I’m not sure if anyone actually dreams about slaying the biggest Premier Division sides on their way to lifting the Ted Fairchild cup, but if they do the dream for the Oaks was still very much alive until the last 10 minutes with the score at 3-2. A fluke and an individual error may have soured the final score line, but the performance left a sweet taste in the Oaks ranks where all involved worked their socks off and refused to hand Legends an easy passage to the next round.
Milesy had 13 players to choose his starting eleven from for this match, and went for the following line up:
ppppppppppppppTyrone (GK)
pParker (RB) Stu (CB) (c) Rob (CB) Eye-Ball (LB)
pNathan (RM) Jimmy (CM) Jordan (CM) Scott (LM)
pppppppppJamie (CF) Sharpy (CF)
Subs: Aaron, Bill (complete with tights)
The game started in competitive fashion, and although no one was going to argue who the stronger side were The Oaks showed they weren’t prepared to sit back and let Legends play their own game. The two assistants were as busy as the twenty-two players in the open exchanges with both defences successfully deploying the off-side trap. This limited Legends to a few speculative long range efforts, and when they did finally break free of The Oaks defence Ty was on hand to make a fine one-on-one save with his legs.
Sharpy and Jamie were linking up well upfront, and Jamie especially seemed to be inspired by the opportunity to show he is in the same class as the strikers our premier league opposition face week in week out. The Legends assistant’s arm seemed on automatic pilot, and both Jamie and Sharpy were harshly denied goal scoring opportunities.
The Legends took the lead 15 minutes into the match when their striker made himself an inch of room in the box and slotted the ball past a helpless Ty: 0-1.
The Oaks continued to battle hard and soak up the pressure, and when Eye-ball intercepted a pass mid way in his own half few would have envisage what was to happen next. If you were to rank the Oaks players purely on footballing skillsEye-ball's name would appear next to 'Not Applicable'. Unfortunately he has watched quite a lot of Match of the Day, and as a result you will quite often hear him say "it looked good in my head" as he swings at thin air or uses his nose to clear the ball. This often ends in disaster, with the Legends' 5th goal being a prime example, as aperfectly weighted cross field ball to Bill turned into a defence splitting pass for the opposition to latch on to and score. On the very odd occasion it pays off; when Eye-ball set off on a mazy dribble that actually resulted in bulldozing through three opposition players and fortuitously emerging with the ball the task was the simple: Pass the ball to Jamie who set off towards goal before laying it off to Nathan to continue the run, he then played the ball across the goal for Sharpy to finish from 6yards (notice we don't describe 6 yard finishing as an easy task for Sharpy): 1-1.
This was a really well worked goal, and the Oaks fully deserved to still be in the game at this point. Unfortunately a sloppy goal was conceded just before half time when we were slow to get organised following the award of a free kick on the edge of the area, but all in all we were delighted with the first half performance: 1-2.
With Al on the long term injury list, and Milly and Deano also missing Stu had dropped back to partner Rob at the heart of the defence and Jordan joined Jimmy in the centre of midfield. The versatility and commitment of Oaks faithful is second to none and the performance from all in the first half demonstrated why we are able to compete with any opposition irrespective of player availability. The first half had unsurprisingly taken it toll, and the Oaks struggled to get into the game in the second half. Fortunately the Legends had left their shooting boots at home (or had they swapped them with Eye-Ball?) and despite their best efforts it wasn't until about 25 minutes into the second half that they managed to put the ball into the net when a break away down the right led to an easy finish for the Legends' attacker: 1-3.
A lot of teams would have thrown in the towel at this point, seeing as we were two goals down against premier league opposition with 20 minutes to go. The Oaks are made of sterner stuff though, and good work from Nathan on the right earned a corner which he then prepared to take. Rumours had been spreading throughout the game that, far from being dead, the King of Pop was alive and well and marshalling the Oaks defence. In an attempt to dispel the conspiracy theories I should point out that the man in question has never been excuse of sexual relations with Billie Jean, and although he is pretty smooth I’m sure he has a clean record. Also, far from Healing the World he’s more likely to put the opposition (or himself) in hospital. However, it’s easy to understand the confusion as Rob glided (not to be confused with “moonwalked”) into the area wearing one glove and powered an unstoppable header from Nathan’s pin-point cross past the helpless goalkeeper: 2-3.
