The OHAFC 2nd Xi missed a golden opportunity to further their Division Three promotion hopes when they fell to a hugely frustrating 1-0 defeat to their Old Carthusians counterparts on the Hill on Saturday morning. The result was all the more frustrating given that the visitors were forced to play for over an hour a man down, a straight red issued to a midfielder for a poor knee-high challenge on joint-skipper Miles Kellock. But despite dominating much of the game, some stoic Carthusian defending limited the hosts to a series of half-chances and, with twenty minutes remaining, the visitors completed an unlikely victory when a long ball over the top sent their pacey winger racing clear to hammer a shot into the top corner. Defeat leaves the Blues still in sixth in the division, but now facing a six-point gap to the top four.

Following last weekend’s excellent 3-0 win over the struggling Tonbridgians’ second string, this first meeting of the season with the Carthusians provided the Blues with the chance to win three consecutive League fixtures for the first time since, somewhat remarkably, the start of the 2019/20 season in Division Two. Availability was, once again, strong, with the same starting XI named for the third fixture in a row. Max Curry returned for his first appearance since the opening weekend of the season, the veteran taking his place on the bench alongside Matt Ede.

Conditions on the Hill were dreadful, with a strong wind propelling driving rain across the lower Phil pitch, which was in decent enough shape for this time of year. The visitors arrived off the back of a narrow 2-1 defeat to the Old Sennockians last weekend and found themselves under immediate pressure here, the Blues starting fast with a high press that harried the Carthusian back four into numerous hurried clearances. Harrovian aggression was rewarded with the first chance of the game, Archie Nicholls finding Tristan David down the left and his low, driven cross into the box should really have been finished by the onrushing Hutchinson, but he somehow fired his first-time effort straight at the keeper from six yards out and the chance went begging. It would prove arguably the home side’s best chance of the match.

The visitors gradually began to wake from their slumber and with a quarter of the match played had just about begun to compete on level terms when the game swung back heavily in Harrow’s favour. A ball forwards landed at the feet of Kellock and, as he turned to carry forwards into the box, a Carthusian defender launched an ugly, high challenge which collided directly with the forward’s knee. Kellock was left in a crumpled heap on the sodden turf, the Carthusian was left to contemplate leaving his teammates to play the remainder of the game with ten men after referee Gage Deitsch produced a warranted red card.

But the visitors held on well enough to the break, adopting a 4-4-1 formation and ensuring, unsurprisingly, that every man was behind the ball whenever the Blues were in possession. For their part, the OHAFC seemed to relax, confident in the knowledge that a goal which had looked likely against eleven, would almost certainly follow against just ten.

And for much of the second half this seemed a reasonable enough assumption as the home side dominated possession and territory. Several corners were forced, Butler and Curry both heading wide of the target. The worsening weather didn’t help and, in combination with some stout resistance from the well-organised Carthusian ten, time began to tick down and Harrovian frustrations began to grow.

Time after time the ball was worked into the Carthusian half but the final pass was lacking and clear-cut chances proved elusive. With twenty minutes remaining, and the Blues becoming increasingly desperate, disaster struck as the home side were caught with nearly every player in the attacking half and a long hoof forwards from the back sent the visitors’ best player, a tricky winger, racing clear beyond the back four. Keeper Rory Craig, who may as well have been sitting in an armchair for the second half, was suddenly tasked with saving the day, but he was left without a prayer as the forward smashed a superb finish high into the near top corner from the edge of the box.

The final quarter of an hour saw the home side throw everything at their opponents in a bid to rescue a point, but the Carthusians somehow held firm, numerous shots, headers and corners all threatening but all safely cleared. Kellock, who had recovered sufficiently from his injury to return to the fray, came closest to the vital breakthrough but he dragged his shot wide of the post having been played in over the top. It proved the last meaningful chance of the game and the Carthusians held on for a remarkable victory.

The OHAFC were understandably deflated but could not be faulted for their efforts. The hosts dominated for long spells in both halves and on another occasion would have won comfortably. Credit must go to the Carthusians for their superb defensive resistance – it has ensured that it is they, and the not the OHAFC, who stay in touch with the leading sides jostling for the two promotion places.