The last time the OHAFC 3rd XI were in David Woolcott Trophy action – the knockout competition for sides in Divisions Four and Five of the Arthurian League – it was a beautiful spring morning in leafy Hertfordshire, the sun was shining, the grass pitch was immaculate and it was the Final. The contrast, nine months on, could not have been greater, with a frozen astroturf in the shadow of Canary Wharf greeting the Blues as they arrived to face the Old Westminsters 2s in both sides’ first Cup outings of the season.

With the 3s’ League form leaving much to be desired so far – two wins from twelve games sinking the side into the bottom two places and in danger of the drop – this was at least a chance for Joss Awdry and his squad to play without too much fear of the result. The two sides had already met twice in the League prior to Saturday’s tie, with both fixtures proving incredibly tight – a 2-2 draw on the Hill in mid-October followed by a come-from-behind 4-3 win for the Westminsters on the Bacon College astroturf in late November. But the historical statistics didn’t provide much hope however, the Blues having failed to beat their opponents in their last five meetings.

Nevertheless, the skipper was well backed in a bid to return to the final once more, a strong squad of fourteen making their way across town in freezing temperatures for a 10.45am kick-off. The visitors began well enough, the form book from the current season proving a reliable guide as there was little to choose between the two sides. Indeed, chances in the opening half an hour proved hard to come by, with the Blues looking the more threatening but unable to carve out a decisive opening. The rather humdrum fayre on offer was suddenly snapped when winger Alfie Hayes smashed a long range effort against the bar from twenty-five yards out. Westminsters escaped on that occasion and they would do so again soon afterwards when the same player then tested the keeper with another effort from range.

But the main drama of a goalless first half arrived ten minutes before the break when winger Rupert Stonehill chased down a through ball and collided with the keeper just outside the box. Confusion reigned, before the referee eventually gave a goal-kick, the stud marks on Stonehill’s knee suggesting that whilst the man in green may or may not have got a nick on the ball, he most definitely left plenty more on his opponent. Referee Niyi Jegede was unmoved and the half drew to a close with the sides still level, Stonehill having been forced off due to the painful collision.

With a full bench to choose from, skipper Awdry continued to rotate in a bid to keep everyone fresh. But the second half proved a trickier affair for the Blues as the hosts improved the quality of their play. Despite this, the tie remained on a knife-edge with an hour played, neither side able to force the breakthrough.

Just as in the first half, a moment of high drama would suddenly enliven things. From a Harrow corner the hosts broke upfield and a well-placed pass sent the right winger racing in on goal. Keeper Alex Fraysse came off his line and caught the player, who fell to the ground rather theatrically, but a penalty was nevertheless the right call. But the Harrow man then redeemed himself with a superb save, diving to his left to palm away the shot. Once more the tie seemed in the balance.

But Harrovian optimism didn’t last long. A decent move down the Westminsters right ended with the ball being cut back for the striker – the man who had seen his penalty saved – to turn in from close range. And the tie was put beyond reach a quarter of an hour later from a corner, some rather indecisive defending at the near post allowing the ball into the heart of the six yard box where it was headed in by an onrushing centre-back.

As the game wore on, there was never the sense that the Blues had the capabilities in attack to inject any jeopardy into the tie and their Cup dreams, in the DWT at least, ended in rather a whimper. Westminsters will no doubt remain one of the favourites for the competition and for promotion from Division Four. The Blues, curiously, have another week of Cup action ahead of them and what appears to be another tricky tie, with the Old Shirburnians visiting the Hill in the first round of the Junior League Cup. The OHAFC 3s have only once gone beyond the first round in the past six seasons in the JLC, they will have to produce an excellent performance on the astroturf to knock out the side who lie three places above them in the Division Four table.