A desperate fifteen-minute spell midway through the first half cost the OHAFC 1st XI dearly as they fell to a second consecutive defeat to start 2026, the struggling Old Wykehamists dishing out a deserved 4-2 defeat on the astroturf at Club des Sports in Acton. Key to the result was a brief period of dominance for the home side twenty minutes into the match when three goals were scored and, momentarily, the Blues were at sixes and sevens. Although Jasper Gray and Tom Ward reduced the arrears to just a solitary goal, the hosts scored a fourth almost immediately to quell any hopes of a comeback. The afternoon ended on a sour note for the visitors when Cam Mahal was sent off for a second yellow card, the youngster lashing out at an opponent after being repeatedly hacked down. Defeat drops the Blues to seventh in Division One whilst breathing life into Winchester’s slim hopes of escaping relegation.

Following last weekend’s encouraging display in defeat at home to leaders the Old Ardinians, the OHAFC fell back into bad habits here, defensive sloppiness costing the side dearly in a game that should have offered a golden opportunity to clamber higher up the table against a Winchester side that had previously won just one of eleven League games this season. The two sides met on the Hill in an extraordinary game in late November when the hosts raced into a scarcely believable 6-0 lead by half-time, only to surrender all momentum after the break and concede four times themselves. Complacency should not, therefore, have remotely entered Harrovian minds ahead of the return fixture.

A quiet start to the game was notable only for an early challenge by the Wykehamist keeper on Cam Mahal that left the youngster in a heap on the floor, the keeper the first recipient of a yellow card. He would not be the last and nor would it be the final time Mahal found himself on the wrong end of some fairly crude challenges. From the resulting free-kick, five yards outside the box, Tom Walduck curled a superb effort against the far post, the Winchester keeper unable to get near the shot. Five minutes later and it was the Harrow keeper’s turn to prove his worth, Tom Mitchell diving to his right to palm a fierce drive wide of the far post from the Wykehamist striker. The visitors then stitched together a superb move involving more than half the team that saw the ball worked all the way up the pitch and ended with Alfie Hayes running through only to clip his attempted lob just over the crossbar.

With twenty minutes played, both sides had carved out opportunities but neither had been able to take control of the game. But that all changed in an awful fifteen-minute spell for the visitors that went a long way to deciding the match. The first goal was a simple near-post flick header from a corner that sailed over several players and into the far corner. Eight minutes later the lead was doubled, but the goal was a gift from the visitors, centre-back Tom Ward carelessly handing possession straight to the Winchester forward on the edge of the box and he made short work of the chance, driving into the box before lashing a shot high into the roof of the net from close range. A well-known opponent to the OHAFC, the goalscorer could have had a hat-trick within five minutes as he then fired two shots just wide and sent another header from a corner just over the bar. The Blues were rocking and had to just hold on as best they could. But ten minutes before the break the third goal duly arrived, a superb left-foot volley flashed past Mitchell in the Harrow goal and all looked lost.

But the visitors did, in rather controversial circumstances, pull a goal back just a couple of minutes later. A break down the right saw Jasper Gray cross beyond the far post. It seemed as though the ball would be shepherded out by a defender but John Koutalides rather shoved the player out of the way, kept the ball in and crossed back for Gray to finish from close range. Vigorous protests from the hosts fell on deaf ears and the goal was allowed to stand.

Then, just before the break, carnage ensued. A Harrow free-kick, following a lengthy delay whilst players from both sides indulged in some pushing and shoving, was delivered into the box. A melee ensued on the goal line, the ball bounced into the air and was headed goalwards by Tom Ward only for his effort to be cleared from just under the crossbar. The Harrow man fell to the ground having suffered a clash of heads, but was fine to continue, the incident serving as a prelude to what was to follow in the second half.

Skipper Firoozan somewhat suprisingly resisted the temptation to make a change at the break, Ed Beecham and Matt Ede, who had already played forty-five minutes for the 2nd XI on the Hill, kept back for a little while longer. Having reduced the deficit to two, and come within inches of pulling another goal back, there was clearly belief that a decent result could yet be salvaged from a disappointingly sloppy first half.

And the Blues’ start to the second forty-five minutes suggested this belief was well-founded as the visitors made a bright start, passing the ball with confidence and creating the first opening, the skipper firing just wide with a left-foot half-volley from the edge of the box. Five minutes later Jasper Gray missed a very presentable chance when he headed just wide on the angle from Koutalides’ excellent cross from the right. A Harrow goal was coming and just before the hour mark it duly arrived. Alfie Hayes won a free-kick on the right after a strong run into the Winchester half. His long ball into the box was flicked on by Ed Nicholson and the ball almost hit Tom Ward in the face, sending it on a looping arc over the stranded keeper and just inside the post.

It was now anybody’s game. But the visitors committed the cardinal sin, allowing their concentration to lapse almost immediately and allowing the Wykehamists to restore the two-goal advantage within a minute. The ball was worked down their left and a cross into the box found the striker unmarked fifteen yards out. The finish was unstoppable, the player swivelling on the spot before firing in off the far post.

The visitors were furious, but had only themselves to blame. Still half an hour remained, but the hosts made an excellent job of spoiling the game from this point onwards. Numerous fouls were committed, interrupting the flow of the game and infuriating the men in white. Koutalides saw his frustration get the better of him and he was sent to the sin bin for ten minutes for contesting a decision. Although the OHAFC held on, surviving a loud penalty appeal for handball in the process, chances at the other end almost dried up completely as the game developed into a niggly, unpleasant rhythm. It eventually proved too much for Cameron Mahal, who lashed out in anger at an opponent who had continuously tried to foul him as he carried the ball forwards. A second yellow card was shown to the Harrow man and all hopes of a comeback followed him as he trudged off the pitch disconsolately.

This performance and result should serve as a stark reminder to the Blues that there is still plenty of work to do to ensure a comfortable finish to the season. And there can be no better chance of redemption than the first meeting of the season with the Old Etonians, who visit the Hill next week still very much in the hunt for promotion back into the Premier Division.