The OHAFC 1st XI’s hopes of a swift return to the Premier Division of the Arthurian League suffered a severe setback on Saturday afternoon with a second successive home loss to one of the two undefeated teams in the division. If last week’s defeat to Bradfield could be put down to some shambolic preparations prior to kick-off that left the side having to play the final half-hour of the match with just nine players, Saturday’s reverse to Berkhamstedians, in a first ever meeting between the two sides, offered no such consolation.

A hard-fought contest was goalless until the final half-hour, but the visitors scored twice in quick succession and, despite the hosts pulling a goal back through Kyle Barrett – his first for the team – further sloppiness at both ends of the pitch ensured an ultimately comfortable win for Berkhamsted. The defeat leaves the OHAFC still in fourth place but the gap to the top two – Bradfield and Berkhamsted – has now grown to eight points: whilst not insurmountable, the Blues will have to put together an almost flawless run of victories to the end of the season if they are to make up the gap.

On Saturday’s evidence, this looks a mountainous task. The absence of stalwarts Ed Poulter and Fred Richardson ensured that this was one of the youngest and least experienced sides fielded by the OHAFC 1st XI for many years. Not a single player in the 13-man squad was over thirty and eight players had yet to play even ten games for the side. Only the captain, Yunus Sert, and midfielder Alex Breeden, had played over 50 1st XI games. Despite this, the availability of several 3rd XI players was welcomed, with the towering Barrett brothers and Charlie Bick all expected to carry their excellent form in Division Five into Saturday’s crunch clash. Will Swan was named on the bench following a superb display in central midfield for the 2nd XI the week before.

Conditions on the Hill were, once again, excellent with the pitches in their usual superb condition, a slight breeze the only issue to trouble the teams.

The first half was a fairly even affair with both teams looking dangerous going forwards. Harrow enjoyed particular success down their right side, with Ciaran Jordan and Josh Adejokun looking particularly lively. Will Bamford was also a constant threat up front and it was something of a surprise that the game remained goalless. This was even more the case following a clear-cut chance for the hosts midway through the half, Adejokun being played clean through with just the ‘keeper to beat. The youngster had Charlie Bick in support and unselfishly tried to square the ball to him, but infuriatingly overhit the pass and the chance was lost.

Just before the break Chester Robinson was then unfortunate not to score himself when he collected a clearance from a corner and volleyed goalwards but his effort was blocked by a crowd of players on the goalline.

Disappointingly, the second half display was significantly worse than the first, with Harrow’s shape disjointed and composure on the ball sorely lacking. Despite possessing the more talented players, the hosts played down to their opponents’ level, with the result that the visitors were still very much in the game at 0-0 with half an hour left.

The sudden concession of two quick goals turned the contest Berkhamsted’s way, the opener coming from a careless loss of possession midway inside Harrow’s half. The Blues responded quickly when Kyle Barrett thumped home a header and at 2-1 with still a quarter of an hour remaining all results seemed possible.

But, infuriatingly, the hosts imploded, conceding three times in the closing ten minutes as any semblance of fight and discipline evaporated. The final goal in the last minute summed Harrow’s efforts up perfectly: a Berkhamsted break looked as though it would come to nothing as the ball was pulled back to the edge of the box and a Harrovian collected. Instead of clearing however, unnecessary dwelling on the ball allowed possession to be stolen and the ball was summarily thumped into the far corner.

Too often this season, the OHAFC have come off the pitch confident that they possessed the superior players to their opponents but failing to transfer this superiority into results. The fact that they have now lost all three games against the two unbeaten sides, conceding twelve goals in the process, suggests that there is still much work to be done to turn a collection of talented individuals into more than the sum of its parts.

Nevertheless, with only half their League programme completed, there is still time for the season to have a happy ending. To ensure it does, the squad will have to return to winning ways immediately, beginning with the visit of the Old Malvernians to the Hill in a fortnight’s time.