A Tom Hitchcock brace helped Harlow Town to a 3-1 win over an out-of-form Kingstonian to aid their survival campaign.

Hitchcock started and finished the scoring, with Matt Foy restoring Harlow’s lead after Connor Smith had equalised just after half-time.

The hosts made five changes from their last outing, one of which being new signing Scott Davis going straight into the side.

The two sides traded blows in the early exchanges, with Lyle Della-Verde going close for the visitors, but only six minutes were on the clock when Hitchcock opened the scoring.

Curtis Ujah leaped up to meet Jonathan Moanda’s cross and he nodded down for Hitchcock to curl into the top corner from just outside the box.

Kingstonian edged their way back into the game after the early set back but didn’t create their first clear opportunities until the few minutes leading up to half-time.

A miscommunication between Ujah and Ugo Udoji allowed a four-on-two attack for the away side. Although Udoji cleared for a corner, the K’s came close again as a mis-hit cross from Jonathan Muleba fell into the path of Shaun McAuley, but his effort was easily gathered by Marcin Brzozowski.

The Kingstonian pressure continued after the break and they levelled the scores only five minutes into the second half when Billericay Town loanee Connor Smith curled in from the left side of the penalty area.

It had been a poor start to the half for Harlow, but Matt Foy sparked them back into life eight minutes after the equaliser, collecting a flick-on from Hitchcock before curling into the bottom right corner and restoring the lead.

The Hawks managed the game much better after re-taking the lead and could have extended their lead on 77 minutes, but Foy was unable to capitalise on a powerful cross as the ball bobbled up just as he prepared to shoot.

The third goal did arrive though as Hitchcock finished off a brilliant team move, tapping in his second from Emile Acquah’s pass after he was found by Drew Richardson.

The result leaves Harlow 20th in the table prior to their relegation showdown with Wingate & Finchley, who they host on Saturday, March 16 at 3pm.