For the first time since the 5-0 defeat at home to Old Carthusians 2s in mid-November, the OHAFC 2nd XI found themselves blown away in a League fixture, comfortably beaten 8-0 by Old Alleynians 2s on the Harrow School astroturf on Saturday morning. Despite a decent enough start, the Blues contrived to concede three goals inside a quarter of an hour, twice from corners and a fluke goal that saw a Charlie Walsh clearance canon off an attacker and rebound into an empty net. From that point on it was one-way traffic – Alleynians were 5-0 to the good by half-time and eased away to score three more times after the break. The OHAFC still have two fixtures remaining as they bid to secure their place in Division Two for next season.

Despite the absence of several key players, the Blues were still able to name a strong squad of twelve for this game, with the Alleynians nominally the home side but agreeing to an early kick-off on the Harrow astro in a bid to avoid traffic problems in Twickenham. Ed and Tristan David had spent Friday night watching the rugby in Cardiff, so the 11.15am start necessitated a dawn call for them – it was only after the final whistle that they revealed sharing a double bed the night before had not provided the best preparation for the game, Tristan’s snoring the main issue. Callum Barrett returned for his first game in a while, arriving fully prepared for plenty of queries regarding his next club of choice should Chelsea be forced out of business. And Charlie Walsh returned in goal, having spent the previous few weeks on holiday in Barbados and then on his bed at home ill. Either way, his lack of any tan was most puzzling.

Wary of the damage a full-strength Alleynians side could do, the Blues were prepared to get men behind the ball if necessary, whilst still keen to press should the opportunity present itself. And for twenty minutes this worked well, with Alleynians enjoying the lions’ share of possession but unable to create many chances of note. Going forwards proved something of a struggle, with the early indications that this was one of the fittest sides the Blues had faced all season and, as a consequence, time on the ball was limited. Some headway came down the flanks, although there was perhaps on over-reliance on long balls down the right, whilst Will Payne looked spritely throughout the first half on the other side, beating his man several times and cutting the ball back for teammates arriving into the box.

Having proved a sturdy enough opponent for the first quarter of the match, it was somewhat disappointing that the next ten minutes saw the Alleynians score three goals, all of them avoidable. Two came from corners, the first a well-delivered ball that saw one of the centre-halves allowed a clear run to meet it, the second a very average delivery that really should have been cleared at the near post. In between, a long ball over the top saw Walsh rush out of goal only to fire his clearance straight against the closing Alleynian striker. The ball cannoned off his legs and rolled back into the unguarded net.

With a three-goal lead the Alleynians’ confidence surged and they began passing the ball around the pitch with tempo and accuracy, their all-white strip suggesting they had been keeping an eye on Real Madrid’s performance in midweek. The home side scored twice more prior to half-time, the first a delightful team goal that saw seven or eight first-time passes exchanged down the left before the ball was cut back to the edge of the six yard box and steered inside the far post. The second as a more mundane affair, coming from a Harrow player dwelling on the ball on the edge of the box. By the time Hitesh Jansari blew his whistle for half-time, the game was decided and only the margin of victory required confirmation.

The second half understandably proved a rather chastening affair for the OHAFC, although Tristan David saw a well-struck shot saved by the keeper and Ed Massey attempted what would have been a spectacular effort, acrobatically volleying over from the edge of the box. These isolated moments aside, there was little to cheer from a Harrovian viewpoint, although, as usual, heads didn’t drop and the side continued to battle right to the end.

Alleynians scored three further goals and hit the post, their final effort coming courtesy of a Callum Barrett mistake following a short goal-kick that the defender will not want to be reminded about. It made little difference to the result.

This was a rare occasion when the Blues found themselves comprehensively outplayed and the side will possibly be grateful of a week off before the final two games of the season, starting with the long trip to face the Old Sennockians down in Kent in a fortnight’s time.