OHAFC relegated following late defeat to Wykehamists

Old Wykehamists 1st XI
4 : 3
Old Harrovians 1st XI
  • February 26th 2022, Club Des Sports 3G Astro, 12pm
  • Premier Division
  • Referee: Andre Small
  • Weather: Cloudy, breezy
  • Pitch: Astroturf
No. Starting XI Goals Yellow & Red Cards Subs On/Off
1 Tom Mitchell
2 Stan D'Angelin
3 Michael Brooks
4 Hamish MacIntyre 80'
5 Will Swan 50'
6 Jamie Jordache
7 Daniel Firoozan (c) 81'
8 Charlie Lupton
9 Doug Morrison 78' 80'
10 Ollie Atkinson 70'
11 Ciaran Jordan 39'
Substitutes
12 Jasper Gray 50'
13 George Gould 50'

A relegation that looked a strong possibility following the first few games of the season was finally confirmed on Saturday afternoon when the OHAFC 1st Xi slipped to a frustrating 4-3 defeat away to the Old Wykehamists. The Blues had to win to ensure their fight for survival carried onto the penultimate fixture but a late Winchester goal consigned the side to a fourteenth defeat of the season and the team will play in Division One once more next season, returning to the second tier for the first time since the 2018/19 season.

With skipper Fraser McGuinness unable to play, 3s keeper Tom Mitchell lined up between the sticks, vice-captain Dan Firoozan leading the troops. A squad of thirteen, including recently promoted 3s regulars Charlie Lupton and Ollie Atkinson, made the trip to Acton and the large 3G pitch at Club des Sports. A decent breeze was blowing from one end of the ground to the other, the Blues playing into it in the first half.

The game began in scrappy fashion, the Wykehamists notable for clearly only having eleven fit players. Nevertheless, they slowly began to put pressure on the visitors’ back four, forcing several corners, all of which were successfully defended. But midway through the half, a free-kick right by the corner led to the opening goal, Mitchell flapping somewhat as the ball sailed in on the wind, the cross landing in the back of the net via the Harrow keeper’s hands.

The hosts doubled their lead soon afterwards from an equally simple route, a long ball over the top caught the makeshift Harrow back four on their heels and the Wykehamist striker, who scored all six the last time the two sides met on the Hill back in October, raced on to toe-poke the ball under the onrushing Mitchell.

It would have been easy for Harrow heads to drop given the circumstances, but to the visitors’ credit they continued to plug away and were rewarded for their attitude with a very similar goal of their own a few minutes before the break. Mitchell’s long punt downfield was missed by the Winchester defence and Ciaran Jordan ran on to flick the ball over the keeper with a well-judged header – his second goal of the season.

The watching McGuinness took over team-talk duties at the break, urging his men to keep going, with the expectation that the hosts, bereft of any options from the bench, would tire in the closing stages. George Gould and jasper Gray were introduced from the bench, replacing Will Swan and Ollie Atkinson.

But it was the hosts who struck first, an excellent move allowed the right winger to cut the ball back towards the edge of the box and the left-back arrived from nowhere to strike a first-time shot that flew in off the inside of the far post. Once more, the Blues were tasked with overturning a two-goal deficit.

McGuinness reacted by shuffling his pack, switching Charlie Lupton to centre-back, moving Hamish MacIntyre to left-back and bringing George Gould into midfield. The changes clearly worked as the visitors began to ratchet up the pressure on their opponents. But they were forced to wait until the final ten minutes for the pressure to pay off, Doug Morrison and Dan Firoozan both finishing from close-range following scrappy passages of play.

At this stage, a Harrow winner appeared likely. There was a seventh goal, but it was the Wykehamists who scored it – another set-piece proving Harrow’s downfall as the ball was whipped in from out wide and again Mitchell failed to clutch the ball cleanly, the rebound falling perfectly six yards out to hand the hosts the win and consign the Blues to the drop.

Although another disappointing ending, this was further proof of how a better start to the season could so easily have ended with the Blues comfortably in charge of their own destiny. Since the 11-1 mauling by the Alleynians at the end of November, the OHAFC have played eight League fixtures and only two have been decided by more than a single goal – one of those was the 7-3 defeat at Eton that owed much to an unfortunate early red card for the visitors.

Nevertheless, the simple fact is that the commitment from the squad has not been good enough throughout the season and the end result of relegation is no more than what they deserve. It must be hoped that a season in Division One, perhaps under new leadership, can help galvanize a new group of players to form a competitive 1st Xi squad once more. The Blues still have two games left to play, the trip to the Old Bradfieldians and, rather dauntingly, the journey down to Godalming to face the champions elect, the Old Carthusians.