Season 2014/15 for the OHAFC 1st XI was undoubtedly one to forget with Ed Poulter’s side comfortably finishing bottom of the Arthurian League Premier Division and therefore relegated back into Division One for the first time in fifteen years.

Such an outcome was, unfortunately, all too predictable, with standards and commitment from the 1st XI squad slipping over recent seasons, the current campaign proving the culmination of a series of handicaps from which the side could not recover.

None of the OHAFC teams were helped by the complete lack of an organised pre-season, with just one inter-club friendly and a few kickabouts on Eel Brook Common the sum total of the summer preparations. With half the squad away, including both the captain and vice-captain, for the opening fixture against Forest on September 13th, and those present chronically short of fitness, a tough day on the Phil was expected. In reality, the game proved to be an embarrassment, with Forest running out 8-1 winners – the makeshift back four of Woolley, Lederman, Bajwa and Berry no match for the fit, well-organised and highly motivated side from north London.

Things did not improve. With Poulter and Richardson still absent and stand-in skipper Lederman injured, Paul Molloy took over the reins for the second game, another tough home fixture against Lancing. Despite fielding a stronger-looking side, Harrow were again blown away, this time by a score of 6-1.

The third game against newly-promoted Tonbridge saw Fred Richardson return to action, in the process becoming the third player to skipper the side in three games, and renewed optimism as the sides went in level at the break, 2-2, despite the hosts having trailed 2-0 early on. But some crass goals conceded in the second half, allied to the continuing lack of match fitness, saw the visitors score three times and run out 5-3 winners. Harrow were marooned at the foot of the table with three defeats in three and a goal difference of minus fourteen.

The first round of the Dunn Cup brought some solace with the opening win of the season, Alex Breeden, Will Orr-Ewing and Harry Hoffen scoring in a narrow 3-2 success. And the following week the side produced clearly it’s best performance to date with a consummate 3-1 destruction of KCS Wimbledon on their own pitch. Fred Milln made an excellent penalty save and Jack Hill enjoyed his best game in a blue shirt, scoring one and forcing an own goal as Harrow romped to victory.

Although the League position was still perilous, morale in the squad was good, with several younger players integrating well into the side, including Hill, full-back Jonny Lalude and powerful defender Harry Gibson.

A hard-fought 0-0 draw at home to Eton, with the hosts defending for their lives to earn a point, showed that there was no shortage of determination among the squad – the run of two wins and a draw in three games hinting that perhaps the disastrous start to the season had purely been due to lack of fitness.

The School game proved to be something of a disappointment with the youngsters shorn of their best players, training with professional teams, and those left behind of a poor standard. The old boys ran out 6-1 winners but the lack of promising talent on display from the School was worrying.

Still, the Blues were in form and this showed no signs of slowing a week later when Brentwood were summarily dismissed 5-1 on the Hill, Gilbert scoring twice, Baker and Breeden late on and Lederman a penalty.

A long trip to Tonbridge to play on astro saw the side perform excellently under the leadership of Fred Milln – by now the fifth player to captain the side this season – and at 0-0 with less than twenty minutes remaining, the visitors looked good for a point. Sadly, an error in both boxes deprived Harrow of a goal and instead allowed the hosts to snatch an ill-deserved win.

Progress in the Dunn Cup continued however, with a last-minute winner from Will Orr-Ewing sending the Blues through against a crest-fallen Chigwell side. The quarter-final draw of a home tie with Lancing was not the kindest, but with many other Premiership sides falling by the wayside, there was clearly an opportunity to go deep into the latter stages if victory could be gained.

Before that however, a run of crucial League games beckoned and, unfortunately, it also proved to be the start of a disastrous run for the side that would ultimately see them stranded at the foot of the division.

Promoted Salopians were also struggling in the lower reaches but they snatched a 1-0 win on the Hill, with Harrow’s goal threat close to non-existent. A trip to Brentwood five days before Christmas is not something that fills one with the Yuletide spirit and accordingly half the squad decided they had more pressing engagements to attend, with the end result being an 8-1 win for the hosts against a bedraggled Harrow outfit that barely had eleven fit players on the pitch from early in the second half.

A 3-2 reverse at Salopians on a terrible pitch early in the new year set alarm bells ringing that if results did not pick up soon, relegation was a very real threat. A trip to Charterhouse is never the best place to go when looking for an upturn in form and with Ed Poulter and Fred Coleridge-Cole both returning from lengthy spells out injured, the Harrow defence looked all at sea for the opening spell, conceding four goals in twenty minutes and ten by the time the final whistle had sounded. It was the first time the OHAFC 1st XI had conceded ten goals in a League game for over twenty years and left the side with the worst goal difference in the entire League.

Three of the next four games in the League were against fellow strugglers and targeted as the key to salvation. A 2-1 win over Cholms saw the side cling onto the three points thanks to an early Lederman penalty and a strike from Alex Gilbert and the team nearly pulled off a perfect defensive display at Lancing a week later, only a late Fred Milln error costing the side a deserved 0-0 draw.

The eagerly-anticipated Dunn Cup quarter-final against the same opponents proved to be a damp squib with the visitors scoring early goals and dominating to such an extent that a Harrow comeback never looked likely.

Two vital League games followed but the side, by now, were short of ideas and goals and even though defensively, thanks to better fitness and organisation, things had tightened up, results failed to pick up. KCS Wimbledon extracted revenge for their earlier defeat with a 1-0 win on the Hill, Eton held the visitors to a 1-1 draw, Alex Breeden’s early goal only enough for a point and a result that suited neither side.

Forest away is always one of the toughest fixtures on the calendar and this year was to be played on a poor, windswept pitch in Fairlop. Harrow tried their best, levelling twice at 1-1 and 2-2 early in the second half, but the hosts had too much quality and ran out 4-2 winners, relegation now a formality.

The final two games of the season were both played on astroturf, Charterhouse running out comfortable 4-0 winners on the Hill, Cholms enjoying a 3-0 win in north London that ensured they were safe for another season.

The team lineup for that final game was unrecognisable from that which started the season for the side with just four players playing in both the opening and closing fixtures.

The squad again used well over forty players for the season and, including the school game, named an extraordinary six different captains – this following on from a period of having the same captain for fourteen seasons!

Fitness and organisation were non-existent in the early stages and contributed hugely to the shameful number of goals conceded. It was telling that as fitness levels improved and defensive discipline was stressed, the side became much harder to beat. Sadly, the traditional attacking flair, something that has served the side so well down the years, dried up, with the reliance on veteran Harry Hoffen – still, at 37, the quickest player in the squad and the most lethal goalscorer – an obvious weakness.

Commitment to the cause is still the major handicap for the team however, with only three players making themselves available for over 12 League games out of 18 and eleven players playing in ten games or more in all competitions – this in a season of 21 League and Cup fixtures. Regardless of fitness, organisation and will to win, if people don’t want to play (or can’t due to injury, work etc) the side is not going to turn things around quickly.

Despite all the problems and, frankly, the sheer lack of enjoyment during many of the games when it was clear that defeat loomed, the attitude on matchdays was excellent, with little bickering amongst players and a genuine will to turn things around.

After many years the Club now appears to be in an excellent position goalkeeping-wise, with Griffiths, McGuiness and the returning Charlie Walsh all capable of excelling between the sticks and Fred Milln, now that he’s piling on the pounds, also angling for some game time with the gloves on.

Lalude and Gibson are powerful defenders who will improve with experience and coaching, Alex Breeden enjoyed his best season for the side on the right wing (although he is in China next year, still trying to improve his weak table-tennis game), younger brother James showed he is a star of the future in the few games he played towards the end of the season and Jack Hill enjoyed a memorable debut season, running a lot, in every direction, sometimes even in the right direction. His attire for matchdays is unlikely to be tolerated next season however.

Alex Gilbert was a powerful if slightly inconsistent addition up front, although his task was not an easy one, the absence of Hoffen for much of the season forcing him to play the lone man on several occasions.

Tass von Hirsch, Dan Firoozan, Harry Turner and Yunus Sert all have the makings of fine young players and it is greatly hoped they will become available more often as their Uni careers come to a close.

A word of consolation to those who suffered injury this season, in particular Hugo Trower and Harry Gibson, who both endured serious knee injuries ending their seasons, Hugo’s before Christmas. They need to recover fully and re-establish themselves in the heart of the squad.

Finally, thanks must go to the efforts of both the captain Ed Poulter, vice-captain Fred Richardson, and several others behind the scenes who have spent considerable time this year trying to keep the team on the straight and narrow. Although results were poor, there was still an awful lot of work done by Ed, Reg and others to try and make the season a success and, most importantly, enjoyable. Thanks also to all supporters (in your ever-dwindling numbers!) and the staff who help prepare the pitches, serve tea, clean the dressing rooms etc.

Rocky appeared to have it right when he said: ‘“Let me tell you something you already know. The world (Arthurian League) ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place (Brentwood away) and I don't care how tough you are (Milln) it will beat you to your knees (Trower, Gibson, Walsh) and keep you there permanently if you let it. You (the squad), me (writing this), or nobody (think that should be ‘anybody’) is gonna hit as hard as life (losing 1-0 at Lancing with less than ten to play because of Milln’s idiotic pass). But it ain't about how hard ya hit (Jonny ‘Guns’ Lalude). It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take (Reg the lift in the hotel isn’t working, how do I get downstairs?) and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! (Not this season, but next season hopefully…)”

This season was rocky. Next season, we’re a team full of Rockys…