Five years of the Festiphil

15 Sep 2017

This Saturday sees the annual Festiphil Tournament take place on the Phil pitches at Harrow School with a mixture of current school footballers and OHAFC players young and old come together to battle it out in a four-team tournament.

This will be the sixth edition of the popular tournament that serves as an excellent introduction to the OHAFC for schoolboys keen to continue their football playing days once they leave the school.

The previous five tournaments have seen hundreds of players take part, with each time a different winning skipper emerging to lift the Jubilee Cup.

Below, we take a look at each of the previous five tournaments, starting with the inaugural event, organised back in September 2012 by OHAFC legend Fred Woolley.

The squads gathered in front of the brand new Alcock Pavilion to mark the launch of the first ever Festiphil Tournament..

alt text

The pavilion was not the only new thing on display with both the new Harrow School Headmaster Jim Hawkins and new OHAFC 1st XI skipper Ed Poulter saying a few words...

alt text

alt text

alt text

In the end, the Reds, led by Theo Gordon, emerged victorious, ahead of teams led by Vets skipper John Wyn-Evans, Arjun Chopra and Ed Poulter...

alt text

2013 saw Jack Orr-Ewing take over the organisation of the tournament and name himself as one of five captains. Theo Gordon was invited back as skipper to defend his trophy, with Dave Stead, Ed Poulter and Fred Richardson the other team leaders.

Each team played the other in a round-robin format with matches lasting just 20 minutes each. The top two teams then faced each other in the final, with the Whites led by Dave Stead coming up against Jack Orr-Ewing's Reds.

A tense 1-1 draw led to the first ever penalty shootout in the Festiphil and, fittingly, it was the School 1st XI 'keeper George Fox who pulled off the crucial save, enabling Stead's side to emerge victorious 5-4 on penalties.

alt text

alt text

Fox was later named the tournament MVP and skipper Stead collected the trophy from OHAFC President Fred Woolley, as well as a bag of assorted goodies from organiser Jack Orr-Ewing. Stead then joined his teammates for a winning team photo...

alt text

alt text

alt text

2014 saw Jack Orr-Ewing once more return as organiser, along with plenty of help from School 1st XI coach Tom Knight.

Once again White was the lucky colour, with Azhar Khan's side beating Orr-Ewing's team 1-0 in the final following a four-team tournament. Jack's brother Will and Phil Berry were the other two skippers.

alt text

Despite the competitive nature of the tournament, 2nd XI stalwarts Simon Maydon and Arjun Chopra still found time for a little tomfoolery...

alt text

At the conclusion to the tournament, it gave Jack Orr-Ewing little pleasure to present the trophy (and, for some reason, an OHAFC pennant) to his best mate Azhar...

alt text

alt text

Lizzie Worthy then presented the Young Player of the Year Award to 3rd XI striker Alex Smith, following his successful campaign earlier in the year...

alt text

2015 saw Jaguar Bajwa take over the reins from Jack Orr-Ewing as tournament organiser. Once again, the assistance from the school masters in organising the boys and providing referees was invaluable...

alt text

alt text

The Blues, led by 1s skipper Ed Poulter, won the competition and Ed was presented with the trophy by new Club President Andy Butler...

alt text

alt text

But the football was sadly overshadowed by events off the field as Vets defender Mike Morley-Fletcher had to be taken to Hammersmith Hospital with heart problems. Fortunately, thanks to the immediate assistance of Poulter and the quick response of the paramedics, Mike made a full recovery, although his playing days are now sadly behind him!

alt text

After the drama of 2015, 2016 saw the football once more take centre stage with Jaguar Bajwa again in charge of proceedings.

The four teams were led by Alex Gilbert, Alex Breeden, Theo Gordon and Fred Richardson and a fierce competition saw the Reds, led by Gilbert, claim the trophy.

Again the four squads lined up in front of the Alcock Pavilion for a group shot prior to the tournament...

alt text

1s goalkeeper David Griffiths was left floored by a goal scored by the Reds' Will Payne, who would go on to be named the Young Player of the Tournament, whilst on the adjoining pitch Ade Omisore took things in his stride...

alt text

alt text

OHAFC President Andy Butler presented the Reds with their winners medals and the team finally got their hands on the trophy...

alt text

alt text

Good luck to everyone taking part in this year's competition!