A WONDER goal from Gary Highton sent Harwood crashing to their second defeat of the season in the First North Western Trains League Division One.

And it meant the Merseysiders got quick revenge following their opening day defeat at The Showground three weeks ago.

Manager Denis Underwood had to play himself in goal because new-boy Gavin Bates was unavailable.

But he could do nothing about Highton's stunning strike on 55 minutes.

In a lightning raid, Bootle raced down the field after a Harwood corner was cleared and the ball sat up perfectly for Highton to lob Underwood with a brilliant finish from 25 yards.

Harwood did have chances themselves to break the deadlock in the first half.

Dave Bennett headed narrowly over then Neil Baron went close following a well-rehearsed set piece.

But the game became scrappy in the second half as both sides struggled to engineer any serious openings on a bumpy surface until Highton settled it with his strike out of the blue.

"I wasn't overly disappointed in the way we played," said Underwood.

"The commitment was certainly there but it was difficult to create anything on a surface like that."

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