On this weekend...

5 Feb 2016

Continuing our look back at OHAFC fixtures played on the corresponding weekend over the previous six seasons – this week sees nearly a full complement of games with 11 matches played by the OHAFC 1st and 2nd XI’s…

Six Seasons Ago: February 6th 2010

Old Brentwoods 0 OHAFC 1st XI 1: A fine win for the Harrow 1st XI as they battled a strong Brentwood team and some dreadful conditions to grind out a vital 1-0 win. The only goal came in the last minute courtesy of a scuffed finish from Olly Hadden-Paton, who turned to fire home and earn the visitors three vital points in their continuing push for the title.

Alasdair Pritchard had a fine game in goal for the Blues allowing the side to keep a rare clean sheet.

Old Foresters 4th XI 2 OHAFC 2nd XI 1: Another Junior League Cup 1st Round fixture but this time a defeat for the Harrow 2’s who went down 2-1 to Forest 4’s, a Division Five team.

Jack Orr-Ewing gave the visitors the lead just before the half-hour mark but the hosts equalised soon afterwards. Harrow were unfortunate on a couple of occasions not to take the lead, Chopra seeing his header ruled out for offside and Woolley firing against the crossbar. But it was the hosts who scored a dramatic late winner, a deflected shot squirming past Rudy d’Oliveira in the Harrow goal.

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Five Seasons Ago: February 5th 2011

OHAFC 1st XI 5 Old Salopians 3: Five years ago this weekend the 1st XI lined up against the same opponents they will be facing on Saturday for a place in the Dunn Cup semi-finals.

On this occasion the result went Harrow’s way with Harry Hoffen and Quentin Baker scoring twice each and David Lederman adding the fifth. The win went some way to alleviating any relegation worries in what had been a tough season to that point.

OHAFC 2nd XI 4 Old Citizens 2: A gutsy come from behind win for the Harrow 2’s in the first round of the Junior League Cup. 2-1 down at half-time, Soyinka scoring for the hosts, the side rallied in the second period thanks to a slight tactical switch by captain Arjun Chopra.

Harrow’s goalscorer was brought down in the area on the hour mark allowing Ed Arghebant to level the scores at 2-2. Soon afterwards Nick Warner scored from the right wing and the win was confirmed with ten minutes to go when Phil Berry came up from the back to grab Harrow’s fourth.

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Four Seasons Ago: February 4th 2012

Old Tonbridgians 5 OHAFC 1st XI 4 (aet, 90 mins: 4-4), Arthur Dunn Cup Quarter-Final: One of the most remarkable games played by the Harrow 1st XI in the last twenty years saw them twice throw away a three-goal lead to eventually crash out of the Dunn Cup in extra-time down at Tonbridge.

The game began so well for the visitors, who opened the scoring after only a couple of minutes, Hadden-Paton heading home Lederman’s cross. The hosts were the better side in the first half but the Harrow rearguard held firm to maintain the visitors’ lead at the break.

Injuries to Fred Milln and Hadden-Paton forced the side into making two changes earlier than planned, but that looked to have had no impact when two goals in ten minutes gave Harrow a three-goal lead: Lederman and de Rougemont combined well to tee up Fred Richardson. Freddie Brunt was then brought on as the final Harrow substitution and he made an immediate impact, collecting a deep Lederman cross to fire home at the far post.

At this stage the tie looked over, but the turning point followed shortly afterwards when striker Harry Hoffen tore his hamstring, requiring the visitors to play out the final half an hour with only ten men.

Spurred on by their numerical advantage the hosts threw caution to the wind and poured forward, scoring a goal almost immediately. But, remarkably, any hopes of a comeback appeared dead in the water when Harrow scored a fourth shortly afterwards, Brunt this time crossing for Lederman at the far post.

A superb solo effort by the Tonbridge skipper reduced the arrears to two once again and as the match entered the closing stages the extra man began to tell for the hosts. Crosses rained in on the Harrow box and the pressure finally told, Will Orr-Ewing tripping a striker to concede a penalty.

