Stanford Wanderers 4 - 3 Oaks Athletic

A goal from virtually the last kick of the game prevented The Oaks from taking anything away from a game in which they would have taken all three points if they hadn’t been punished for a series of individual and team errors.

The absence of Milly (shoulder), Gollum (old age) and Deano (lavatory) meant Milesy was forced to do a bit more tinkering with the side, with Captain Stu partnering Rob at the back and Nathan moving into the middle with Eye-Ball:

ppppaaaaaaaaaaaaaNNeil (GK)

pppParker (RB) Rob (CB) Stu (CB) (c) Jason (LB)

pJimmy (RM) Nathan (CM) Eye-Ball (CM) Aaron (LM)

ppppaaaaaaaaaaaAl (CF) Sharpy (CF)

subs: Bill

The extra long warm up (it turned out to be an eleven o’clock kick-off) seemed to do the trick as The Oaks were definitely the quicker out of the blocks, and were out-doing Stanford at their own game with some good passing and moving. Jimmy especially was the catalyst for many of these moves, and seemed to be exuding confidence thanks to not being part of the last line of defence.

Much like when these two sides had met the week before The Oaks were kicking into a stiff breeze in the first half, and they again used this to their advantage to score the opening goal. This time though it was Al who brought the ball down and hit a cracking shot which dipped over the keeper and into the roof of the net. The initial reaction was that this was even better than Jason’s effort the previous week, but then we shouldn’t forget that Jason apparently hit his with his wrong foot. Anyway, who cares, The Oaks were 1-0 up.

1-0 became 2-0, again with some help from the breeze, when Nathan decided to ignore the usual game plan from corners to “stick it on Rob’s head” and instead swung it straight into the top corner.

They talk about football being a game of two halves; however, this game could easily be talked about in quarters. At 2-0 The Oaks looked comfortable, and definitely didn’t look like conceding. Unfortunately (again just like last week), a goalkeeping error by Neil – when a tame shot was palmed down and squirmed under his body – gave Stanford renewed hope of getting back into the game.

As much as you don’t want it to, these incidents always have a deflating affect on the team. Unfortunately it also shattered Neil’s already fragile confidence, and any subsequent ball into the box was met with panic by all.

The Oaks really needed to get to half time with their lead in tacked to allow time to get head straight and re-group, but this wasn’t to be. Failure to clear the ball (despite a number of opportunities to do so) following a disputed free-kick led to a tap in which put the scores level going into the break.

The second half was a much scrappier affair, and although the wind was again causing problems (this time for The Oaks), Neil didn’t have a save to make (in fact the two saves of any significance game from Nathan and Stu, both making superb goal line clearances.

Stanford took the lead midway through the second half thanks to a fortuitous bounce from a harmless free-kick which took the ball over Neil and into the net. The frustration at conceding this goal was enough to draw an expletive from Eye-Ball (sorry Nan), but The Oaks rallied well, and with the help of Bill’s fresh legs (well they were fresh for five minutes anyway), Stanford’s goal was put under renewed pressure.

When the equaliser came it was once again a goal of genuine quality, as a cross from the right was met sweetly by Sharpy at the back post, with the ball being slotted calmly between the keeper’s legs. Sharpy has been (at least joint) top of the scoring chart since the opening game of the season, and with Al bagging his eighth goal of the season in the first half he was in danger of being knocked off top spot. If this is how he reacts to this situation then lets hope others keep putting him under pressure at the top. Great goal Sharpy.

With the scores now level at 3-3 and 10 minutes to play, given the way the game had gone The Oaks would have happily gone away with a point, and despite one missed opportunity it looked like the point was in the bag. However, Stanford had one last throw of the dice, and when Parker attempted to block a shot when the ball was played into the box with 30 seconds to go the ball looped up off his leg and into the top corner. 4-3, and again The Oaks had been beaten by a fluke.

We deserved at least a point from this game, but alas it wasn’t to be, and our losing streak has now stretched to three games. Next week we meet the team against which it started, so it would be fitting if we could put it to an end.

Keep your heads up lads, we played well today, and if we consistently play like that we’ll get our reward. Happy New Year, and see you next week.

Eye-Ball

Next Game – Sunday 4th Jan 2009 - Home v Deportivo Thurrock @ Blackshots – 10:30 K.O

Goal Scoring Chart: