A disastrous final half an hour saw the OHAFC 2nd XI concede four times as they were overrun by a surprisingly resilient and determined Old Haberdashers side in Borehamwood on Saturday afternoon, the hosts claiming a deserved 6-3 win to extend the Blues’ winless run to four games. Despite the visitors having recovered from an early 2-0 deficit to claim a 3-2 lead just seven minutes into the second half, any hopes that their opponents would wilt under the pressure were quickly dashed as the home side poured forwards in wave after wave of attack. Harrow keeper Alex Fraysse was left powerless to intervene as several shots flew past him before the sixth was struck from the spot, by this stage the OHAFC looking and feeling rather sorry for themselves. This second consecutive defeat sees the 2s drop to fourth in Division Three.

It was an unexpected outcome even given the slow start and poor conditions at Old Haberdashers Rugby Club. In stark contrast to the excellent pitches these two sides have met on in recent seasons at Haberdashers School in Elstree, here they were greeted with an uneven, soggy surface and a fairly severe slope rolling away from the clubhouse and down to the far side of the pitch. As it turned out, the poor pitch was only one reason that this would quickly go down as the least enjoyable of the seven OHAFC 2s fixtures played so far this season. Referee Raphael Lepe, taking charge of his first ever OHAFC game, quickly incurred the wrath of both sides with his very quiet, laissez faire style of officiating drawing both sets of players into questioning nearly every decision and appealing for absolutely anything. It didn’t make for a pleasant afternoon.

The visitors, with Tom Walduck in midfield making his first OHAFC appearance since the COVID-hit season of 2019/20, made a slow start, conceding twice inside the opening twenty minutes, both times to breakaway goals. In truth, both were well-crafted efforts from the hosts, carrying the ball down both flanks and producing accurate low crosses which were turned in from close range. If the opposition’s record of just a solitary win from their first five League fixtures suggested a relatively easy runout, the scoreline suggested otherwise.

But, thankfully, as the half wore on, and as tensions rose between the two teams and the match official, the men in blue finally began to click into gear and produce some decent spells of football. Although the pitch made it tricky, the visitors still managed to get the ball down and play and it was little surprise when the deficit was halved with twenty-five minutes played, a swift move down the right allowed Tristan David to beat his man on the outside and cut the ball back for fellow joint-skipper Miles Kellock to fire in at the near post.

It was now the OHAFC on top and dominating and the equaliser arrived ten minutes later, following further Harrow pressure in the final third. A corner was won, cleared but delivered back in, striker Owain James flicked on and Geoff Taunton-Collins, up from right-back for the original set-piece, was on hand to turn the ball in from close range at the second time of asking. Remarkably, the turnaround could have been complete before the interval with yet more confident play from the visitors seeing the ball worked down the left, Kellock switching play to the right and David teeing up Lederman from the edge of the box. His first-time curler was nearly inch perfect, looping over the keeper but bouncing down off the underside of the crossbar before being gleefully held by the goalie. With substitute Matthew Harrison still not pitchside, there were no changes available to the two skippers, but the message to the side was a simple one: keep playing the same way and further goals would come. And when Kellock scored his second seven minutes into the second half to put the visitors 3-2 up, it was almost impossible to consider anything other than an away win was fast aproaching. A throw-in on the left by Alexi Pittalis was well flicked on by David and Kellock arrived on the spot to fire in on the half-volley from ten yards out. Full of confidence, leading 3-2 and with just under forty minutes to improve the goal difference and stay firmly in the promotion hunt.

Except the final half-hour proved to be almost the exact opposite. Almost from nowhere, Haberdashers threw caution to the wind and began to press high up the pitch, forcing the visitors into some panicked clearances. Suddenly, the comfortable possession the visitors had being enjoying for the previous half an hour was replaced with hurried, inaccurate passes, scuffed clearances and a certifiable sense of panic.

Habs levelled with just under half an hour remaining, a low cross finding the striker unmarked inside the box. Another move down their left wing then saw the ball cut back to the edge of the area and a fine low strike was smashed past Alex Fraysse and inside the far post. The OHAFC could not get out of their half, could not pass to a blue shirt and could not keep up with the increased intensity their opponents were now showing. The fifth Habs goal, with a quarter of an hour remaining, completely knocked the stuffing out of the Blues, Alexi Pittalis ceding possession just outside the box and the Habs forwards making light work of the chance. By the time the Ludo Palazzo hauled down an opponent inside the box to allow the hosts to add a sixth from the spot, the OHAFC resembled something of a shower – well beaten, furious with themselves, the referee and their opponents – who didn’t waste the opportunity to rub salt into the wounds with some fairly average chat.

Last week’s 3-2 defeat away to the unbeaten leaders, the Old Albanians, had been unwarranted and highly unfortunate. This, however, was fully deserved, the Blues starting slowly, playing well for the middle half an hour but then collapsing in rather embarrassing fashion. Despite the strong start to the season, the 2s are in danger of sinking back into relative mid-table obscurity with no wins in their last four and fourteen goals conceded in their last three. An immediate return to winning ways is imperative at home to the struggling Old Epsomians next weekend.