The OHAFC 2nd XI continued their unbeaten start to the Division Three season with a hard-fought 0-0 draw at home to the Old Berkhamstedians 2nd XI on the Hill on Saturday morning. In a tight game of few chances, the visitors enjoyed the better of the first half, hitting the post late on with a spectacular long-range volley. But the hosts responded well after the break and chances of their own to snatch the points. In the end, the draw was a fair result and both sides have now recorded two wins and two draws to start their seasons – a record bettered only by the Old Albanians, who moved into top spot with a 3-2 win away to the Old Brentwoods 3s – Harrow’s opposition next weekend.

Conditions on the Hill were perfect and once more there was excellent availability for joint-captains Miles Kellock and Tristan David to take advantage of. The absence of Giacomo Grasso, who has enjoyed an excellent start to the season, was offset by the return of both Pittalis brothers, Kyri and Alexi, the latter replacing Grasso at the heart of the back four, the former starting on the bench. Ed David, older brother of Tristan, joined Kyri on the bench, Andres Hutchinson returned to play in the centre forward role and there was also a first appearance of the season for David Griffiths, who now appears to be more of an outfield player having played almost exclusively as a keeper in his first few seasons in OHAFC colours. He joined Lederman and Galen Crawley in central midfield, the two veterans building a strong partnership having never played together prior to the start of this season.

The Berkhamstedians were relegated from Division One last season and were always likely to provide the sternest test the OHAFC 2s had faced so far this season. And that is how the first half panned out with the men in blue (the OHAFC remarkably wearing their red away shirts for the third fixture running) looking far more comfortable in possession and playing far more composed football. The main problem was caused by the visitors’ centre forward dropping into midfield unmarked, collecting the ball and turning to play in teammates running from deep. It took the home side half an hour to work this out and once the striker was marked, the visitors’ counters proved far less effective. Nevertheless, the home side struggled badly whenever they won the ball back, with too many players guilty of taking far too many touches and the passing in general of a poor standard. It was telling that the one decent move the home side did produce in the opening forty-five minutes so nearly earned an ill-deserved lead: a flowing move down the right wing saw Taunton-Collins feed Hutchinson and he drove past his man on the goal line, cut the ball back for Tristan David who set himself with the first touch but could only fire his shot straight at the keeper from eight yards out.

At the other end, the visitors were mainly frustrated in their efforts to score, with the home side defending their box aggressively. The Berkhamstedians came closest to scoring, curiously, with two very similar volleys from outside the box. The first flew a few yards wide but was a decent strike. The second, ten minutes before the break, was considerably better, sweetly struck and leaving keeper Rory Craig without a prayer of reaching it, only for the ball to rebound squarely off the top of the far post. The Harrow keeper was then called upon to rush from his area to intercept a dangerous through-ball, clearing in the nick of time from the onrushing striker.

When the half-time whistle blew, it was unquestionably the hosts who were the happier to pause for breath with the scores still level. Although the opposition were clearly the strongest the 2s had faced to date, those forty-five minutes were perhaps the poorest the side had played this season. Thankfully, the second half proved far more positive from a Harrovian perspective, with the home side spending much of it camped inside Berkhamstedians territory. Curiously, the visitors’ level dropped significantly after the break and practically all fluency from their play disappeared, in no small part to the surprising substitution of their main striker who had caused so many problems in the first half. By contrast, the home side began threatening in attack, particularly down the left, with Kellock fed regularly by the outstanding Kyri Pittalis from left-back and the tireless Tristan David, whose continual cutting in and switching of play from the right continues to befuddle opponents on a weekly basis.

But the visitors, just as the home side had done in the first half, remained resolute in defence and limited the hosts to a few half-chances and no more. The result hinged on two moments at either end of the field just a few minutes apart. The Berkhamstedians hit the woodwork for the second time in the game when a corner was bundled towards goal, possibly with use of an arm, only to be cleared by Kyri Pittalis with a thumping clearance that smashed into the underside of the bar before being hacked away. Appeals from the visitors that the ball had crossed the line appeared overly optimistic. The OHAFC then had their best chance to snatch victory when Kellock closed down and intercepted a pass forwards from the right-back, only to hesitate at the crucial moment, the final ball across goal neither a shot nor a cross.

At the final whistle there was satisfaction from both sides a hard-earned point gained, with the tacit acknowledgement that when the two sides meet again on the astorturf in Chiswick later in the season, there is likely to be much at stake.