Old Brentwood II 2 OHAFC II 1

The 2s played their first league game since their Valentine's day loss to Millfield, having been given a walkover against Malvern and fighting their way to a semi-final knock out in the JLC.

Jack Orr-Ewing stepped aside as skipper, leaving Geoff TC to run the show on the pitch. The crown prince was given a strong squad to get his tenure off to a good start, but a number of factors played against the Harrow side, who conspired to lose a game they should have won.

Harrow started:

McGuinnes - Lalude - Orr-Ewing - Gordon - Berry - Lederman - Poulter - Newton - Owen-Edmunds - Khan - Taunton Collins

Bench - Robinson - v Hirsch - v Hirsch

Despite boasting the cream of the Harrow crop with club legends Poulter and Lederman using the 2s game for some pre-tour fitness, as well as seeing future talents Cyprian Owen-Edmunds and Giles Newton line up in an accomplished midfield, Harrow were unable to control the game like they should. This was mainly due to the customary quagmire of a pitch on offer at the Essex ground, which despite being uncharacteristically grassy given the recent fine weather, was more bobbly than Martin Keown's face.

Harrow grew into the first half and started to assert some dominance, which paid off in the 20th minute when a Lederman corner was expertly met by Orr-Ewing. The centre half muttered "Jack's up" as he met the cross cleanly with his head and put Harrow in a strong position.

Lalude, man of the match on the day, was accomplished at right back, winning balls in the air and feeding Lederman ahead of him. Berry and Owen Edmunds on the left flank were solid, but were done out of the lion's share of possession by a tricky cross-wind, that familiar foe of amateur league football. As the midfield toiled with the difficult surface, the ball rarely broke to the two front men, Khan and Taunton Collins. Poulter and Newton looked to be forming a good partnership at centre mid, one that will no doubt flourish as the pair get to know each other intimately in the coming seasons.

When the ball did come, it was difficult to hold up, and the best opportunities seemed to present themselves when Taunton-Collins could break forward when the ball was played through.

Harrow were therefore unlucky to concede on one of the first Brentwood attacks; having broken free of a challenge, a Brentwood midfielder had possession on the edge of the Harrow bow, causing Gordon to make a challenge that was adjudged a foul. The resulting free kick beat the wall and the keeper, wiping out the away side's advantage.

And not long later, Harrow were undone just before the break when a mix-up at the back led to an unfortunate goal. McGuinnes whispered "keepers ball" just as Orr-Ewing made a well timed interception, clearing the ball convincingly out of harm's way - the keeper then floundered around between the defender's legs, allowing the home side to regain possession and fire from range into the unguarded net. It was generally agreed among the team that the centre back was in no way at fault for the goal.

At half time, Harrow decided to stick to their guns and trust that the equaliser would come, and went out with some degree of confidence into the second period. Jack Robinson came on in place of Gordon, and multiple tinkers from the new skipper disrupted some of the flow of the first half. Perhaps more disruptive was the higher line employed by Brentwood, denying space for the midfield to operate and stifling creativity in the middle.

Both von Hirsh brothers arrived on the hour mark, having taken a mere three hours to drive under 20 miles from their home in Harrow. Conti came into centre defence in place of Orr-Ewing, and Tassilo went to work on the right flank, buzzing around like a man trying to make up for the fact he'd arrived 2 hours late for the wrong team.

As the game wore on and few chances were created, the home side were reduced to 10 men with 15 minutes remaining. One of the less pleasant protagonists in a cast of pantomime villains made a needlessly aggressive swipe at Tassilo's legs, causing mild outrage from the Harrow side. When the Brentwood man tried to evade chastisement by claiming that something very similar had happened "over there" (gesturing towards a non-specific location and referring to a fictional event), Poulter calmly requested that the man would cease telling fibs; referee Borman, brandished a straight red card for the challenge, and Harrow hoped to capitalise on the numerical advantage.

Unfortunately, the final goal never came, and Harrow had to stomach an annoying loss to a chippy side with few technically gifted players. All was forgotten with a well cooked meal of baked potatoes with cheese and beans, which was greatly enjoyed.

Later that evening, Orr-Ewing invited some of the team to an excellent party, where McGuinnes managed to earn a reputation as a well-armed gun-slinger, despite wearing a large "Captain Hook" wig. Lederman, dressed as a 90s first wave lesbian with spikey red hair, kept out of the mischief. Taunton Collins took the opportunity to establish himself with the rest of the OHAFC senior leadership, building bridges and getting to know the close friends and family of the 1s and 2s skippers, something that will stand him in good stead for his proposed election to permanent skipper at the AGM.