Continuing our look back at OHAFC fixtures played on the corresponding weekend over the previous six seasons…

Six Seasons Ago: April 10th 2010:

OHAFC 1st XI 3 Old Foresters 0: With the pitches at John Lyon School unavailable the Harrow 1st XI were forced to travel to Teddington for the vital home fixture against Forest. With Charterhouse maintaining their winning run at the top of the table, only a victory would do for Quentin Baker’s men and they duly obliged with three excellent goals.

Lederman opened the scoring on the half hour with a superb volley from over thirty yards out, the winger spotting the ‘keeper off his line and lobbing him brilliantly. An excellent team goal then produced a chance for Luke de Rougemont to fire home and the Blues were on their way to an important win.

The striker wrapped things up with just over ten minutes to go to seal the points and maintain Harrow’s title hopes.

OHAFC 2nd XI 4 Old Foresters 2’s 5: A remarkable game on the Harrow School New Fields saw the hosts lose out to their Forest counterparts by the odd goal in nine.

Rupert Hoffen opened the scoring after ten minutes but some slack defending allowed the visitors to take the lead before the break. The second half saw both sides score three times, the hosts’ goals coming from Mike Okoigun (2) and Charlie Reid.

Five Seasons Ago: April 9th 2011

OHAFC 1st XI 3 Old Etonians 2: The OHAFC 1st XI ended thier home League fixtures with a 3-2 win over a youthful, new-look Eton side on the Hill.

Once more injuries and absentees left the side short of a goalkeeper so for the second time in recent weeks Paul Molloy was asked to fill in between the posts.

He again did well, despite the concession of two goals, one of which was due to a mix-up between him and Defty at the back.

Nevertheless, a Sam Pepys rocket of a shot and two excellent Ed Martins goals - the striker had hit a rich vein of form in recent weeks - saw the team home to their ninth League win of the season.

OHAFC 2nd XI 6 Old Cholms 2’s 1: The 2nd XI completed an excellent day for the Club as they thrashed their Cholms counterparts on the adjoining Phil pitch.

Joe Bone was the star of the show with a superb hat-trick, his third goal rounding the scoring off five minutes from time. Bemini Soyinka scored twice and Nick Bartlett grabbed the other as the Harrow second string ran out comfortable winners.

Four Seasons Ago: April 7th 2012

No OHAFC Fixtures

Three Seasons Ago: April 6th 2013

Old Tonbridgians 3 OHAFC 1st XI 1: With Tonbridge already relegated, and having beaten them twice in League and Cup already, hopes were high of a comfortable ride for yet another makeshift OH XI. But despite playing well for spells in both halves, the concession of two very soft goals before half-time gave the Blues a mountain to climb and they could only draw the second half 1-1.

Two defensive errors in quick succession gifted the hosts a two –goal lead, Charlie Walsh fumbling a cross and Nick Defty conceding a penalty. Despite creating several chances and coming within inches of pulling a goal back when Sam Pepys thundered a shot against the underside of the bar, it was the hosts who scored the next goal from a counter-attack. Harrow did score a consolation late on, Baker finishing a move involving Pepys and Brunt, but it was too little too, too late.

Two Seasons Ago: April 12th 2014

Old Salopians 2 OHAFC 1st XI 2: For the second consecutive 1st XI game the side were rocked by a serious injury to one of their players that required an immediate trip to hospital.

Trailing 1-0 to an early Salopians goal, the Blues suffered a cruel blow when centre-half Fred Milln was clattered into from behind at a corner and fell to the ground, his head colliding with the hard surface with some force. As he rose shakily, blood began trickling from his left ear and it was clear that a trip to A&E was necessary.

With only eleven fit players having travelled, the visitors were forced to play the whole of the second half with ten men and things looked bleak when a handball inadvertently allowed the hosts to double their lead.

But he visitors channelled their frustrations into finding a way back into the game and earned an unlikely point when Lederman and Harder twice combined to score inside the final twenty minutes: the first goal came via a cross from the left, Harder controlling on his chest to volley home, the second a towering header after Lederman had lumped the ball into the box in desperation.

It was an excellent reward for the Blues who had kept battling in trying circumstances and they were later relieved to learn that Fred Milln had not suffered any serious damage.

Old Cholms 3’s 5 OHAFC 2nd XI 1: The OHAFC 2nd XI suffered a chastening defeat to Cholms’ 3rd XI in north London, David Howells scoring the visitors’ consolation on the half hour, but the visitors returning home well beaten.

Last Season: April 11th 2015

OHAFC 1st XI 0 Old Carthusians 4: A comfortable victory for champions elect Charterhouse on the Harrow School astroturf that confirmed the Blues’ relegation into Division One of the Arthurian League.

Despite trailing by only a single goal with an hour of the game gone, the visitors scored three times in quick succession to give the scoreline a decidedly one-sided look and add the aggregate score between the sides in the League to an embarrassing 14-0.

**An encouraging performance in defeat from the Harrow 2’s against a side that had thumped them 8-1 just a few weeks earlier. George Pratt opened the scoring with a fine free-kick but the visitors equalised on the half hour mark to leave the sides level at the break.

Another fine bit of play by Pratt helped Harrow take the lead for the second time as he delivered a perfect cross from the right for Dave Stead to head home. But as the game entered its closing stages the visitors began to tire and Millfield took full advantage, scoring twice in what was estimated to be close to ten minutes of additional time, to the fury of the Harrow side.

Some interesting events in the domestic game have taken place on this weekend over the years…

On April 9th 1988 Alan Shearer became the youngest player ever to score a top flight League hat-trick when he scored three for Southampton against Arsenal aged just seventeen. Shearer took the record from another legendary English goalscorer, Jimmy Greaves, who had first achieved the feat over thirty years previously.

April 10th 1993 was the day that the expression ‘Fergie-time’ was born from. Trailing 1-0 at home to Sheffield Wednesday in a game they simply had to win, Manchester United threw everything at the Owls and managed to score an equaliser when Steve Bruce nodded in with fifteen minutes remaining. As news came through of Aston Villa having dropped points at home to Coventry, the United faithful knew that a win would take them back to the top of the table. Corner after corner was forced but defended until, in the 97th minute of the game, Gary Pallister crossed for his centre-half partner to head home his and United’s second and send Alex Ferguson and Brian Kidd running onto the pitch in ecstatic celebration.

Some FA Cup semi-final highlights on this weekend…

Daniel Amokachi, having scored just a single goal all season, came off the bench to score twice as Joe Royle’s Everton beat Spurs 4-1 at Elland Road on April 9th 1995. The Toffees went on to beat Manchester United 1-0 in the final thanks to a Paul Rideout goal.

April 9th 1994 saw Chelsea secure their first FA Cup final appearance since 1970 thanks to a Gavin Peacock brace that earned the Londoners a 2-0 win over Luton Town at Wembley.

Finally, April 10th 2002 was a Champions League night that was memorable for the first time the British public were introduced to the term ‘metatarsal’. David Beckham broke one of his in a tackle with Deportivo’s Aldo Duscher at Old Trafford. The injury threatened the England skipper’s participation at the World Cup in Japan and South Korea and was analysed and followed perhaps more than any injury in history. Since then, every Tom, Dick and Harry Hoffen has broken a metatarsal…