I should clear up any confusion at this point, and inform you that Rob was told that simply taping up his wedding ring wasn’t sufficient, and wearing the glove was the only alternative to removing the ring – which wasn’t going to happen. Rob was rightly annoyed by this ridiculous new ruling. I understand to a certain extent that football league rules should apply across the professional and amateur games, but a bit of common sense should be applied in some cases. If the job you get paid to do requires you not to wear rings then it’s obvious that you wouldn’t wear one. When you’re only a footballer for 90 minutes on a Sunday morning it’s unreasonable to be asked to remove your wedding ring (and a lot of people physically can’t) if it has never been off your finger. If the decision for Rob becomes a choice between cutting off his ring or not playing Sunday League football any more the Oaks are going to loose a key player.
Now that rant is over I can tell you that the Oaks believed now that they could possibly force extra time, but when Ty attempted to clear a corner at the near post, but only succeeded in whacking the ball onto the back of his brother’s head (maybe a subconscious reaction stemming from their childhood) the opposition were left with a simple finish: 2-4.
I’ve already talked enough about the shambolic goal in the last minute that gave the final score line a more unfavourable tint: 2-5.
Well done everyone, and hopefully we can take the confidence and experience gained from this game into our next league matches.
Eye-Ball
Next Match – Sun 3rd January League Game v Belhus Park Athletic @ Belhus Park (Away) – 10:30 K.O.
Scoring Chart will return once I've checked all the figures. I still have Sharpy top with 8 goals, and Nathan second with 6.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Anchor Tilbury v Oaks Athletic (GAME CANCELLED)
Due to temporary expansion of Blackshots swimming pool to cover the entire playing fields.
Eye-Ball
Eye-Ball
Linford Wanders 6 - 5 Oaks Athletic (League Game 6)
There were a number of riduculous score lines on this day, and although I wasn't there I believe the awful weather may have contributed to this. However, I'm sure all involved were disappointed with this result given our recent fine run of form. On the plus side both Jimmy and Scott scored their first goal for the Oaks and I believe Jamie also got (at least) a couple.
I think the line-up was as follows:
ppppppppppppppTyrone (GK)
pParker (RB) Milly (CB) Rob (CB) Deano (LB)
pJordan (RM) Jimmy (CM) Stu (CM) (c) Scott (LM)
pppppppppJamie (CF) Sharpy (CF)
Subs: Aaron, Nathan
Eye-Ball
I think the line-up was as follows:
ppppppppppppppTyrone (GK)
pParker (RB) Milly (CB) Rob (CB) Deano (LB)
pJordan (RM) Jimmy (CM) Stu (CM) (c) Scott (LM)
pppppppppJamie (CF) Sharpy (CF)
Subs: Aaron, Nathan
Eye-Ball
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Greyhound 0 - 2 Oaks Athletic (All leagues cup round 1)
Given that we had beaten Greyhound in the league the previous week this may not sound like a shock result, however from within the Oaks ranks most would admit this wasn’t a game we expected to win – and nor was it one we would be losing any sleep over. This is the cup competition which is contested by all teams across the five divisions of the Thurrock Sunday League. There are a handful of teams who you would say have a realistic chance of winning this cup, and The Oaks are definitely not on that list. We also knew that the winners of this match would be playing Premier side Legends in the next round, so an abrupt end to the victorious team’s cup run was in store. Not only did the reward not merit the effort required to win the game, but player unavailability had made avoiding a heavy defeat, let alone winning, seem unlikely. I won’t divulge the identity of the Oaks player who epitomised this opinion and stated that “I bet they’re going to feel really smug when they smash us!” Whose feeling smug now Deano (oops!)
The player situation was so desperate that Gollum was asked to come out of retirement, and with Jamie not appearing the lanky one was promoted immediately to partner Nathan upfront. I understand you might be wondering what terrible thing must have happened to Sharpy for him to miss a game, but family comes first, and a trip to Portsmouth was required for our top scorer. As it happened Milesy had twelve players to choose from, and went with the following starting eleven.
ppppppppppppppTyrone (GK)
pDeano (RB) Milly (CB) Rob (CB) Eye-Ball (LB)
pBill (RM) Jimmy (CM) Stu (CM) (c) Aaron (LM)
pppppppppNathan (CF) Gollum (CF)
Subs: Scott
Apparently football is supposed to be a game of two halves. Thanks to Mother Nature, and in particular the gale force wind blow from one end of the pitch to the other, this was a game of just one half – and it was the half the Oaks were defending in the first half.
