The OHAFC Veterans took to the field in surprisingly foggy conditions on Sunday morning for their third friendly fixture of the 2016/17 season.

With opponents Winchester fielding a youthful-looking side and the hosts able to call on former 1s stalwarts Rupert Hoffen and Nick Warner for the first time since the victorious Vets Cup Final back in April, the game promised much.

The pitch at the Bank of England was in excellent condition and the black and white stripes of the OHAFC made full use of it in the opening twenty minutes, passing the ball with confidence and dominating possession. They were rewarded for their early endeavours with two excellent goals, both created from the right hand side: a quick break freed Warner down the right wing and he crossed low into the box for strike partner Hoffen to sweep in first time from the penalty spot; minutes later a superb passing move saw the ball played forward from Feather into Hoffen, he laid it back to Lederman who split the Winchester defence with a first-time ball for Warner to run onto, carry into the box and calmly finish inside the near post with his left foot.

At this stage a comfortable morning looked on the cards for the OHAFC but to their credit Winchester continued to battle and as the half wore on they began to enjoy a much greater share of possession. Two players in particular caused Harrow plenty of problems with central midfielder Tristan Hanson, a former teammate of Lederman's at Durham University, spraying the ball around 'Pirlo-esque' from the middle of the park, and the left winger, who was comfortably the quickest player the Harrow Vets have faced in a while.

On several occasions first Charlie Feather and then Jon Sharples were left one-on-one with the speedster and whilst they coped manfully with the challenge, it was little surprise that when Winchester did pull a goal back it came from that side of the pitch.

As half-time approached, Harrow's attacking threat had all but dried up with service to the front two sporadic and of poor quality. Winchester were quicker to the ball all over the pitch and the Harrow back four were constantly under pressure, a situation that almost inevitably led to a second goal for the visitors prior to the break.

At half-time Nick Warner was replaced with the hosts switching to five in midfield and leaving just Rupert Hoffen up front in a bid to try and even up the possession.

The tactic seemed to have little effect however with the visitors beginning the second half as they had finished the first, on the front foot and almost camped in the Harrow half. With legendary centre-half Gordon Baker now on for the Wykehamists, any balls pumped long towards Hoffen were gobbled up and the midfield trio of Wyn-Evans, Birdy and Harris were unable to keep the ball for long enough to give the back four a breather. A Winchester third wasn't long in coming despite the best efforts of Andy Butler in goal.

With twenty-five minutes remaining and Winchester looking the younger, fitter side, further pain for the hosts looked inevitable.

But as both sets of players tired, space began to open on the pitch and Harrow began to enjoy much greater success with longer balls forward. Hoffen, who had given up shouting instructions to his teammates after a hilariously botched attempt at some defensive advice, found a second wind and he was joined by Lederman and Feather, who both decided they would spend the final stages of the game playing exclusively in the opposition half.

The result was an OHAFC formation akin to 7-0-3 for the closing stages and the match began to resemble a basketball game with play switching from end to end at a frantic pace. Both sides had chances to score several times but it appeared as though the hosts had snatched a point when Lederman broke down the left and fortunately wrong-footed the goalkeeper with a curled effort that was intended for the far corner but in fact sailed in at the near post, the Winchester 'keeper made to look slightly foolish by his early anticipation.

Disappointingly the black and white stripes couldn't hold on. With five minutes remaining, and many of the players out on their feet, several failed attempts to clear the ball in and around the Harrow box saw a midfielder charge through, enjoying several lucky ricochets on the way, before squaring the ball to an unmarked teammate five yards out.

There was still one final moment of drama however as Feather rolled back the years with a storming run through the middle of the pitch before slipping a perfect ball through for Hoffen to run onto. Sadly, in front of his cold, bored wife and once-again disappointed son, Ru fluffed his lines, firing straight at the 'keeper and, once again, leaving his skipper to rue withdrawing the wrong striker at the break.

Next up for the OHAFC is friendly number four against the Bank of England on Sunday, November 13th.

OHAFC Squad v Winchester: A Butler (GK), Feather, Baddeley, Thorn, Durling, Lederman, Wyn-Evans, Birdy, C Butler, Warner, Hoffen. Subs: Harris, Sharples

Scorers: Hoffen, Warner, Lederman