The OHAFC 2nd XI continued their excellent recent run of form with perhaps their finest performance of the season to date, defeating their Etonian counterparts 3-0 on Saturday courtesy of a disciplined, determined performance and some clinical finishing. The win lifts the side into sixth in Division Two, their highest League placing of the season, and within touching distance of ensuring relegation is avoided – an unlikely prospect following the team’s nightmarish start of seven defeats from the first eight games.

With the Beast from the East having postponed the visit of Radley to the Hill a week previously, the Blues returned to action for the first time in a fortnight with a strong squad of twelve, although the absence of any recognised striker gave skipper Geoff Taunton-Collins his one big selection headache. In the end, and after some persuasion, he reluctantly shouldered the burden himself, a tough ask against a physical and well-organised Eton rearguard. But he was spearheading an otherwise strong midfield with a nice blend of talent: Alhadeff and Payne the tricky speed-merchants out wide (perhaps not the only speed merchants Alhadeff had recently encountered given that he had spent the previous evening at a friend’s birthday party in Brixton), Alexi Pittalis the muscle in the middle of the park and Ollie Curry and Lederman tasked with keeping the ball moving on a pitch that looked pristine, but in fact was sodden underneath and bound to suffer the longer the game wore on. At the back, Woolley and Ward resumed their effective centre-half partnership and Giles Newton and Ed Massey occupied the full-back positions. Rollo Hovey arrived immediately prior to kick-off, failure to heed an alarm serving him the ultimate punishment: unstinting scrutiny from chief scout/performance analyst Jackie Woolley for the duration of his time on the pitch.

Eton began the game well, passing the ball with confidence across the excellent surface and soon forcing the visitors to adopt a fairly deep line – a common problem in the early part of the season. This Harrow side now have a far better idea of what they are doing however, and although the Etonians produced some exquisite driven crossfield balls, they caused few problems in the Harrow rearguard. Some clearances were unnecessarily hurried and possession was carelessly frittered away, but as soon as the dark blues did manage to string a few passes together they sliced through the Etonian defence to score an excellent goal. Ollie Curry collected possession in midfield and carried the ball forwards before slipping a perfect pass in between the centre-halves. Alhadeff drove inside off the left wing and, as is so often the case, he unerringly found the bottom corner, his measured strike kissing the inside of the post as it nestled in the back of the net.

Confidence suitably lifted, Harrow then enjoyed their best spell of the match, with the passing crisper and the midfield trio of Pittalis, Curry and Lederman to the fore. Indeed, the Blues so nearly scored an almost identical second goal midway through the half when another spell of possession ended with Curry this time threading the ball through for Payne to run onto. This time the pass was inches off target, forcing the youngster to stretch slightly as he shot with the result that the ball rolled agonisingly wide of the far post.

Taunton-Collins continued to wage a one-man war up front to some effect, although at times the ball failed to stick long enough to bring the midfield forwards – unsurprising given the attention of two burly Etonian centre-halves.

At the other end, Eton continued to pass the ball with greater assurance but they still struggled to find a cutting edge. Emre Sert in the Harrow goal was forced into one excellent save when he pushed a rising drive over the bar. There were also a number of corners and free-kicks that required defending, but Ward, Pittalis and several others challenged sufficiently to ensure no free headers were granted.

Hovey replaced Newton at right-back at half-time but he could only watch as the second half began in dramatic circumstances. Some casual Harrow passing from the kick-off saw Eton swarm all over the visitors’ defence and the ball was just about hacked clear. Within seconds it had arrived at the feet of Taunton-Collins midway inside the Eton half and eschewing options on either side, he cracked a shot on goal. The ball thumped into a half-turned Etonian defender on the edge of the box, taking a huge deflection, sending it flying into the middle of the goal. The Eton ‘keeper had already committed himself to the dive and was powerless to prevent it flying past him. Harrow two-up seconds into the second half.

The understandably jubilant celebrations preceded a strong fightback from the hosts, who continued to pass the ball with authority across the pitch. Despite constant pleas to push further up the pitch, the Harrow defence was forced deeper than ever. The midfield trio continued to work tirelessly to plug the gaps, Pittalis flying into challenges as if his life depended on it. Again, there was a lack of crispness to Harrow’s passing and Taunton-Collins, despite his goal, was finding it ever-harder to prove an effective outlet for his team.

Despite the pressure, there was a certain steeliness to the visitors, with the back four well-aligned for the most part and continuing to compete physically with their opposite men. The quick Eton left-winger did pose a consistent threat, getting to the goal line on several occasions and cutting the ball back dangerously. Several times Harrow escaped thanks to some desperate defending, one chance should have been taken but the Eton striker’s radar was off and he blazed wide.

With twenty minutes remaining the result was put beyond doubt thanks to a moment of quality from Giles Newton. Eton had been warned moments earlier, a series of corners from the left saw Massey spurn a free header, then Taunton-Collins hit the bar when his shot from a tight angle was parried by the Eton ‘keeper. The next Harrow attack down the right looked to have been blunted, but the ball broke to Newton thirty yards out and, spying the ‘keeper out of position, he produced a magnificent first-time chip that curled exquisitely inside the top corner – much to the astonishment, it must be said, of most of his teammates. Nevertheless, the goal of the season contender sealed Eton’s fate and as they restarted the game, their air of resignation was all too apparent.

Further defensive discipline allowed the visitors to keep their clean sheet intact, meaning the team have now conceded just three goals in their last four League games – some improvement from the dark days of the early season when conceding just three goals in a single game was deemed something of an accomplishment. All twelve players worked tirelessly in pursuit of victory and the defensive organisation was impressive, Emre Sert barely forced to make a save in the second half despite the constant Eton pressure.

The team can look forward to the end of the season with some confidence. Two League games remain, at home to Radley and away to Forest, but first up is the Junior League Cup semi-final at home to the Old Kimboltonians – an unknown quantity who don’t play in the Arthurian League but whom beat the Etonians 3-2 in the quarter-finals. The Blues, on this form, know a third final appearance in the last seven years is well within their grasp.