Old Citizens 8 OHAFC II 3

A crushing defeat for the 2nd XI away to Old Citizens in blustery conditions.

A good but somewhat positionally imbalanced squad of 11 made the long trip south to the inappropriately named ‘City of London’ School Playing Fields. Skipper Taunton-Collins had a mesmerising wealth of wingers at his disposal but a dearth of centre forwards and midfielders. This was to prove crucial on the day as wave after wave of Citizens attackers would stream forward onto a defence left distressingly exposed at times.

Citizens scored first, but Harrow quickly responded through Dalzell – returning to the team on a brief visit from Shanghai – who hit a loose ball on the edge of the area into the left hand side of the Citizens goal. There were no goals for the next half an hour with little to pick between the sides, before Harrow conceded three in quick succession just prior to half time.

The side put this down to the incredible gale blowing into their faces, and revved themselves up for an unlikely second half come back. This was not to materialise, however, as Citizens continued to terrorize the Harrow defence, scoring another 4 in the second half, chiefly from counter-attacks.

As the clock ticked down to a now inevitable Citizens victory Harrow scored a couple of very good goals to lift dampened spirits a little. Dalzell, picking the ball up on the right, cut inside the Citizens full back and let fly from outside the area. The shot rose majestically into the top left hand corner giving the ‘keeper no chance, with even a number of Citizens players nodding their heads in appreciation at his effort. Cyprian Owen-Edmunds, making the trip down from Newcastle (without boots or shin pads) added Harrow’s third. He latched on to a through ball, which pushed him wide in the Citizens area, but finished neatly by chipping the ball high over the keeper with Harry Woolley’s borrowed left boot.

This leaves the 2s without an away win all season. And while they are fifth in their division at the mid point, they have played more games than all the teams below them. Away points will need to be earned sharpish if the team wishes to avoid a relegation battle. After a week off from the league to play against the School, the team will have 5 home games and 3 away remaining. This will begin with a visit from Haberdashers on 21st November. Squeaky bum time!

View lineup and stats here.