Ed Stewart goal earns 3s potentially decisive victory

Old Harrovians 3rd XI
1 : 0
Lancing Old Boys 2nd XI
  • March 5th 2022, Harrow School 4G Astro, 12:15pm
  • Division 4
  • Referee: Andre Small
  • Weather: Cloudy, breezy
  • Pitch: Astroturf
No. Starting XI Goals Yellow & Red Cards Subs On/Off
1 Tom Mitchell (c)
2 Steve Dickson-Tetteh
3 Felix Tritton
4 Michael Brooks
5 Toby Colehan
6 Jamie Jordache
7 Charlie Lupton 8'
8 Khalil Baoku 72'
9 Olly Roberts
10 Ollie Atkinson
11 Henry Collins 50'
Substitutes
12 Ed Stewart 14' 20'
13 Adam Graham 20'

The OHAFC 3rd XI earned their third, final and most important League win of the season on Saturday afternoon, comfortably holding off Lancing Old Boys 2s on the Harrow School astroturf once substitute Ed Stewart had given the home side an early lead. Although there is still a mathematical chance that both Lancing and Old King’s Scholars can yet overtake the OHAFC 3s in the race to avoid relegation to Division Five, both sides would have to win their remaining games and overturn significant goal difference handicaps. Their race is almost run and the 3s can surely relax.

With the two sides having fought out a 2-2 draw down in Tolworth at the end of January, and given the importance of this fixture, a closely-fought encounter was almost inevitable. The fact that the Lancing 1st XI weren’t in action set alarm bells ringing, but, thankfully, those concerns proved unfounded. This was especially pleasing given Lancing 2s had already cried off the first scheduled fixture on the Hill due to Covid – something that had not gone down well in OHAFC circles.

As it was, this game proved to be something of a damp squib, although this suited the Blues just fine. The home side got off to a decent enough start, but their progress was hampered by an early injury suffered by midfield maestro Charlie Lupton, who limped off after less than ten minutes, his ankle ligaments strained as he tried to twist on the artificial surface. His replacement was Ed Stewart, who hasn’t been seen in a Harrow shirt this season, but he made a stunning start to his first appearance of the season when he opened the scoring barely five minutes after coming on. Olly Roberts had already made a couple of forays down the left and another probing run saw him beat a couple of players before cutting in on goal. His pull back to the near post was initially blocked but in the brief scramble that ensued, Stewart was on hand to prod the ball over the line – his second goal in OHAFC colours, both have been for the 3s.

The home side continued in the ascendancy for the majority of the first half, with Stewart coming close to a second courtesy of a decent strike that flew just wide off a deflection. Lancing offered little at the other end, despite playing with a fairly stiff breeze behind them. The visitors were competitive in midfield but simply didn’t possess a threat up front, with the result that Tom Mitchell in the Harrow goal was rarely troubled. In fact, the only brief moment of concern was courtesy of a speculative long shot, the Harrow keeper scrambling back towards his goal as the ball sailed on the wind.

Olly Roberts continued to look the hosts’ biggest threat and he again created an excellent chance with a strong run down the wing, crossing for Ollie Atkinson whose low shot was well saved by the Lancing keeper. The half-time whistle signified one of the most comfortable halves of football the 3s can have enjoyed this season. No changes were made at the break, Lupton unable to rejoin the fray and instead taking on managerial duties on the sidelines, alongside the now-substituted Henry Collins.

With the wind now behind them, the home side felt confident going into the second half, but to Lancing’s credit they actually started the stronger of the two sides, enjoying a decent spell of possession inside the Harrow half. But, as had been the case prior to the break, any attempts to breach the Harrow rearguard foundered upon the excellent central defensive partnership of Felix Tritton and Michael Brooks. Both players dovetailed perfectly, reading each situation calmly, intercepting any balls through and almost always electing correctly to either play a short pass or clear their lines. With debutant Steve Dickson-Tetteh at right-back and the ever-alert Toby Colehan at left-back also both sticking to their defensive responsibilities well, a second clean sheet of the season looked a distinct possibility.

And chances of a Harrow win improved further as the home side then clicked into gear for a quarter of an hour and pressed for a second goal that would surely have killed the game. Adam Graham enjoyed a purple patch down the left, producing one superb piece of trickery to beat his man on the goal line only for his cut-back to be intercepted just as Atkinson was preparing to pull the trigger. Several corners were forced, one of which saw the ball loop agonisingly over the top of the bar and land on the roof of the net.

Lancing countered but their attacks were the very definition of powder puff, a few long shots drifting well wide of the Harrow goal. Jamie Jordache, who along with Khalil Baoku in the middle of midfield had barely stopped running from the first whistle, then produced a surging, slaloming run that carried him past three or four Lancing challenges just inside their half. The Harrow man did well to then drill a pass across the box to the waiting Atkinson on the far side and, once again, his powerful shot was well saved by the Lancing keeper. It would have been a superb goal.

The closing twenty minutes were somewhat scrappy with Brooks and Tritton remaining imperious at the back. Mitchell was forced to claim a couple of high balls, which he did with consummate ease, but he then had to be alert to a through-ball that enticed him out of the area with a Lancing forward closing in. Fortunately, the keeper timed his interception perfectly to just reach the ball first and hack it to safety.

Neither side would force another chance of note, although Adam Graham was left frustrated when he closed down the Lancing right back, stole possession only for his pass square to fail to reach its target. It didn’t matter. The clean sheet that had appeared a possibility from early on in the game became a reality and the Blues had held on to secure a vital, deserved victory.

The 3s must wait at least a fortnight for their safety to be mathematically confirmed, with King’s Scholars involved in David Woolcott Trophy action next weekend. But Ed Nicholson’s men have surely done enough now.