In a season that is just six matches old, the OHAFC 2nd XI have already contrived to concede a comprehensive catalogue of goals, the variety of which is something to behold. After Saturday's latest double contribution to the record books, which included an unsighted shot catching Pittalis by surprise and a last-minute winner direct from a corner, there doesn't appear room for further entries. Maybe the fortnight's break the team are now due will see a change in fortunes...

Any fixture against Charterhouse is always a tough task and, as with the OHAFC 1s, the 2s have enjoyed some titanic tussles with Saturday's opponents down the years - the Junior League Cup final win in 2011 chief among them.

Saturday's task wasn't made any easier with the knowledge that Geoff Taunton-Collins' men had failed to garner a single point from five games against, supposedly, inferior opposition - the promotion-winning side of last season so far a pale imitation of themselves due to long-term absentees and the breakout of an injury crisis among the strikers that has deprived the team of the services of legendary goalscorers Harry Hoffen and Gbeminiyi Soyinka for all but a few minutes.

Saturday's game, played in the strong winds of Storm Brian, was no different, with the skipper, safely landed after a long flight from Toronto, sacrificing himself up front as he did to some effect in the away game at KCS Wimbledon.

The back five used in the two previous defeats remained in tact, with newcomer Tom Ward adding some much-needed aerial presence alongside the more technical Woolley and von Hirsch. A midfield quartet saw the first appearance this season of Anthony Beresford - the gifted, if somewhat elusive, B-Roy already matching his solitary appearance of last season. Mike Okoigun, who has scored twice for the 3s this season, joined the struggling Soyinka on the bench.

With the strong wind blowing diagonally across the pitch, Harrow had a slight advantage in the first half and the side put recent problems behind them to more than match their illustrious opponents in a competitive opening half that saw both teams try their best to keep the ball on the ground.

Harrow threatened mainly down the flanks with Will Payne, who enjoyed a fine game in last week's loss at Lancing, again to the fore, consistently causing problems down the left for his full-back. On the other side, Rollo Hovey bombed forwards from right-back on several occasions, creating some panic whenever he did so.

The defending at times was fairly panicked, with too often Blue shirts content to hoof the ball forwards with no real aim - doubtlessly a result of the nature of some of the soft goals conceded so far this season. But despite the rudimentary nature of the blockade, it proved effective, with Pittalis in the Harrow goal having little to do before the break. Tom Ward showed excellent understanding of the game and, despite being on debut, played as if he had been in the team for years. With Woolley and von Hirsch battling ferociously to cut out any balls played through and the two full-backs Massey and Hovey holding their positions well, the five-man defence was achieving everything it was meant to.

Going forwards there was more of a problem, with a lack of care in Harrow's passing seeing even simple efforts miss their target, sometimes fairly embarrassingly. Unsurprisingly, the best moments would come from set-pieces, with Lederman using the wind to deliver a couple of dangerous balls from corners and free-kicks.

It was little surprise that the introduction of Soyinka on the half-hour for the enterprising but tiring Beresford renewed hopes of a greater threat in the second half, with the half-time message one of confidence - there had been little to separate the teams and the hosts knew a strong performance going forwards would earn them every chance of precious League points.

The strong wind, if anything, grew stronger as the game wore on and it was the visitors who coped the better in the second half, passing the ball with more authority than either side had managed previously. Again, however, the Harrow rearguard remained resolute, with the three centre-halves in particular all excelling in their defensive roles.

Although the Blues were struggling to gain any meaningful possession outside their own half, the opening goal for Charerhouse, when it arrived, was a shock. A cross into the Harrow box saw a timid connection from an onrushing striker but the effort lacked any power and appeared a simple claim for Pittalis. Sadly, unsighted until the last moment as the ball crept past a Harrovian leg, the experienced stopper let the ball squirm through his grasp and roll agonisingly into the bottom corner.

Given the travails of the season so far it would have been easy at this point for Harrow heads to drop but the attitude in the squad remains excellent and the Blues shirts continued to fight as if their lives depended on it. Okoigun was brought into the fray on the left-hand side and he almost inadvertently created a second for the visitors with a bullet header in completely the wrong direction, the ball arrowing straight into the path of a Charterhouse forward only for the defence to come to the rescue.

But, as has so often been the case in the past decade, it was the other substitute, Gbeminiyi Soyinka, who was to significantly change the direction of the game with an equaliser created for himself from almost nothing. The ball was played out to him on the left wing and immediately he set off on one of his powerful runs, forcing the Charterhouse full-back into his own area. One final twist of the hips saw the striker cut inside, the defender stick out a leg and the referee blow for a penalty. There were few complaints from the visitors. Despite the tall Carthusian goalkeeper guessing the right way, Soyinka's striker had just enough power behind it to find the back of the net and the two sides were level with twenty minutes remaining.

The closing stages again saw play concentrated mainly in Harrow's half but it increasingly looked as if the visitors had run out of ideas, with time running down and Pittalis looking comfortable in the Harrow goal. The last five minutes saw several corners conceded on the Harrow left and the dangerous inswinging deliveries caused huge problems, Pitalis twice bravely clawing the ball away from under his crossbar before a Carthusian did finally connect with a header only to see his effort cannon into Lederman on the line and ricochet to safety.

The final minute and one final corner produced a very different, cruel outcome. Once more a devilishly inswinging delivery, once more a mass of bodies threw themselves at the ball - only this time it sailed through the melee and into the far corner of the net, on this occasion Lederman unable to react in time.

It was yet more extraordinarily bad luck on a Harrow side that has seen more than it's fair share in the six games played so far this season. Apart from the opening day mauling by Alleynians and a fairly comprehensive loss to a powerful Eton side, the Blues have been the match of every side they have faced but just been unable to clinch a result when it mattered.

Saturday was another example of this, with little to separate the two teams for the majority of the game until that final, cruel last-minute twist.

The side continue to battle bravely, perhaps casting themselves as too much of an underdog on occasion - the evidence suggests that the side is capable of playing better football and maintaining a strong defence and this in itself would match most of the teams faced to date.

The two-week break surely comes at a good time for the squad with the return fixture against KCS Wimbledon in a fortnight already circled in red pen on the calendar as 'must win'...