Following two superb victories that should guarantee the OHAFC 2nd XI safety from the drop this season, the side were brought back down to Earth in a hard-fought but rather ill-tempered 4-2 defeat away to runaway leaders the Old Sennockians on Saturday morning. The visitors took the lead directly from a corner just after the half-hour mark but conceded an equaliser a minute before the break. The second half became a niggly affair with the Blues reduced to ten men when midfielder Ludo Palazzo was sin-binned for ten minutes. The hosts took the lead but a rather generous penalty for handball gifted the Blues an equaliser five minutes later. But two goals in the final fifteen minutes saw the Sennockians claim the points and with it a huge step towards the Division Three title.

Following a first week off in a month, a strong squad of twelve travelled down to Kent to face a Sennockians side with whom they have enjoyed plenty of close battles over the past few seasons. The OHAFC have actually enjoyed the better of the rivalry – seven wins to three – although last season both sides won handsomely at each other’s ground. The only slight disappointment was the very heavy pitch, waterlogged especially down one side, which greeted the players on arrival. February saw the side play twice on artificial turf and once on the excellent grass pitch at KCS Wimbledon so this was something of a novelty.

The first half was a suitably turgid affair with neither side able to dominate for lengthy spells and chances proved hard to come by. It was hardly surprising, therefore, that the opening goal, which arrived ten minutes before the break, owed a great deal to fortune. The visitors won a corner on the right and skipper Tristan David whipped a ball in with his left foot. The delivery was decent enough but the keeper really should have done better, instead only managing to palm the ball into the goal. It appeared as though the visitors would hold on to the break with their lead intact, but Sennockians levelled a minute before the interval – keeper Rory Craig pulled off a fine save, diving to his left to palm away a shot that had flown through a crowd of bodies, only for the rebound to fall kindly for an attacker to fire in from close range.

The second half saw tempers flare as both sides found themselves complaining about a variety of refereeing decision from Chris Goulbourn – a regular at Sennockians home games. Ludo Palazzo was the unfortunate Harrovian to finally push the patience of the match official to breaking point, although the yellow card and subsequent ten-minute sin bin for fairly reasonably asking about a decision seemed rather harsh.

But the game itself became rather intriguing as the two sides again swapped goals in quick succession. The hosts took the lead ten minutes into the half courtesy of a real mix-up at the back between goalkeeper and defender on the goal line, Craig and Archie Nicholls leaving the ball for each other and allowing a forward to steal in and knock the ball across goal for a simple tap-in. But the Blues then had cause to thank the referee for what can only be described as a generous penalty decision in their favour as a cross was drilled against a dangling arm inside the box. Tentative appeals were rewarded and David made no mistake from the spot for his second of the game, sending the keeper the wrong way.

As the game entered the final twenty minutes, both sides pushed for the win, an undercurrent of ill feeling still pervading as the pitch continued to cut up quite badly. It was to be the home side that prevailed, sadly, and, disappointingly, it was the old weakness of defending set pieces that caused the first problem, a corner with fifteen minutes remaining allowing a free header from ten yards out. As the Blues pushed forwards for an equaliser they were then caught on the break and the Sennockians had registered an impressive twelfth League win from fifteen games that guarantees their promotion into Division Two and just a solitary point away from the title.

The OHAFC 2s should already have enough points to survive, although the return fixture with the Sennockians and a trip to face the second-placed Old Westminsters 2s are likely to provide stiff tests before the season is out. A third game, away to mid-table Chigwellians 2s, is likely to provide the side’s best chance of a winning finish to the season.