Harlow Town suffered their heaviest defeat in six years as play-off chasing Worthing thrashed the Hawks 9-1.

Reece Price-Plaid got the only goal for the visitors while the home side were buoyed by Ollie Pearce’s four-goal haul as well as strikes for Jesse Starkey, Joe Clarke Kwame Poku, Jasper Pattenden and Callum Kealey.

Harlow were suffering a defensive crisis going into the game with Paul Rogers, Taylor Hastings and Curtis Ujah all suffering from injury, so new signing Ugo Udoji went straight into the side.

It only took eight minutes for the hosts to open the scoring as Pearce notched his first of the day, bringing down Ricky Aguiar’s through-ball before sliding it past Josh Bexon.

Harlow levelled by the 20th minute, though, as Price-Placid’s effort from the edge of the area was struck low into the bottom corner.

Both sides continued to create chances, the best of which came for the hosts through Starkey but his dipping shot from the edge of the area came down onto the roof of the net.

Matt Foy almost responded for the visitors with an effort from a tight angle went just past the post, but Worthing re-took the lead on 29 minutes as Starkey picked up the ball and unleashed a stunning effort from 30 yards that flew in off the woodwork.

Pearce then got his second just before the break, bending a free-kick around the wall and into the bottom corner, but things were about to get much worse in the second half.

Six minutes after the re-start, Pearce completed his hat-trick when Bexon could only parry Clarke’s header into his path, and Clarke got on the scoresheet himself on 57 minutes as he volleyed in from four yards after Ross Edwards’ cut-back.

Harlow attempted to salvage something from the game, but Foy and Tom Hitchcock saw efforts blocked by the home defence.

These missed opportunities presented Worthing with the chance to extend their lead and they duly obliged when Poku brought down Pearce’s long ball, jinked his way through the defence and slotted through the legs of Bexon.

The home side compounded the Harlow’s misery in the final ten minutes, firstly as Pearce added his fourth of the game when he placed a low shot past Bexon from the edge of the area, then with two further goals from substitutes Pattenden and Kealey.

Pattenden turned in Kealey’s low cross for the eighth while the latter latched onto a through ball and slid home to cap an embarrassing defeat for Harlow which leaves them 19th in the Bostik Premier Division.

Their next game sees them host second-bottom Whitehawk in a relegation battle this coming Saturday, February 23.