it was three points and the best start for fledgling manager Carney. I overheard Darren Croft telling a Haringey official that Carney has Dunstable engraved on him. Yes, he does, and now I will spoil all that to recall how he once told me that if I cut him he would bleed blue and white. Then he signed for Hemel Hempstead.
But, no-one at Creasey Park begrudged Carney for electing to play at a higher level.

The important thing is that he is back where he belongs and his motivational skills as well as his still evident playing skills are vital to Dunstable Town. Darren Croft and Grant Carney have returned to their spiritual roots and the fact that they are passionate about our club is music to the ears.

As far as the Blues man of the match, well, I took a quick vote and the name John Cooper emerged the most times from the Regiment and thus they have their way.

All I will say is that the win was just a little untidy and I can share just a little the grievance felt by Haringey Borough, and not because they were the first non-league club to have my support as a schoolboy.

This was just the eighth league meeting between the sides and the record now reads five wins for Dunstable, two for Haringey with one drawn.
Around the league we heard that Aylesbury United had lost on their debut, as had Leverstock Green who now command the loyalties of our former manager Darren Feighery.

I do hope that Scottie corrects the odd statistic on the Mitoo website that has among our scorers one J Essinggarrett - yes really, but Jonno Barnett will shout out BARNETT, two goals, and the second one was the winner.

I apologise for the late arrival of this report. I went off to nearby Clay Hill to what I thought was a drink with a pal from Stuttgart and it turned out to be a surprise birthday party for his Anglo-Canadian wife and thus I had to stay a bit longer.

The Regiment were reasonably pleased, with Froggy keeping his praise to a minimum. He was right; we left it late when we ought to have seized the game by the scruff. But early days and there follows the long trail to Wembley as in the FA Cup next Saturday - but before then there is the trip to Stoftold, who have made their debut in the league with a creditable 2-2 draw with Harefield United.