The OHAFC 1st XI produced comfortably their poorest performance of the season on Saturday, struggling for the majority of the match against a Bradfield side that played with ten men for all but a short spell midway through the first half. A sublime chip just before the hour mark gave the visitors the lead and ten minutes later two goals in sixty seconds ended any hopes the Blues had of maintaining their 100% win rate at home in the League.

Following last weekend's disappointing Dunn Cup exit at the hands of Premier Division Shrewsbury, Ed Poulter's men were determined to get back to winning ways against a team they had thrashed 5-0 just a few weeks ago.

Several changes were made from the Dunn Cup side with Jack Hill restored to central midfield, Alex Gilbert back up front and James Breeden making his first start for the side this season on the left of midfield. Skipper Poulter, who was struggling with illness, moved himself to right back with Fred Richardson partnering Hill in midfield.

The preparations of the two teams prior to kick-off could not have been more contrasting with the full OHAFC squad of fourteen going through a thorough warm-up whilst the ten men of Bradfield trotted around and casually passed the ball between themselves.

But any hopes that this would translate into a fast start for the home side were quickly dispelled as it was the visitors who played the sharper football. The freshly-cut pitch was slick from overnight rain and it was the red shirts of Bradfield who coped much better, passing the ball with an accuracy sorely lacking from Harrow's play. For the second week running, the deployment of a lone striker by the opposition led to confusion in the Harrow ranks and with the midfield quartet all wanting to get forward at the same time, large spaces began opening up inside the Harrow half for Bradfield to exploit.

The hosts' had no control of the game at all and had to be thankful that for all but ten minutes of the half they were up against only ten men. Bradfield's final player arrived late to restore numerical parity but shortly afterwards a teammate went down with a knee injury and after failing to run it off the visitors were forced to spend the rest of the match battling with ten men.

No changes were made at the break, with both goalkeepers remaining relatively untroubled, but after the opening minutes of the second period failed to signal any improvement in the Blues' play, skipper Poulter made a double change, Smith replacing Gilbert up front and Lederman replacing James Breeden on the right, James' brother Alex moving to the left.

The game was still a mess from Harrow's point of view with far too many passes squandered and no clear discernible gameplan when the visitors took the lead thanks to a sublime piece of skill. An attack through the middle saw the Bradfield striker drive down the left-hand edge of the box before turning to chip the ball back over Fraser McGuinness and into the far corner - a brilliant finish.

Desperation began to creep in to Harrow's play and although they actually began to pass the ball with more authority, not least when Alex Breeden was moved into a central area, it was the visitors who broke upfield twice in the space of a minute to kill the game off as a contest. Harrow lost possession on the edge of the Bradfield box and a quick break through the heart of the Blues' midfield saw a simple finish from close range. Less than a minute later and the visitors could not believe their luck - scoring a third against a side that previously had only conceded four League goals all season: a perfectly weighted pass bisected the two centre-halves and the onrushing McGuinness was left in no-man's land as the striker raced on to touch the ball past him before slotting into an empty net.

Harrow poured forward in the closing stages but there was never any conviction in their attacking play and, as a week earlier, it was longer balls and set-pieces that looked the most likely source of joy.

With the clock winding down there was still time for the mood to turn ugly as a ridiculous piece of play-acting from the Bradfield skipper raised Harrow's heckles: the left-back had gone down with a muscle injury but hobbled off the pitch as Harrow waited to take a throw. Urged on by his captain, the player then hobbled back onto the pitch and lay down, preventing play from continuing. The referee issued a yellow card and play restarted but even a consolation goal proved elusive on this occasion.

After such an excellent run of performances and results the past two weeks have seen a dip in Harrow's form. Last week against a strong Salopian outfit it was no disgrace to lose 2-1, even if the performance had been somewhat insipid. On Saturday, against a Bradfield side who played for nearly 80 minutes a man down, there were no excuses to be found. Harrow had underperformed all over the pitch and and paid the price.

The OHAFC still top Division One and look odds-on for promotion but winning the League is now out of their hands - Brentwood are three points behind with two games in hand and a superior goal difference.

Two home fixtures against struggling Winchester and Haileybury close out February and the pressure is back on the side to produce much better performances and results after the past fortnight's meagre offerings.