Despite school 1st XI captain George O'Malley scoring with his first touch as an OHAFC player barely thirty seconds into his debut and the Blues storming into a 3-0 lead away to Kings Wimbledon Old Boys, the afternoon ended on a sour note as a disappointing second half display saw the game drawn 3-3 and, as a result, the OHAFC propping up the rest of the Arthurian League Premier Division.

On a cold, snowy day in south London, things had looked so different after half an hour's play. Desperate for points to try and preserve their Premier Division status, the visitors raced into a three-goal lead with some enterprising football on the astroturf at the Southfields Aspire Academy.

Straight from kick-off the Blues worked the ball through midfield and out to the left where Gilbert and Pepys combined to tee up midfielder O'Malley who was waiting on the edge of the box. The teenager was composure personified as he calmly passed the ball into the bottom corner at the near post, in the process becoming the fastest scorer in OHAFC history and, quite probably, the only OHAFC player to score with their first touch in old boys football.

Harrow capitalised on their dream start and were the better side for the first half an hour, their passing sharper and they looked anything but a team that has struggled to just a single League victory this season.

Going forwards, Hoffen and Pepys looked a lively combination up front and Gilbert and Scarborough were both heavily involved in the build-up play. Kings threatened sporadically but Charlie Walsh remained relatively untroubled in the Harrow goal - the experienced centre-back duo of Molloy and Sert restricting the hosts to a few long-range efforts, one of which Walsh was alert to turn round his post.

Just before the half-hour mark Harrow scored twice in quick succession to, apparently, put themselves into a commanding position. A long ball forwards was flicked on by Pepys allowing Gilbert to run through and coolly finish past the 'keeper. Less than two minutes later and Pepys himself charged through the middle, the beneficiary of a defensive clearance that ricocheted off his arm at close quarters and carrying him beyond the high Wimbledon line. Sam took a couple of touches forwards before producing a sublime chip from twenty-five yards out, the 'keeper stranded on the penalty spot.

At this stage the Blues were rampant and looked capable of ending the game as a contest before the break. Several times Hoffen and Gilbert found themselves in promising positions but narrowly failed to produce the requisite final ball.

As half-time approached Wimbledon slowly regained their composure and forced several corners that Harrow dealt with effectively. A spill from Walsh produced a nervous moment in the six-yard box but the ball was successfully cleared.

But there was to be no preventing the hosts minutes later when they produced a superb goal to reduce the arrears to two. A one-two down the right saw the ball whipped in first-time where it was met on the volley by a late-arriving midfielder, the ball flying past Walsh into the roof of the Harrow net.

Despite this, the mood at half-time was justifiably optimistic. Harrow had bossed the majority of the first half and with a strong bench of Duah, Walker and Kyle Barrett there was every reason to be hopeful.

Disappointingly, as the snow continued to fall, the Blues played woefully in the second half, looking a shadow of the side they had been in the opening forty-five minutes.

Passes were misplaced, players were hurried into mistakes and, in desperation, began dwelling on the ball too long. In contrast, Wimbledon were rejuvenated and looked far more like a side that has been stationed in the top four of the division all season.

The red shirts began swarming all over the pitch, the pace and aggression of their play increased notably and it was inevitable that goals would soon arrive.

Nevertheless, despite clearly straining to hold onto their lead, the Harrow side were careless in the two goals they did allow Wimbledon to score: a long punt forwards was flicked on over the centre-halves allowing a forward to run through and beat Walsh; a free-kick was then whipped in from a wide area and sailed over everyone into the far corner of the net - fortunate, but not undeserved.

In truth, Wimbledon should have won the game such was the domination of their second half display. The late introductions of Duah, Walker and Barrett had little effect in stopping the red tide but Harrow held on grimly and some determined defending and wasteful finishing allowed the visitors to claim a point that does little to improve their chances of avoiding the drop.

Understandably, the mood in the dressing room afterwards was a sombre one with no-one sure quite how the game had turned so dramatically after the break. There is no time for the squad to feel sorry for themselves however: news filtered through that Brentwood had won their second consecutive game, surprisingly beating leaders Forest, leaving the OHAFC bottom of the table for the first time this season. With five games remaining Harrow now face the monumental task of winning three of them to have a chance of staying up. The great escape begins at Lancing next week.