Old Cholmeleians IV 1 OHAFC III 5

On a sunny day in Barnet the 3s, unusually, had a full squad assembled at the Old Cholms ground at least five minutes before kick-off and a strong squad at that.

The first half, however, started in fairly typical fashion as the hosts took advantage of some lacklustre Harrow defending to take the lead against the run of play. Heads dropped and the extra pint and slice of pizza the night before started to seem like a bad idea.

In a marked shift from last season, Harrow instead started to wrestle the initiative and passed the ball well, with Tommy Faber and Ed Page controlling things in the middle. The visitors’ first goal came out of nothing, with Pom Beeley curling a fantastic first time strike from outside the area, leaving the ‘keeper rooted to the spot.

Ollie Feather and Fred Parry provided some width on a big pitch, resulting in a good ball into the area which was met by the towering Alex Smith with a subtle, glancing header into the corner, establishing a 2-1 lead just ahead of the half time whistle.

The second half was a different affair altogether, with Harrow asserting their dominance. The back four of Fife, Thorn, Kapoor and Turner was solid throughout, dealing with the attacking threat of Cholms’s strikers. At the other end, the goals continued to come with Charlie Hicks bagging a goal on debut before Smith added a smart turn and finish to quell the doubts that had surfaced following some intense transfer speculation.

The next goal deserves its own paragraph. With confidence running sky high after a week in the US with his American beauty, Luke Faber (pictured) called for the ball straight from a goal kick, taking it down and cutting inside before unleashing a venomous pile driver from all of 35 yards, slamming into the back of the net just under the bar with the ‘keeper a few yards off his line. In a game of very good goals, this took the biscuit. The standard for the season has been set!

There was one final drama as Cholms were awarded a penalty following a seemingly fair challenge from Fife. However, the opposition skipper didn’t look confident over the ball. Stand-in ‘keeper Turner, who had taken the gloves after Gallagher took a nasty blow to the head, went the right way and got a strong hand to a soft penalty.

A great start to the season, kicking off with a 5-1 victory and our very own goal of the month competition. View lineup and stats here.