Match Report: October 2nd 2004: Old Salopians 2 – 4 Old
Harrovians
After last week’s opening 4-0 victory over
Westminster, the Harrovians travelled to their old stomping ground of Cobham
for a fixture against one of the sides they completed the double over last
season, Shrewsbury.
Morale was high despite once again a number of
absentees from the ranks: Piers Bourke was in Belgium,
Harry Hoffen was in Scotland
and Charlie Tweddle was in a right old state – having completed an important
exam on the Friday, Saturday was nothing more than a blur to him.
Jamie Waugh
took Harry’s place up front, Simon Henson made his Arthurian League debut at
left-back and in front of him was the Ian Poulter-esque figure of Freddy Brunt
– last seen as a brunette in some dive in Amsterdam, Freddy reappeared on
Saturday as a blonde, travelling via the Morroccan wastelands where he has
spent the last few months ‘gaining life experience’.
The Cobham pitches were, as usual, in excellent
condition and with the strong wind, which had been blowing around London as the team left,
dissipating by the time kick-off approached, conditions were set fair for some
excellent football.
The Harrovians were quickly out of the blocks: almost
with the first attack of the game, Lederman and Warner combined down the right
to send the latter racing into the box from where his cross was hurriedly
cleared. A sustained spell of controlled pressure by the champions then
followed, with the defence mopping up any rare threats from the Salopians with
ease, and the midfield and front two probing continually at the five-man rear
guard placed in front of them. Paul Molloy
came the closest to scoring with a bullet header from
a corner, but it was brilliantly saved on the line by a Salopian defender, who
headed the ball up onto the crossbar from where it rebounded to safety.
To the credit of the Salopians however, having
weathered the initial assault on their goal, they fought back well. Blessed
with a physically strong midfield and a small, but skilful attack, the home
side were soon creating chances of their own. Once again, a header from a
corner was the closest they came to scoring; once again the crossbar came to
the rescue for the opposition. The pressure on the Harrovians began to tell as
several refereeing decisions bizarrely went against them and one of the side’s
old failings soon resurfaced: the inability to efficiently clear the ball when
presented with numerous opportunities to do so. At 0-0 with ten minutes to go
before half-time, the contest was evenly-poised.
Harrow
then struck twice in the space of five minutes to take a stranglehold on the
match. First, Molloy - in his own words - “broke up a Salopian
attack and knocked the ball up on [his] right knee several times” before releasing
Warner to scamper down the wing in acres of space. Looking up, Nick delivered a
perfect cross which was gobbled up first time by the alert Jamie Waugh.
Then, a matter of minutes later, with the Salopians insistent on playing a high line and trying to
play offside, Lederman’s late run forward was picked
out superbly by Paul Molloy with a
delicate chip over the top, and the winger’s square ball was finished off via a
shot from Jamie Waugh, a ricochet
from a defender and a touch on the line from Rupert
Hoffen, albeit one he knew little about. Suddenly, things
looked far more comfortable for the Harrovians and they went into the break in
good spirits.
If the half-time team talk stressed the need to keep
things tight at the back for the first fifteen minutes of the second half,
either Quentin Baker had been
speaking a particularly localised dialect of Cantonese, or people were not
paying attention: within five minutes of the re-start it was 2-2.
Both goals were the result of Harrovian errors. First,
a number of tackles were missed on the edge of the box and the most active of
the Salopian forwards on the day was allowed to run through and place an
accurate shot past a stationary Bert Worthy. Then, with Salopian tails clearly
up, Tim Dalton went for an interception he couldn’t reach and missed a through
ball, allowing the goalscorer a clear run on goal: he made no mistake, smashing
the ball past a stunned Worthy to level the scores. Game on, as they say.
Stung by the sudden collapse of what appeared an impregnable
lead, the visitors stepped up the tempo. Quentin
Baker began to make his customary surges through the
midfield, the two wide men, Lederman and Brunt, continued to trouble their
wingbacks, and the two front men continued to chase every loose ball. As easily
as they had lost their momentum, the team had regained it, and once more scored
twice in a relatively short space of time to gain the upper hand.
The Lederman–Molloy set-piece combination that had
produced one of the four goals the previous week and has contributed to a
number of scorelines over the years, once more benefited the Harrovians as Paul
powerfully headed home a corner from beyond the far post.
Then, a Harrow
clearance found Lederman in space and having cut inside past several Salopian
defenders he laid the ball through to the onrushing Brunt, Jamie Waugh’s clever dummy catching the defence off
guard. Young Freddy showed his class as he advanced on goal, calmly rounded the
goalkeeper and waited until the last possible moment before rolling the ball
in, much to the frustration of the home side, who had vainly appealed for
offside.
As with the previous week, the last twenty minutes
were dominated by Harrow, with their superior fitness creating numerous
chances, all of which were spurned: Lederman fired a variety of left-foot shots
off-target, Molloy struck a long-range effort well wide, but was then unlucky
not to score with a delightful chip over the ‘keeper who had strayed yards off
his line, and Baker, Brunt and Waugh all had chances to add to the four-goal
tally.
The final margin of two goals was about right however
and, despite the occasional defensive lapses, there was again much to admire in
the Champions play. Tim Dalton and Rowley Higgs,
who had an excellent game, look capable of forming a strong partnership at the
heart of the defence, Simon Henson and Freddy Brunt both showed that they are
more than capable of holding their own at Premiership level, Molloy and Baker
were their usual tireless selves in midfield, and Lederman once again proved
the creative spark necessary to unlock the opposition.
However, maximum praise this week must be reserved for
right-back Nick Warner and the two
front men, Rupert Hoffen and Jamie Waugh. Nick has made a tremendous start to the
season, providing a constant surge of energy down the right flank that on
Saturday proved an insurmountable problem for the Salopians. Rupert and Jamie
also worked tirelessly up front and are now playing with a confidence that
ensures the goals are now likely rather than just possible. Even so, if all the
chances had been grabbed on Saturday, the scoreline would have resembled that
of a rugby match.
Next week: Brentwood
at home, a match which will provide the sternest test yet of the Champions
credentials for retaining their title.
Harrow (4-4-2): Bert
Worthy; Nick Warner, Tim Dalton, Rowley Higgs, Simon Henson; David
Lederman, Quentin Baker
(capt), Paul Molloy, Freddy Brunt; Jamie Waugh, Rupert Hoffen
Goalscorers:
Jamie Waugh
(37), Rupert Hoffen (40), Paul Molloy (65), Freddy Brunt (70)
Magnifico:
Nick Warner
Muy Bueno:
Jamie Waugh
Bueno: Rowley Higgs
Vaya Dia! Molloy
– for reminding everyone it was a 2pm
kick-off, then turning up at 1.58pm
Leading
Goalscorers 2004/5 (league only):
3
Rupert Hoffen
1 Nick Warner
Quentin Baker
Jamie Waugh
Paul Molloy
Freddy Brunt