The OHAFC 1st XI eased lingering relegation fears with arguably their most complete performance of the season on Saturday, easing to a fully deserved 3-1 win away to the Old Salopians on the artificial surface in Chiswick courtesy of a hat-trick from striker George Taylor and several excellent individual displays. The Blues, who began the day just one place and two points above the drop zone, took an early lead when Taylor ran onto a pass from Will Payne to calmly round the keeper and slot into an empty net. In true OHAFC fashion, a defensive blunder moments later saw a penalty conceded, left-back Cyprian Owen Edmunds tripping the Salops striker as he pounced on a wayward backpass and the sides were back level again. But the Blues regained their composure and two further goals from Taylor either side of the break ensured a successful return to action for the side following a lengthy winter break.

With skipper Dan Firoozan awaiting the birth of his first child – a reasonable enough excuse to miss the 1s’ first League fixture since late November – Ed Beecham took charge and was rewarded with a full squad of fourteen players, all eager no doubt to get back into action. Remarkably, the OHAFC 1st XI have played just once since that late November League fixture at home to the Old Radleians – the heavy defeat away to the Old Bradfieldians in the second round of the Arthur Dunn Cup ten days before Christmas. Yet they arrived at the Kings House Sports Ground in Chiswick with the luxury of a three-man bench including Doug Morrison, Ciaran Jordan and Stan d’Angelin. The side was also boosted by the rare presence of former 1s stalwart Alex Breeden, who joined Jamie Jordache and Jack Dolbey in midfield, Harry Bick, Will Payne and George Taylor a potentially potent front three. And that particular trio would have to be on form, with Salopians possessing the meanest defence in the division with just 18 goals conceded from their 11 previous games.

Given that the OHAFC are the lowest scorers in the division with just 14 goals scored in 10 games, and the Salopians have netted the second fewest with 24, a game of few chances could have been predicted. But within twelve minutes both sides had broken through, the visitors deservedly earning the lead after a fast start that saw them close their opponents high up the pitch and win plenty of early ball. The opener actually arrived on the counter with left-back Cyprian Owen Edmunds intercepting a Salopian pass intended for their right winger. He fed Will Payne on halfway and the winger turned and played in George Taylor down the inside right, the striker confidently rounding the keeper and turning the ball into an empty net.

But all of this excellent opening work was undone within barely two minutes as, not for the first (and probably not the last) time, an OHAFC side conceded a goal entirely of their own making. Keeper Fraser McGuinness collected a back pass under little pressure but his attempted switch of play to Ed Nicholson was off target, the ball running across the box in between centre-backs Nicholson and Beecham and all the way to the Salopian right winger, who seized on the loose ball and sprinted into the box, drawing a foul from Owen Edmunds who was desperately trying to recover the situation. The penalty was efficiently dispatched and the two lowest scoring sides in the division were level at 1-1 with just twelves minutes on the clock.

The frenetic opening to the fixture gradually relaxed and both teams played some decent football, with the return of Alex Breeden supplying some much needed impetus in the middle of midfield and Will Payne looking somewhere back to his best on the left wing. Plenty of crosses were delivered into the Salops penalty area but all to no avail. At the other end, McGuinness was forced into one decent save away to his right, the Salopian skipper proving their main threat from midfield.

But as the half wore on it was the visitors who began to take command and their increasing assuredness on the pitch was then reflected on the scoreboard when George Taylor scored his, and his side’s second just after the half-hour mark. Jack Dolbey was fed in midfield and he then played in Payne down the left, the winger creating his second goal of the game for Taylor with a neat cut back to the penalty spot, the forward collecting the pass with his back to goal before turning and lashing a shot past the keeper. Five minutes later and it was nearly three as Owen Edmunds found himself in an advanced position but his first-time effort was saved at the near post and the visitors had to be content with just a one-goal lead at the break. The Blues were helped in their endeavours just before the interval when one Salopian player was sent to the sin bin for ten minutes for vociferously arguing with referee Nicholas Kalamaras when he failed to award him a free-kick. As it so often transpires, this lack of discipline would prove critical to the outcome of the game.

Skipper Ed Beecham introduced all three substitutes at the interval in a bid to keep the eleven on the pitch as fresh as possible, with six players eventually earning some respite on the sidelines during the second half. The message to the team was straightforward: keep the tempo up and keep moving the ball around while the opposition are a man down. And with the Salopian player still in the sin bin, the visitors grabbed the vital fourth goal of the game from a set-piece. Doug Morrison was fouled out on the right wing and Jamie Jordache clipped the ball into the box. The Salopian keeper came to collect but collided with Ciaran Jordan and Taylor was on hand to bundle in from close range, completing his hat-trick - the first OH treble of the season – to secure a pivotal two-goal cushion.

The Blues enjoyed themselves in the second half, playing some excellent football although they found chances hard to come by once the hosts had regained their full complement of eleven. Midfielders Breeden, Jordache and Dolbey worked tirelessly, snapping at the heels of the opposition and providing a strong shield in front of the Harrow back four. The result was that neither side looked like scoring for the remainder of the match and this clearly suited the visitors more. The Blues did have the ball in the net just after the hour mark but Doug Morrison was adjudged offside after Will Payne’s heavy touch fell kindly for him inside the box.

But this made little difference to the flow of the game, with Nicholson and Beecham imperious at the back, well supported by Alfie Hayes down the right and Stan d’Angelin on the left. When the final whistle blew, the OHAFC had secured an impressively comfortable win against the side three places above them in the table, easing their relegation fears in the process and once more reminding everyone that with a fit, strong squad available, the team is capable of producing some excellent results. An equally strong showing will be needed next time out with the third-placed Old Ardinians the visitors to the Hill in a fortnight’s time.