OHAFC II 1 Old Salopians II 2

The 2s suffered a serious blow to their promotion hopes on Saturday after an unfortunate defeat at the hands of promotion rivals Shrewsbury. Having played poorly and still been unlucky to come away with a draw in the away fixture earlier in the season, Harrow were looking to take second place with a win. Orr-Ewing was again able to choose a strong squad, with 3s central midfielders Beeley, Page and Callander again available for selection in the absence of Kerry, v Hirsch and Pratt. Harrow lined up:

Pittalis – Massey – Gordon – Orr-Ewing – Robinson – Page – Beeley – Khan – M Curry – O Curry – Dalzell

Bench: Stead – Maydon – Callander

Harrow welcomed back Dalzell, Stead and Robinson to the squad, with Robinson making his season debut after spending the early season on loan in the A-league. Harrow were also able to give a club debut to Kyri Pittalis (pictured) in goal – the ex-Durham stopper fortuitously making himself available to the OHs in the week that long-term ‘keeper Alistair Pritchard sadly decided to hang up his gloves.

Just as in the first leg, Harrow were fast out the blocks and put the visitors under pressure. Good pressing up front caused the defenders to look shakey and miss their clearances, leading to a slew of corners and possession high up the pitch. Olly Curry was almost through on goal in the opening few minutes and had a shot blocked by a last ditch tackle, and Max Curry made a number of challenging crossed from the right that could, on another day, have lead to goals. Harry Dalzell, having confidently reassured his team-mates that the astro was his most comfortable milieu, duly delivered and produced a skilful display from the left flank. Despite the Salopians defenders quickly working out his preference for using his right foot, Dalzell managed to cut inside frequently and ask questions of his opposing man. And it was with a right footed cross from the wide left that Dalzell produced an excellent cross for the game’s first goal, finding Max Curry at the back post. Curry extended his position as the leading scorer by heading the ball back across the keeper into the far post.

Harrow should have extended their lead with the pressure they managed to exert, with Khan winning the ball with good pressing and then lacking composure to finish the one on one. Then down the other end, Harrow conceded on one of the first shots mustered by the visitors, a frustrating goal to yield against the run of play. From a deep free kick that held up in the wind, skipper Orr-Ewing called for the header; pulling out of the jump through fear of conceding an own goal, he wrong footed Keeper Pittalis and allowed the opposition striker to nod the ball agonisingly into the net.

Soon after Harrow were shaken by another goal, this time when the ball bounced out after some unconvincing clearances to the Shrewsbury central midfielder. Trusting the bounce on the astro and using the swirling wind to his advantage, he hit the ball well and beat the crowds in front of him to score a fortuitous goal.

Stead replaced Olly Curry on 30 mins and looked dangerous, winning the praise of referee Ron at the final whistle. At half time, the returning VC added to the skippers words of exhortation by encouraging Harrow to be more aggressive in the aerial ball, and as the team went out into the second half, now with Maydon at centre back, the team looked up for the challenge. Indeed, throughout the half, Harrow conceded just 1 good chance, while creating numerous opportunities to score. At the back, Orr-Ewing roughed up the opposition striker, drawing blood from his nose in an aerial challenge and leaving his mark a number of times with heavy tackles on the half way line. Through the middle, Page, Callander and Beeley did their defensive job well, stifling possession and congesting the central areas. However, a stronger aerial performance and some more creativity from Khan and the central midfielders will be needed if Harrow are to win promotion this season. Up top, the Currys, Khan, Dalzell and Stead worked in a range of combinations, and for the final 10 minutes were all on the pitch as Harrow desperately probed for an equalizer. Stead had the best opportunity after timing his run well, and stabbed the ball inches wide having beaten the keeper. Unfortunately this meant reduced playing time for Massey and Gordon, who weren’t re-introduced having been taken off around half time.

Robinson had an assured return to action, showing confidence on the ball and releasing Dalzell a number of times. That he meekly suggested at tea that Dalzell "asks a lot of his full back" was a sign of the solid performance he put in both offensively and defensively.

In the end, the loss was difficult to swallow against a very beatable team. Perhaps the most frustrating element of the loss was the impact on the league standings, rather than any obvious deficiency in talent or effort. Harrow now face a difficult end of the season where every point matters – the target of 21 points from the last 9 games still stands, with Harrow needing 18 points from 7 games. One thing we do know is that the league will go down to the wire, with plenty of twists expected.

After the game, some of the squad were in attendance for Fred Milln’s birthday party on the King’s Road. Fraser McGuinnes was formally introduced to club skipper Poulter, having been baffled by the involvement of a mysterious guy in a leather jacket who had watched the team change following the 1s defeat to the Salopians first team.