The OHAFC 2nd XI returned to winning ways on Saturday with a relatively comfortable 3-0 win over the Salopians’ second string in perfect conditions on Harrow Hill. An excellent first-half display saw the side open up a two-goal cushion thanks to Jack Alhadeff’s close-range prod and a flashing drive from skipper Geoff Taunton-Collins. The second half proved a disappointment with much of the fluency lost from Harrow’s play. Despite this, returning goalkeeper Kyri Pittalis was rarely troubled in the Harrow goal and with minutes remaining Gbeminiyi Soyinka grabbed his customary goal with a bulldozing run through the middle to ensure there would be no unwarranted late drama.

Despite the ideal conditions, warm autumnal sunshine and a verdant tapestry of a playing surface prepared by the Harrow ground staff, midfielder Harry Woolley was taking no chances. He emerged from the changing rooms donning a pair of black tights to ensure no further damage would be done to his ever-growing musculature.

Elsewhere there were season debuts for Doug Pratt, who started at left-back, and midfielders Spencer Crawley and Anthony Beresford. Both started on the bench, the latter having arrived late and dressed like an extra from Grease – The Musical, his 1970’s American high school jacket drawing admiring glances from no-one at all. When asked as to the reason for his slack timekeeping, ‘B-Roy’ mumbled something about ‘an event in South Harrow’ but no-one was quite sure what this meant. Certainly if it was an event that required the attendees to dress like a teenage John Travolta it was a good job the rest of the squad had not been invited.

The first-half was an excellent advert for the Arthurian League with both sides utilising the superb playing surface to good effect. An early foray from the Salopian right-winger suggested Pratt would have his work cut out but it proved to be a false alarm with the sturdy defender soon gaining the measure of his man and raiding forwards on a regular basis. With Alhadeff ahead of him showing off his full repertoire of pacey runs, mazy dribbles and unnecessarily pointless turns, momentum soon began to build and the hosts, playing in their change red strip, gradually took control of proceedings.

A pattern was soon established of Harrow, as urged by their skipper pre-game, switching the ball as much as possible and, at times, constructing some wonderful attacks both down the wings and through the middle of the pitch. As is so often the case, it was only the final ball that was lacking. In response, the visitors were forced into ever-increasingly hurried clearances down the field, requiring numerous aerial interceptions from the two centre-halves, Robinson and Orr-Ewing.

After twenty minutes the Blues deservedly took the lead, albeit in unlikely fashion. A free-kick on the halfway line promised little, with Max Curry the lone red shirt among a sea of blue in the Salops box. Neverthless, Pratt duly pumped the ball forward, Curry rose majestically to out-jump the tall, ginger centre-half and Alhadeff, loitering on the edge of the box, reacted quickest to the loose ball, sprinting forwards and stretching to flick the ball over the belatedly advancing ‘keeper.

Harrow continued on the front foot and further chances arrived with Alhadeff at the heart of much of the hosts’ best play. A lovely combination saw Pratt and then Lederman and Alhadeff combine to set the winger free inside the box but his low cross was blocked. He then went on a mazy solo dribble that took him past two but, with Lederman and Soyinka screaming for a square ball, performed one trick too many, standing on the ball mid-turn and being stopped in his tracks by a gruff Salopian. On the right, the contrasting combination of the becalmed Azhar Khan and frantically energetic but always immaculately turned out Geoff Taunton-Collins were also enjoying some success – one full-throttle race was comfortably won by the skipper but with men to pick out inside the box he disappointingly fired his cross over everyone.

The red shirts didn’t have to wait long for their second to arrive however as further excellent play down the left saw Curry free Alhadeff, the winger this time unselfishly squaring the ball to Lederman on the edge of the box. His first-time effort was blocked by a defender but the ball broke to the right and straight into the path of the onrushing Taunton-Collins, who gleefully thumped it in at the near post with superb power and accuracy.

Prior to the break Beresford replaced the hitherto excellent Pratt at left-back and Crawley was introduced for Lederman at the start of the second half. Whether it was the changes to the Harrow personnel, a slight diminishing of effort with a two-goal lead behind them or an increase in urgency from the visitors, the level of Harrow’s play dropped alarmingly in the second half, with the flowing passing moves nowhere to be seen.

Indeed, most of the incidents of note revolved around player injuries, some of which were self-inflicted. Woolley attempted to head an under-hit corner clear at the near post but used his face instead. His teammates waited for a little tear to trickle down his ever-youthful cheeks but he manfully resisted, hiking up his lycra leggings as they had momentarily slipped.

Max Curry also got a faceful of ball when he mis-controlled in midfield, a slight smile spreading across his rather scarlet face as he quickly looked around to see if anyone else had noticed his misfortune. He then went down more seriously after an aerial challenge but was pronounced fit to continue.

The Salopians were by now enjoying the better of proceedings but the Harrow rearguard maintained their shape and discipline to excellent effect, preventing their opponents from registering a single shot on target. The only cause for alarm came from right-back Khan, who took composure on the ball to Beast Mode Level when he calmly dithered in possession eight yards from his goal with Salopians closing in like a pack of hungry wolves. As Pittalis screamed plaintively for him to clear his lines, the future army officer showed excellent decision-making skills under pressure by rolling a badly under-hit pass back to his exasperated ‘keeper, forcing him into a near-suicidal 50/50 challenge with a Salopian. Fortunately the ball stuck, the Salopian tumbled over and Pittalis hacked clear, the odds on Azhar starting next week’s fixture under his leadership having lengthened considerably.

With time running out and the visitors pressing for a way back into the game they were caught out at the back thanks to a clinical Harrow break. Lederman had tried one ball over the top to Soyinka minutes earlier but slightly underhit it allowing the defender to clear. This time he made no mistake, volleying through for Harrow’s leading scorer, who had seen little of the ball in the second half, to run onto, nonchalantly shove the last defender out of the way and coolly finish on the stretch, the ball arrowing into the bottom corner.

It was tough on the visitors who had fought valiantly in the second half but ultimately been unable to find a way through the rock-solid Harrow defence. Pittalis exuded calm in goal, making several timely interceptions on the edge of his box, and centre-half Jack Orr-Ewing was once again warrior like in front of him, mumbling incoherently to himself as the game progressed about the rigours of playing ninety minutes and how he hoped his very odd knitted washbag would be waiting for him once he limped out of the fray.

Going forwards the hosts played superbly in the first half, fairly poorly in the second, but it was unclear exactly why this was. What is certain however is that the squad possesses all the requisite qualities to be successful, with strength, stamina, pace, creativity and finishing ability in abundance. Next week Chigwell 2s travel to the Hill for what is sure to be another tough test.