A superb late save from Old Foresters goalkeeper Ross Faulds, who sprang to his right to somehow claw Lederman's free-kick away from the top corner, ensured the Essex side clung on to a 1-0 win against a makeshift OHAFC 1st XI in Ilford on Saturday.

The defeat plunges Ed Poulter's men into deeper trouble in the battle to avoid the drop, with a gap of five points now between bottom two the OHAFC and Brentwood and the rest of the division. With just six games remaining in the season, the Blues are likely to have to win three of them to have a chance of staying in the top division.

The result was harsh on a Harrow side that travelled to the excellent astroturf facility at Seven Kings School in Gants Hill more in hope than expectation. Availability was again poor, so poor in fact that skipper Poulter was forced to call upon a number of 2nd XI regulars to make up a team. Jamie Barwick, Max Curry, Jonny Lalude and David Lederman were joined in the squad by 3rd XI striker Oli Walker, St Andrews University student Ogyen Verhagen, who was playing his first game of the season, and midfielder Sam Pepys, playing only his second. Emre Sert returned in goal in place of Fred Milln.

Things began auspiciously for the visitors when straight from the kick-off the ball was lost within two passes allowing a Forest player to run in on goal. Fortunately he was closed down before he could get his shot off.

But after a frantic opening period the visitors settled well and began passing the ball with conviction on the excellent surface. Curry, Pepys and Poulter won plenty of possession in midfield and, as a consequence, wide men Verhagen and Lederman saw plenty of the ball and looked threatening with it.

Indeed, it was these two who created the first chance of note, Verhagen beating his full-back and pulling the ball back to the penalty spot but Lederman snatched at his shot and screwed the ball wide. Ogyen, the younger of the two wingers by twenty years, then combined with Pepys and Richardson to get to the byline again but this time his shot was blocked from a narrow angle by the 'keeper.

Forest attacked sporadically but the back four of Barwick, Lalude, Sert and Richardson coped manfully, restricting the hosts to long-range efforts.

Sam Pepys produced a superb run from midfield, carrying the ball past three or four Forest players as he drove down the left but his teammates struggled to keep up with him and although his cross was decent enough, only striker Oli Walker was in the box and he was unable to make a challenge.

Pepys then had a chance to strike at goal from a free-kick thirty yards out but the pedestrians on the Ilford High Road were in more danger than the Forest goal as the ball was smashed high and wide.

The ten minutes before the break saw a shift in momentum with Forest stepping up their play and beginning to overrun the Harrow midfield. The Blues began to panic somewhat as possession was frequently lost and it took some last-ditch tackling from Lalude and Sert to ensure the Emre Sert remained relatively untroubled in the Harrow goal.

There was time for one final piece of drama before the break, a Forest player losing his temper with Yunus Sert and throwing him to the ground by the neck. The referee deemed a yellow card was sufficient and the sides went in at half-time level on the scoreboard and in player numbers.

With lone substitute Alex Gilbert struggling badly with a hip injury sustained at training on Wednesday night there was little for the Harrow skipper to do other than urge his team on, secure in the knowledge that on the first half display there was plenty of reason for genuine optimism.

Frustratingly, the second half began as the first had ended with the hosts looking the more composed side in possession. Chances were still few and far between with Emre Sert rarely called on to make any saves, but Forest delivered several dangerous crosses into the box and saw several long-range efforts fly wide.

The only goal of the game arrived on the hour mark and was depressingly familiar in nature: a corner whipped into the box and an unmarked Forest player allowed to thump home a header from eight yards out.

Verhagen was then forced to leave the field for five minutes with a cut that drew blood from his mouth. Gilbert was clearly in no fit state to play so it was a relief that the youngster was able to return having had the wound seen to.

And Harrow produced a stirring closing twenty minutes to make a mockery of their lowly status in the Premier Division.

Several times the equaliser looked as if it was forthcoming: Lederman crossed from the right for Walker but he was inches short of making a connection; Verhagen twice produced almost identical runs to his first-half effort, skipping to the goalline before being foiled by the Forest 'keeper.

The two best chances, however, arrived in the final five minutes. A free-kick twenty-five yards out presented Lederman with the first opportunity and despite curling the ball over the wall towards the top corner it was somehow clawed out from under the crossbar. A quick break then allowed the veteran to cross from the left but Walker somehow managed to miss the ball completely with what should have been a free header from six yards out.

The final whistle drew groans from the visitors and sighs of relief from the Forest boys, who knew they had been pushed all the way by a side they may have expected to beat comfortably.

It will be little consolation to the OHAFC however, who need points and not plaudits at this stage of the season. The side's next three fixtures see them make a short trip to Wandsworth and another game on astro against KCS Wimbledon next Saturday before a trip to Lancing and then the return fixture against Forest.

The squad desperately need to pull together in the final weeks to try and eek out some victories. Hopefully Saturday night's impassioned plea from the skipper for better commitment will not fall on deaf ears.