ROYSTON TOWN 1 (R Cannon) HAREFIELD UTD 2 (S Sonner, N Richardson) IT WAS perhaps inevitable that when the Crows secured their place in the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division it would be thanks to another team losing. Welwyn Garden City were

ROYSTON TOWN 1

(R Cannon)

HAREFIELD UTD 2

(S Sonner, N Richardson)

IT WAS perhaps inevitable that when the Crows secured their place in the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division it would be thanks to another team losing.

Welwyn Garden City were the team who saved the Crows from going into the final weekend with relegation hanging over their heads.

They won 3-0 at Haringey Borough to send the north London side tumbling into Division One.

Certainly it would have come as a relief to Royston that their Premier Division status was confirmed because they showed few signs of being able to save themselves as they crashed to their seventh loss in eight games.

The visitors from Middlesex looked a class above the Crows, and Ryan Cannon's late goal for the home side served only to flatter them.

Harefield arrived at Garden Walk still aiming for a top three place which could see them earn promotion to the Ryman League next season, and proceeded to dominate long spells of the game.

The pattern for the game was set in the first 10 minutes, with Danny Jordan seeing a header well saved by Barry White and Stuart Snowden clearing a dangerous cross from Craig Totton over the bar.

White also saved well from Sean Sonner, and although the Crows' offside trap worked well they showed little in attack, with Joff Dobson and Martin Westcott receiving virtually no support.

Jez McMurrough blazed over midway through the half, while Harefield's Dwayne Williams was lucky to remain on the pitch shortly before the break when he pulled back Jason Nash as he broke through the visitors' defence.

Predictably, the subsequent free-kick was sent straight into the Harefield wall.

The second half saw the visitors continue to play fast, flowing football, and although Crows boss Mark Saggers replaced Peter Chappell with Peter Flack and Mark Saunders with Carlo Silenti, his side still lacked any penetration up front.

The visitors took a deserved lead in the 64th minute when Sonner headed home Gary Williams' free-kick from close range, giving White little chance.

The goal did nothing to inspire a Crows backlash and they were forced to scramble a Jordan header off the line.

The second goal came in the 87th minute when a long ball from defence found Naz Richardson running from his own half, and he rounded White before clinically netting from an acute angle.

There was still time for Royston grab a consolation deep into injury time when a lovely ball from Westcott found Cannon to outpace the visitors' defence before slipping the ball under keeper Mark Oliver.

But it was too late to prevent defeat and the Crows were left to be thankful that Haringey crashed to their fourth straight defeat.

Crows: B White, M Saunders (C Silenti), C Geldart, S Snowden, P Chappell (P Flack), J McMurrough (D Jeffries), L Rogers, J Nash, J Dobson, M Westcott, R Cannon.

- The Crows wrap up their season on Saturday with a trip to Biggleswade Town.