Following an encouraging run of two wins and a draw from their previous three fixtures, the OHAFC 1st XI found themselves plunged right back into relegation difficulties following a hugely disappointing 4-0 defeat away to the Old Rugbeians on Saturday afternoon down in Twickenham.

A frantic start to the encounter saw both sides hit the woodwork early on, the hosts within a minute, the visitors twice in the space of thirty seconds via George Taylor and an Ed Nicholson header. But it was the Rugbeians who took advantage of some slack Harrow marking at set-pieces, opening the scoring after a quarter of an hour from a corner before doubling their lead ten minutes later via a shot flashed across the penalty area by the flying right winger. Despite creating plenty of chances of their own, the visitors then conceded a third just after half an hour from yet another set piece.

The second half proved a far more dour affair but that suited the Rugbeians perfectly and they wrapped up a comprehensive win five minutes from time with a breakaway goal. The hosts now rise above the OHAFC into seventh at the bottom of the Division One table, with the Old Marlburians, who look certain to be relegated, and the Old Radleians below them. The Blues do have two games in hand on the latter, but still have to play four of their final five games against sides in the top half of the table. Worrying times lie ahead.

Knowing the importance of the fixture, it was galling that skipper Dan Firoozan and his lieutenants were still scrambling around for players right up to the eve of the game. So much so, in fact, that both Arthur Leney and Cyprian Owen Edmunds volunteered to play even though both were distinctly under the weather, suffering from the bug that seems prevalent in London currently. Arthur Blount made his 1st XI debut from the bench and Ollie Atkinson returned for his first appearance since early November – keen no doubt to repeat his goalscoring heroics against the same opposition on the Hill back in early October when the hosts ran out 3-2 winners.

But the visitors were hugely fortunate not to find themselves a goal behind inside a minute as the ball was worked down the left wing into the Harrow box, the forward turning centre-back Ed Nicholson inside out only for his shot to cannon back off the foot of the near post. Chaos ensued as two further efforts were blocked on the line, bodies sprawled inside the six yard box, before the danger was eventually cleared.

This proved a harbinger of things to come as a flowing first half saw both sides create chances almost at will. Three goals were scored, it could have been thirteen. Payne, Atkinson and Taylor all looked lively for the OHAFC, with the Rugbeians’ full-backs looking ripe for targeting. Taylor won a corner after ten minutes, Payne delivered to the far post and Nicholson rose superbly only for his thumping header to crash smack into the crossbar before being hacked out for a throw. From the throw Taylor collected possession, cut into the box past two defenders and looked certain to score with just the keeper to beat from close range. But the ball got slightly stuck under the striker’s feet and his flicked effort was somehow diverted onto the post by the keeper’s outstretched left foot – a remarkable reaction save. When the forward then headed just over from a Jamie Jordache free-kick a few minutes later, the unmistakable sense of dread that the team could pay for these missed chances began to creep into Harrow minds.

And so it proved. A few minutes later the hosts snatched the lead against the run of play, Ollie Atkinson conceding a corner having tracked back diligently to divert a cross behind with a flick of his head. But the ball was whipped beyond the far post and a free header was sent back across goal allowing a loitering Rugbeian to smash into the roof of the net left footed from just in front of the penalty spot.

The overwhelming sense that this would not be Harrow’s day was further evidenced when the Blues hit the woodwork for the third time in the opening twenty minutes, a swift move down the right saw Atkinson feeding Leney and he slipped in Taylor who this time beat the keeper with a clever first-time flick only for the ball to again rebound off the bar before being cleared.

So on it went, with play switching from end to end with lightning pace, neither side looking particularly comfortable, further goals looking inevitable. It was the hosts who scored the crucial second, just prior to the half-hour mark, and again it arrived against the run of play. The visitors had enjoyed a five-minute spell camped inside the Rugbeian half, but when an attack broke down they were ill-prepared to deal with the counter-attack. The back four were too narrow and flat-footed as a simple pass was driven down the right, the winger afforded the freedom of the half to sprint onto the ball before lashing an unstoppable shot inches beyond the outstretched reach of keeper Fraser McGuinness and into the far corner of the net.

Now it was the Rugbeians who enjoyed the better of things as the first half drew to a close. The hosts continued to pose a threat at set-pieces as the visitors continued to mark in a rather slapdash manner, another free header from a corner was hacked clear off the line by a desperate Beecham, just about keeping the Blues in the game. But when a free-kick from further out was also allowed to travel unmolested to the far post, the hosts made no mistake, the header back across goal was flicked on and a peroxide blonde-coiffured midfielder turned in at the opposite post.

Three goals behind at the interval but the scoreline barely reflected the flow of the game. The visitors had, frankly, been grossly negligent in both penalty areas, somehow failing to convert several gilt-edged chances of their own whilst simultaneously offering their opponents a buffet of set-piece opportunities to feast on. Arthur Blount replaced Leney at the break, the forward somewhat frustrated at his removal from the action as he was faring better than expected given his illness. Blount slotted in at left-back with Owen Edmunds moving forwards onto the wing, Will Payne now switching to a more advanced role alongside Taylor.

But disappointingly, from a Harrovian perspective at least, the second half never really got going, chances now at an absolute premium for both sides. An early Payne free-kick into the box was flicked on but Nicholson couldn’t quite turn the ball in at the far post as the angle narrowed. But that proved about as close as the visitors would come to making a game of it. The more physical Rugby side scrapped for everything, well marshalled all the while by their keeper, and play became bogged down in the middle third – it was as uninspiring and devoid of excitement as the first half had been thrilling and unpredictable.

Further changes followed from skipper Ed Beecham, but as the half wore on and the scoreline remained the same, the visitors began to grow increasingly frustrated. The forwards were all peripheral figures, Payne and Taylor, capable of causing mayhem on their day, barely raising an eyebrow in the Rugbeians back four.

With just under twenty minutes remaining final proof arrived that this most certainly would not be the visitors’ day as they struck the woodwork for the fourth time, Ed Beecham’s low cross to the far post spectacularly headed against the foot of the post by the diving Ollie Atkinson. The Blues delivered a few more set-pieces into the box but the Rugby marking proved to be of a much higher standard than that of their opponents and the clean sheet was never threatened.

Instead, with six minutes remaining, it was the home side who added to their tally, a swift break down their right as the visitors were caught upfield saw the ball cut back from the goal line and a first-time finish from the penalty spot was smashed into the roof of the net. A sobering way for the match to end and a result that leaves the Blues with plenty of work to do if they are to keep their heads above water and avoid becoming the first ever OHAFC 1st XI side to be relegated into Division Two of the Arthurian League.