The OHAFC 2nd XI fell to a third consecutive defeat and a fourth in their last five League fixtures on the Harrow School astroturf on Saturday morning, not for the first time this season throwing away a promising performance right at the death. Leading 2-1 at home to the Old Alleynians 3s with five minutes remaining in a vital clash at the foot of Division Three, the Blues appeared set to banish any relegation fears by completing the League double over their opponents. But five minutes and two Alleynian goals later, the home side were sitting in stony silence wondering how on Earth they had let another three points slip from their grasp, their opponents celebrating joyously nearby. It is now an inescapable fact: all three OHAFC sides require victories between now and the season end to ensure they remain in their respective divisions.

For long spells of this encounter, however, things seemed far rosier for the OHAFC 2s. On a cold, rainy day on the Hill – the fixture switched from the sodden Phil pitches to the artificial turf on the other side of the school – the Blues, shorn of joint-captain Tristan David – acquitted themselves well to the task at hand and led twice, once in each half, via goals from Miles Kellock and Owain James. The cruel ending that saw three points become one and then, infuriatingly, none, was as unexpected as it was demoralising and ensures that both these sides will be fighting for their Division Three lives over the coming weeks.

In contrast to the opening fixture of the season when these two sides met down in Hampton and the Blues ran out comfortable 5-1 winners, the opening forty-five minutes here proved remarkably even. Both sides enjoyed spells in the ascendency, both showed glimpses of promise, whilst also hinting at the frailties that have them positioned in the wrong half of the table late in the season.

It took only four minutes for the first chance to arrive, a lucky escape for the hosts indeed when the Alleynian striker latched onto a through-ball and took a first touch around keeper Hassan Hammad. With the goal unguarded but the angle narrowing, only a judicious nudge in the back from the recovering Alexi Pittalis prevented the forward from a clean strike at goal. There was just enough force in the challenge to be effective, just enough restraint for referee Mohammed Shohel to ignore Alleynian appeals for a penalty. The ball eventually broke back to the striker six yards out but, as defenders recovered, his final effort struck the foot of the near post and rolled wide.

The Alleynians continued looking the sharper side in the early stages, the hosts unable to gain any meaningful possession in the final third. But with fifteen minutes played and having barely registered an attack of note, the home side took the lead. Ludo Palazzo, up from the back, tried his hand with one of his long-range specials, firing an effort at goal from over thirty yards out. Although the shot was flying wide, the visitors never cleared their lines and Owain James eventually collected possession on the right, played a simple pass inside to Miles Kellock and finished with a perfectly-placed left foot shot low inside the near post from the edge of the box.

The goal changed the complexion of the half and the home side now enjoyed their turn on top. Matt Ede was cautioned for pulling an Alleynian player back, the midfielder tirelessly covering the astroturf and, at times, treading a fine line that risked a second caution. But the hosts’ football improved, Ede at the heart of a flowing move that ended with Owain James crossing to the far post just beyond the reach of the stretching Bamford.

But just before the half-hour, and against the run of play, the visitors levelled. The goal owed almost everything to the diminutive Alleynians number ten, who collected the ball on the edge of the box, wriggled between challenges from Taunton-Collins and Palazzo and fired low into the bottom corner past keeper Hassan Hammad. It would prove almost the last meaningful action of the half, although the visitors did come close to scoring a second just before the interval, the skipper, who had brought himself off the bench, firing just wide of the target with his left foot.

Half-time saw the welcome return of Will Monroe to the 2s lineup following a lengthy battle with a couple of long-term injuries. He replaced Henry Bamford, with Taunton-Collins moving to right wing, Andy Hutchinson switching to the left and Monroe slotting in at right-back.

The Alleynians had an early chance following the restart, a quick break down their right from a booming goal kick that ended with a superb cross to the far post, but the first-time finish flew inches wide. It took a while for the home side to get going again, but the Blues gradually wrestled back control. Ed Stewart earned a free-kick in a dangerous spot right on the edge of the box, but Kellock’s effort disappointingly lacked power and direction and the keeper held easily. The skipper reluctantly dragged himself off on the hour-mark, his weak ankle again causing him discomfort. But with just over twenty minutes remaining, and the home side still looking the more likely to score, the breakthrough arrived. Matt Ede won a free-kick midway inside the Alleynians half on the left wing. Andy Hutchinson swung the ball towards the far post, Alexi Pittalis challenged a defender and the ball broke perfectly back across goal for Owain James to follow up and tap in from a yard out.

The hosts now had twenty minutes to hold on for a vital three points. And, a long range effort from the Alleynians aside, appeared to be doing so fairly comfortably. Hassan Hammad was called into action with ten minutes remaining, blocking a shot from a narrow angle and bravely swallowing up the rebound at the foot of an attacker. But at the other end Lexi Pittalis then came within inches of a third Harrow goal when he rose highest from a corner, sending his header just wide of the far post.

With five minutes remaining all seemed set fair for the men in blue. It wasn’t to be. Not for the first time this season, a Harrow side snatched disaster from the jaws of victory – the club’s three Saturday sides now seemingly experts in conceding goals in the closing stages of games. Both goals were preventable, but were due to general sloppiness rather than any outstanding individual errors. A throw-in on the left appeared innocuous enough but the ball was worked into the box and a square pass inside allowed the number nine to fire low past the diving Hammad at the near post on the stretch. Then, within ninety seconds and Harrow minds still scrambled, a third Alleynian effort: a fatal momentary hesitation between two players on the edge of the area and a superb low drive that fizzed into the far corner just inside the post.

There was still time for the visitors to miss an absolute sitter that would have earned an even more unjustified scoreline, one of the substitutes somehow contriving to stand on the ball when a cross found him unmarked four yards out with the goal at his mercy. It didn’t matter. The final whistle blew moments later confirming, if they didn’t already know, that the OHAFC 2s are very much in a relegation scrap.