The OHAFC 2nd XI continued their recovery from consecutive defeats with another encouraging victory on Saturday morning, this time at home to the Old Chigwellians 2s. A strong first half playing down the slope towards the Alcock Pavilion saw the hosts score twice early on from corners, the Chigs defence looking as confident at set-pieces as Tottenham Hotspur in recent times. Ed Stewart was left unmarked just five yards out to head in the first, Giacomo Grasso profited shortly afterwards when the keeper flapped at another delivery. The Blues had further chances to extend their lead prior to the break, but within a minute of the restart were left sweating when some poor defending allowed Chigs to halve the deficit. The second half proved a tricky affair with plenty of defensive effort required and there was a huge sigh of relief when skipper Tristan David scored an excellent third with a quarter of an hour remaining. Although Chigs pulled a goal back with just under five minutes remaining, substitute Matthew Ede ensured there was to be no late drama when he ran through to restore the two-goal advantage.

Having had their previous week’s fixture against the Old Brentwoods 3s called off the day before the game due to the visitors being unable to raise a side, the squad of thirteen that travelled up to the Hill was keen to return to action following the excellent 2-1 away win to Division Three leaders the Old Berkhamstedians a fortnight ago. And there was a familiar face in the dressing room on arrival, with former defensive stalwart Tom Ward returning to action for the Blues for the first time since the 2022/23 season after deciding Sunday morning football was more to his liking. The former 2s Player of the Season strengthened an already impressive back four, partnering Giacomo Grasso in the middle. Otherwise the starting Xi had a very familiar feel to it, midfielder Ed Stewart beginning to re-establish himself in the side having played more for the 3s over the past couple of seasons. Kyri Pittalis and Matthew Ede ensured there were a variety of options from the bench.

Despite the pre-match chat concerning the potential need to wear leggings, the players soon realised midway through the warm-up that it was actually a very mild day in northwest London and removing layers was going to prove more productive than adding them. Meetings between the two sides have been remarkably even over the years with the sides sharing four wins apiece from ten meetings in Division Two, the Blues enjoying the better of things in the solitary season the teams coincided in Division Three with a win and a draw back from the two games in 2016/17. And it was the home side who made the faster start in the latest instalment of this rivalry, playing some excellent football in a free-flowing first half. Although the lower Phil pitch has begun showing signs of wear and tear in recent weeks, the hosts moved the ball with confidence in the opening stages, pinning the visitors back inside their own half. Several corners were won and it quickly became apparent that Chigs were not remotely comfortable defending them. Both co-captains Miles Kellock and Tristan David swung in dangerous deliveries causing panic inside the box. Ed Stewart took advantage from one of David’s deliveries, somehow finding himself completely unmarked at the far post to head in from six yards out. Further panic ensued when the keeper then flapped at another cross, the ball dropping at the grateful feet of Giacomo Grasso who gleefully smashed in from almost on the line. Chigs appealed for a foul in the build-up but any contact from Stewart on the keeper appeared minor and incidental.

As the home side continued to impress, further chances were created, the best of them falling to forward Andy Hutchinson who was played through down the inside right channel with just the keeper to beat. This time the custodian reacted well, coming off his line quickly to narrow the angle and block the effort from the Harrow forward. And that miss was put into sharp context on the half-hour when Harrow keeper Rory Craig, who had rarely been called upon to that point, was suddenly required to make an outstanding save, flinging himself to his right to palm away a goalbound effort from Chigs’ first chance of the match. The visitors were relatively neat and tidy on the ball, possessing two central midfielders of genuine quality, but appeared to lack any real threat in the attacking third – a glance at the goals scored column in the Division Three table merely confirmed this belief with only the Old Epsomians having scored fewer.

With a two-goal lead at the break and an excellent half behind them, confidence was naturally high at the interval and a request to continue in the same vein was understandable. Tristan David continued to rotate his men, particularly in the midfield, keeping a closer eye on the two Chigs standout players the only real tactical note.

But the whistle to start the second half signified an almost immediate change in the nature of the contest, with Chigs clearly having been given a rather different talking to at half-time. Although the visitors began pressing much higher up the pitch – something that also occurred in the game away to Haberdashers that preceded a complete turnaround in the second half – the hosts brought much of the early trouble on themselves with some very sloppy play. Possession was squandered several times and within ninety seconds Chigs had taken full advantage, the ball lost midway inside the Harrow half and a pass from the left wing found the striker completely unmarked on the edge of the box. Although there was still a bit of work to do, the forward made light of the task, drawing Craig out before slipping the ball inside the near post.

It was now the visitors well on top and the back four was being tested on a regular basis. Fortunately, the quality and experience of Taunton-Collins, Ward, Grasso and Kyri Pittalis ensured that Craig further chances proved hard to come by – for ten minutes at least. But the Harrow keeper was then forced to make another superb save from a one-on-one as more enterprising play from Chigs saw the visitors carve through the heart of their opponents. An equaliser appeared inevitable until the Schmeichel-like intervention of the man who now chooses to dress on matchdays in the style of a lime Calippo.

The visitors were not helped in their endeavours by some atrocious luck with injuries that saw no fewer than four players forced off at some stage during the match, reducing them, remarkably, to ten men for the final twenty minutes. One player suffered a groin strain, one player re-injured his hip, a third pulled his hamstring chasing after Andres Hutchinson as the hosts finally woke from their second half torpor with a flowing move involving half the side, Pittalis sending the Harrow speedster racing down the left only for his cross to be blocked by the keeper. Shots rained in on goal but three times Chigs players managed to clear and the lead remained a slender one.

Finally, with a quarter of an hour remaining, the men in blue scored the decisive fourth goal of the game, although it almost came from nowhere. Taking advantage of a long punt downfield by Craig, Ed Stewart flicked on, Kellock collected on his chest before sending Tristan David racing through the middle with a fine pass. The skipper made no mistake, taking his shot early and not allowing the Chigs keeper to set himself.

There was still some late drama when the visitors reduced the arrears to a single goal once again with just a few minutes remaining, further sloppy defending allowing a simple finish from close range, but any threat of disaster was averted when the hosts scored a fourth two minutes later, enterprising play down the left ended with Lederman slipping the ball through to Ede and he finished neatly from a tight angle to confirm the victory.

Although the second half performance slightly took the gloss off the overall display, this was another deserved win for the Blues ahead of a crunch clash at home to the Old Sennockians in a week’s time. The two sides are tied on sixteen points in third and fourth in the table, six behind the Old Berkhamstedians 2s and Old Albanians. Whoever loses in their penultimate game before the Christmas break is likely to find their path to promotion significantly rockier.