The visitors had ten minutes to hold on to their one-goal lead but, cruelly, two minutes from time a cross from the Tonbridge right was perfectly delivered and headed home from close range.

Despite this setback the visitors, to their credit, played their hearts out in extra-time and were the better team. Unable to trouble the Tonbridge ‘keeper with only one man up front, Harrows’ hearts were broken seven minutes from time when Lederman lost possession trying to clear from right-back and the cross into the box was headed home from close range.

It was the saddest of Dunn Cup exits.

OHAFC 2nd XI 2 Old KCS Wimbledon 2’s 2: A disappointing day for the 2nd XI who twice threw away a lead on the School astroturf to draw 2-2 with struggling KCS Wimbledon 2’s. Alex Breeden scored on the half hour mark to give the hosts the lead but the visitors hit back before the break. Nick Bartlett then regained the lead on the hour mark but once again the visitors hit back, frustrating Harrow’s attempts to climb the Division Three table.

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Three Seasons Ago: February 9th 2013:

OHAFC 1st XI 2 Lancing Old Boys 5: Another three-goal defeat for the 1st XI two seasons ago, a dreadful opening quarter of an hour costing the side dearly.

It had been a frustrating build-up to the game for skipper Ed Poulter, who was forced to deal with numerous injuries and absentees. But the first fifteen minutes will only have served to worsen the skipper’s mood, the hosts conceding three times to a well-drilled Lancing team. The visitors scored twice from quick breaks and once from a corner, the tallest player on the pitch left completely unmarked.

Harrow pulled a goal back thanks to an excellent move from Piers Bourke and Nick Defty, the latter feeding the former down the left to beat his man and slot past the ‘keeper. But the provider then spurned a great opportunity to get the hosts back into the game when his penalty was saved following a foul on Dave Stead – fortunately midfielder Nick Bartlett was on hand to turn in the rebound.

Lancing began to sit deeper to protect their lead and the tactic worked to perfection: as Harrow threw men forward in search of the equaliser they were twice caught out by quick breaks, long balls that should have been dealt with by the Harrow rearguard were instead resoundingly punished.

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OHAFC 2nd XI 5 Old Foresters 3rd XI 1 (Junior Lge Cup Rd 1): The 2nd XI kicked off their JLC campaign with a 5-1 win over Forest 3’s, who at the time were languishing at the foot of the Arthurian League, propping up Division Five.

Scoring began in the 10th minute when Soyinka latched onto a good ball from Will Pridham. Max Curry bagged a well-taken brace before captain Arjun Chopra pounced on a flick from Curry after a long throw from Spencer Crawley. There was just enough time for another Soyinka goal before the half-time whistle, leaving the scoreline resoundingly in the hosts favour at 5-1.

In the second half, Harrow created numerous chances but failed to take any of them. After Max Curry was brought down in the box on 75 minutes, Soyinka missed a chance to seal his hat-trick with the 'keeper guessing right. However, the hosts’ lead was rarely threatened and they marched confidently through into the second round.

Two Seasons Ago: February 8th 2014

OHAFC 1st XI 1 Old Carthusians 4: After the previous week’s excellent 4-0 win over the Old Chigwellians, the OHAFC 1st XI returned to the Harrow School astroturf but this time found the challenge of repeating the feat against a much stronger Charterhouse side too difficult.

Again setting up with a defensive 4-5-1 formation, Harrow tried to contain their opponents and hit them on the break but this time, against a much fitter and better organised opponent, the Blues ceded possession too easily and pressure began to mount on the hosts’ goal.

Charterhouse were fortunate in scoring their opener shortly before the break via a deflection but they quickly doubled their lead following some slack Harrow marking.

The home side actually enjoyed a promising spell early in the second half with Johan Harder unlucky not to equalise when he toe-poked wide from fifteen yards out but the visitors put the result beyond doubt with a third via a long throw.

