Match Report: October 30^th 2004: Old Carthusians 1 – 2 Old Harrovians

After the most complete performance of the season so far, when the reigning champions dismantled Lancing 8-1 on the Phil pitches, the Old Harrovians then began the long run to Christmas with three games of vital importance: away fixtures to Charterhouse and Eton, followed by the visit of Forest to the Hill.

Games between Harrow and Charterhouse are always closely-fought encounters, but always played in true Carthusian spirit. On this occasion, with the late Autumn sun bathing the perfectly manicured grounds of Charterhouse with a warm, golden glow and a rich tapestry of red, brown and yellow leaves covering the grass underneath, the scene was perfectly set for another glorious Harrovian display.

Charterhouse obviously hadn’t read the script however, for the first fifteen minutes was one-way traffic. Straight from the kick-off, Lederman squandered possession with an ambitious cross-field ball and immediately Charterhouse forged onto the attack. A series of long throws caused the Harrow defence some initial problems, but it was the combination up front that was to be the real threat for the afternoon. Nash and Frost made an unlikely pair, but a highly effective one, with the latter holding the ball up well and winning aerial challenges, the former using his undoubted quality to turn defenders and beat them with pace and skill.

Despite Harrow having a golden opportunity to open the scoring, when an incisive Lederman through-ball left Quentin Baker through on goal, only to see the skipper fire his effort well over the bar, it was no surprise when the home side took the lead. A long ball over the top caused hesitation in the Harrow defence: Tim Dalton paused before going for the ball, but he was too late. So too Bert Worthy, who had raced out of goal to close down the approaching Frost but ended up in a sportsman’s worst nightmare: that mystical place known as ‘no-man’s land’…Frost kept his composure admirably to square the ball to his strike partner who made no mistake, volleying the ball into an empty net to give Charterhouse the lead.

Harrovians upped their work-rate, but were finding things more than a little frustrating. At the back, Tim Dalton was constantly penalised for what looked perfectly good challenges against the wily Nash. Up front, Harry and Rupert Hoffen were finding it more than a little tricky breaking the shackles of what appeared to be a more than beatable defence.

However, with the visitors still not having got into top gear after half an hour, they produced a piece of superlative counter-attacking football which brought them level in the match. A clearance from a Charterhouse attack was fed up to Rupert Hoffen by Paul Molloy, with play then switch to Piers Bourke on the left. When the winger then returned the ball to Rupert on the edge of the box, he took one touch, composed himself, before placing the ball perfectly in the bottom right-hand corner. It was a goal which deflated the Carthusians, given the superiority they had enjoyed up until that point.

The goalscorer then had an excellent chance to give Harrow the lead in an almost identical situation, but this time he fired his shot well over with just the ‘keeper to beat.

With the advantage of playing down the slope in the second half, Harrow took the game to their opponents, without ever really hitting top gear. Their cause was further helped when the Charterhouse scorer, Henry Nash, had to leave the field after an hour with a pulled hamstring. With their cutting edge now gone, it appeared a case of Harrow needing to score one to win the match.

Again though, they had to produce a goal of great quality to break through the home defence. A spell of sustained pressure down the Harrow right had seen Lederman and Warner cause problems, but when the right-back chased a long ball to the bi-line, the cause appeared lost. Somehow though, ‘the fastest player in the league’ (as he was once mysteriously labelled by an opponent), managed to wrap his foot around the ball and produce a stunning cross which arrived perfectly at the back post to leave the onrushing Piers Bourke the simplest of chances, a chance he almost missed as his point-blank header crashed in off the post.

If Harrow thought the match was won, they were given a rude awakening with ten minutes remaining. Another long ball was missed by the Harrow back four and Frost fired in a fierce shot destined for the bottom left-hand corner of the net, until a superb intervention from Bert Worthy’s right boot deflected the ball to safety. It was a match-winning save.

There were two more noteworthy incidents in the game, both involving the Hoffen brothers. First, Harry suffered a nasty gash above his right eye which required immediate medical attention. He arrived back in town later with four stitches above his eye and possibly the most over-sized bandage ever prescribed by the NHS, appearing as it did to consist of half a set of horse’s blinkers. The injury, whilst not life-threatening, did at least allow Charlie Tweddle to make his comeback from his ankle injury for the last twenty minutes – Charlie slotted in as a defensive midfielder and spent the remainder of the game careering around the field in a desperate, yet ultimately vain, attempt to score a goal.

With the Carthusians running out of ideas and the match entering injury time there was still time for the weekly Harrow contender of most ridiculous goal conceded. This time, Rupert Hoffen was so nearly the author of a splendid contribution. Initially doing well by holding the ball on the left wing, deep in Charterhouse territory, Harrow’s leading scorer suddenly found himself going backwards, closed down by three Charterhouse defenders. Inexplicably, instead of trying to win a throw-in or hoofing the ball as far off the pitch as possible, he instead looked up (apparently) and fired a 70 yard back-pass to Bert Worthy. Thankfully, the Harrow goalkeeper has been used to such absurdities for a while now and was alert enough to sprint off his line and clear the ball before the onrushing Charterhouse forward could get there.

Despite not producing their best football, Harrow won the match thanks to two superb goals and a solid all-round team display. Bert Worthy made a crucial save in the closing stages, but overall the side looks in good shape going into the two crunch clashes of the first half of the season against Eton and Forest.

Harrow (4-4-2): Bert Worthy; Nick Warner, Tim Dalton, Rowley Higgs, Ben Hypolite; David Lederman, Quentin Baker, Paul Molloy, Piers Bourke; Harry Hoffen (Charlie Tweddle, 70), Rupert Hoffen

Goalscorers: Rupert Hoffen (30), Piers Bourke (65)

Magnifico: Bert Worthy

Muy Bueno: Piers Bourke

Bueno: Rupert Hoffen

Vaya Dia! David Lederman

Leading Goalscorers 2004/5 (after 6 league games):

5 Rupert Hoffen

4 Harry Hoffen

3 Paul Molloy

2 Quentin Baker

David Lederman

1 Nick Warner

Jamie Waugh

Freddy Brunt

Piers Bourke