Harrow Borough manager Steve Baker believes the turning point in their season came after their 6-0 friendly defeat to Hendon in February.

The Reds were thrashed by the Greens six weeks ago but Baker believes the home truths which came out of the defeat sparked their unbeaten nine-game run which has lifted them out of the Ryman Premier Division relegation zone.

Baker said: “After we lost to Hendon we had some very strong words and an open conversation. Even though it was a friendly, it was still embarrassing.

“We spoke to everyone and made it clear that this could not go on. But since then, the reaction from the boys has been absolutely brilliant.

“Everything seems to be right from the team spirit to the attitude and I couldn’t fault them.”

Boro moved a step closer to avoiding relegation after extending their impressive form with a 3-1 win at AFC Hornchurch.

The Reds have been battling to avoid the drop from the Ryman Premier Division all season but have been transformed under new manager Baker.

Boro have strung three successive wins together and are currently 20th in the table after a superb run which has seen them pick up 15 points from their last seven games.

Baker said: “Taking nine points over the last week has been absolutely massive. It’s been unbelievable and with the way other results have gone it’s felt like it was worth even more than that.”

Their latest victory came at Hornchurch as they moved five points clear of their third bottom opponents.

It did not go to plan early on though as the home side took the lead after just four minutes.

Kamaron English gave away a free-kick 25 yards out and George Purcell drilled his strike past the four-man wall and into the net.

A deserved Boro equaliser arrived five minutes after half time when Hope’s cross was flicked on by McCall and English fired a low strike past goalkeeper Sam Mott.

The Reds took the lead after 64 minutes when Lewis Driver netted before Marc Charles-Smith sealed the points with an emphatic finish.

Baker said: “It was probably my most satisfying result since I’ve been here. The response to going behind was absolutely fantastic and we scored three very good goals.

“The celebrations summed it up with how well it is going for us at the moment.”

Boro face a trip to Lewes on Saturday before hosting Met Police on Easter Monday. Baker believes two wins will go a long way to securing their status in the league.

The Reds manager said: “When I came in we were on 25 points and I set a target of 50 points to stay up. If we get two wins and a draw that will put us on that which should be enough.

“Every game is massive for us and if we could get two victories over Easter then we would nearly be safe.”

l Wealdstone eased to a 4-2 win at Basingstoke Town in the Conference South on Saturday.

The Stones opened the scoring after just 19 minutes when Wes Parker netted from close range after goalkeeper Stuart Moore parried a header from Daniel Brown.

But Wealdstone conceded a penalty when Parker brought down Liam Enver-Marum in the area and Manny Williams fired past Jonathan North.

Gordon Bartlett’s side regained the lead when Ryan Watts set up Luke O’Nien to bundle the ball home.

The Stones extended their advantage when Jefferson Luis raced clear and finished past Moore.

Lloyd Macklin pulled one back but Wealdstone sealed the points when Tom Hamblin fired home from close range.

The victory leaves them 16th in the table with just four games remaining this season.

Wealdstone travel to Farnborough on Saturday before hosting Ebbsfleet United on Easter Monday.