Harrow pulled a goal back with fifteen minutes remaining, Fred Milln scrambling in a rebound from a Harder free-kick, but a long-range effort in the closing stages gave the scoreline a more one-sided look.

Last Season: February 7th 2015

OHAFC 1st XI 1 Lancing Old Boys 4, Arthur Dunn Cup Quarter-Final: The Harrow 1st XI crashed out of the Dunn Cup, well beaten by a Lancing side they had narrowly failed to take a point from in a League game a week earlier.

Two superb finishes, the first a free-kick into the top corner, the second a perfectly executed chip, put the visitors 2-0 up inside twenty minutes and from then on there was only one winner.

Lancing scored a third before the break to confirm their passage into the semi-finals and added a fourth with half an hour remaining. Harrow continued to press in an effort to get something from the game and were rewarded for their efforts when Alex Gilbert fired in a left-foot volley following a powerful run and cross from Bemini Soyinka. The result left the Blues concentrating on maintaining their Premier Division status.

Old Merchants Taylor 1 OHAFC 2nd XI 6: A much better day was enjoyed by the 2nd XI who hammered Merchants Taylor to progress into the quarter-finals of the Junior League Cup.

Jack Orr-Ewing’s men didn’t get off to the best of starts however when they conceded the opening goal despite enjoying the better of the opening exchanges. Several chances to level were spurned but morale remained high despite the hosts maintaining their lead to the break. Harrow were rewarded for their positive attitude and excellent play with a torrent of goals in a one-sided half.

Ben Kerry opened the visitors’ account with a close-range finish from Taunton-Collins’ free-kick. Beeley then delivered a telling through-ball to allow Ollie Curry to run through and finish calmly. Another excellent cross from right-winger Taunton-Collins gave Khan a simple tap-in at the far post and the move was repeated soon after, this time a defender turning the ball in past his own ‘keeper.

But Ben Kerry saved the best for last with two goals of excellent quality, a long-range strike that flew into the top corner and was immediately ranked the 2’s goal of the season to date, and a towering header from a corner in the last minute.

The 6-1 win sent the Blues through to face a quarter-final against Old Wykehamist 2’s.

On this Weekend...In the wider footballing world

February 6th 1958 is a significant and sad day in the football world: it is the date of the Munich air disaster. Manchester United’s young team had just played Red Star Belgrade in the European Cup and were about to begin the second leg of their journey home.

After two failed attempts to take off from the slushy runway at Munich-Riem airport, the British European Airways flight crashed on the third run killing eight of Matt Busby’s team and twenty-three passengers in total.

The ‘Busby Babes’ had won the League title in 1956 and looked set to become one of the best teams in European football for years to come. The tragedy caused shockwaves around the world and left football nursing a profound sense of loss.

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February 6th 2007 is also a significant date for Manchester United’s closest rivals for the title of England’s biggest football club. It was on this day the long-term owners the Moores family finally sold the club to American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

With a promise of huge investment from the pair to improve the squad and build a new stadium hopes of a revival for the club were high.

But the American’s disastrous management did nothing but harm to the Reds and the pair split in acrimonious circumstances four years later, their legacy being a mountain of debts, a poor team and no progress whatsoever on the promised new stadium.

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February 7th 2008 was a day of mixed blessings for English football when it was announced that the bizarre idea to play an extra round of matches abroad – ‘The 39th Game’ – had been rejected due to a lack of support from everyone bar the clubs themselves.

Architect of the idea was Premier League chairman Peter Scudamore who, inspired by the recently innovated ‘International Series’ of NFL games at Wembley Stadium, decided the League’s exposure and popularity would be greatly increased by sending all 20 Premier League clubs around the world to face each other.

FIFA, UEFA, the media and, most importantly, the fans all baulked at the idea of the competition’s integrity being destroyed for the sake of making the world’s richest League a bit richer.

Despite the good news of the plan being discarded, Scudamore later made it clear it was only the start, claiming: “The clubs wanted it then and probably would still want it now. It will happen at some point, whether it’s on my watch, who knows?”

Who says the fans don’t matter?

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