The OHAFC Veterans returned to the Bank of England Ground on Sunday morning for a friendly encounter against regular opponents Witan Old Boys, the game coming just a week after Harry Hoffen had suffered his broken leg in the DM Cup defeat to the Old Malvernians.

With enthusiasm from many of the Cup side low following the previous week’s defeat and appalling injury suffered by one of their close friends, it was left to some of the older members of the Vets friendly cabal to rally friends and teammates from other games to cobble together a squad. As it was, a late surge of interest meant players actually having to be turned away by skipper John Wyn-Evans, and a full squad of fourteen was present on an almost spring-like morning in south west London.

The healthy numbers present proved, as always, essential, with Witan, who turned up with a bare eleven, suffering an early injury meaning a full run-out for one of Harrow’s ringers. And it quickly became clear that Witan were below full-strength with the hosts enjoying much the better of things, dominating midfield thanks to some of the new blood. Two excellent goals were scored before the break, with makeshift OHAFC keeper David Lederman barely having a save to make.

The second half saw a more spirited display from the visitors, who were the better side for the first twenty minutes after the break. They found the Harrow back four tough to break down however, excellently marshalled, as always, by Old Wykehamist Gordon Baker, alongside either Wyn-Evans or Alex Gray, both of whom also enjoyed solid outings. The closest the visitors came to scoring was from an excellent curled effort from the corner of the box that sailed over Lederman’s head but thumped into the underside of the bar and back into his arms.

With bodies tiring in the latter stages, the hosts regained the upper hand and began to cause further problems for the Witan defence. A couple of excellent goals were scored and several debutants have been earmarked for future appearances by the skipper. The final score was a resounding 5-0 win for the OHAFC, an excellent response to last weekend’s unfortunate events.

The Vets have a run of games coming up now, with a highly-anticipated opening League encounter against Tonbridge next Sunday – the new Vets mini-League is in its infancy, but Sunday’s game sees the only two sides with 100% records go head to head – albeit they have both played just a single game each.