Despite the low expectations, pulling on the Oaks shirt seems to install a sense of pride in all who wear it, and we definitely weren’t going to go down without a fight. I think Milesy summed it up when he likened the first half to the Battle of the Alamo, with our penalty area being under siege from the first to the forty fifth minute. We hardly had a sniff of the ball, and when we did regain possession we struggled to keep it for more than one or two passes. However, thanks to some dogged tackling, and a couple of good saves from Ty (including a one-on-one when Eye-Ball had put the striker clean through) the score was held at nil-nil until half time.
I should really correct one inaccuracy at this point, as Ty was the one Oaks player who had plenty of touches of the ball, mostly as he collected the ball from the basketball court behind the goal thanks to Greyhound’s inept finishing.
The mood in the Oaks camp at half time was surprisingly upbeat. It was apparent that the weather was going to have a major bearing on the outcome of this game, and the common consensus was that Greyhound had thrown us a lifeline by not gaining any sort of numerical advantage having had the elements on their side for the first 45 minutes. As well as the twelfth man who would be wearing Oaks colours in the second half, the thing that was going to really give the Oaks the edge was the fantastic team spirit and togetherness that was evident between all twelve players who played a part in this game. The first half had been littered with errors, but not once did any player moan or berate one of his team mates, and the only words exchange were ones of encouragement.
With the weather deteriorating by the minute our chances were looking better and better, and when Scott (who had replaced Aaron at half-time) ran down the left and put in a superb low cross that was met by a diving Nathan at the front post, we all thought our vice captain had headed us into the lead. However, the linesman had other ideas and flagged Nathan off-side. Now, I’m usually pretty pragmatic about these decisions, and will argue that the linesman has made what he feels is an honest call. However, in this case I’d then have to argue that Henry honestly thought you were allowed to use your hands to keep the ball in play. There is no way this goal should have been disallowed, and not only were the Oaks denied the lead, but Nathan was cruelly denied the goal his finish deserved. To make matters worse the dodgy hip that had been troubling him throughout the game was now aggravated further in the process.
The response to being cheated out of the lead was once again superb; we just picked ourselves up and got straight back at them. The reward finally came when the Greyhound keeper failed to deal with a cross when the ball was played back into the danger zone following a corner, and with the help of Gollum and the crossbar, Deano was on hand to poke the ball home for his second goal of the season: 0-1.
At this point it is advisable to forget everything that is written in the first paragraph of this report. This was now a game the Oaks were more determined than ever to win, and the tables had definitely been turned on those pesky Mexicans. The combination of the weather and some brutal tackling was gradually battering Greyhound into submission, and when they did get any where near our goal their advance was either brought to an abrupt end by the Oaks defence unit, or Ty was on hand to snuff out the danger.
The game clinching moment came with about 15 minutes to go; Bill played a delightful ball over the defence to put Nathan clear on the right, and he let the ball bounce before unleashing a venomous volley which was nestling in the top corner before the keeper could get off the ground. Remember this one when we are talking about goal of the season at the end of the year: 0-2.
It was only right that the weather had the last laugh, with horizontal rain growing heavier and heavier, and finally being replaced by horizontal hale stones. Fortunately the referee blew his whistle, and following some quick hand shakes we were able to run, with a smile on our faces, to the safety of the changing rooms.
Perhaps the lack of pressure we felt to get a result from this game helped, but this was one of the most enjoyable games I have been involved in. Whether it was watching Gollum shrink to a pigmy trying to head the ball or Aaron and Stu sliding into each others shorts, this game epitomised what Sunday football is all about: getting battered and drench by the weather and living a deluded dream of footballing excellence. Bring on the Legends!
I’d usually pick out a few-stand out performances at this point, but only mentioning one or two contributions would do a disservice to the other nine or ten players who also deserve praise. We shouldn’t forget Milesy’s contribution in making the inspired decision to move Stu to the holding role – truly Capello-esque. It’s also worth highlighting that this game puts to bed any doubts about the Oaks strength in depth. Those who stepped up to the plate in the absence of others did a truly superb job, and will definitely cause Milesy some head-aches if available for selection next week.
Eye-Ball
Next Match – Sun 29th November Cup Game v Linford Wanders @ Corringham Rec (Away).
Goal scoring chart (with one lot of appearances to be added)
The player situation was so desperate that Gollum was asked to come out of retirement, and with Jamie not appearing the lanky one was promoted immediately to partner Nathan upfront. I understand you might be wondering what terrible thing must have happened to Sharpy for him to miss a game, but family comes first, and a trip to Portsmouth was required for our top scorer. As it happened Milesy had twelve players to choose from, and went with the following starting eleven.
ppppppppppppppTyrone (GK)
pDeano (RB) Milly (CB) Rob (CB) Eye-Ball (LB)
pBill (RM) Jimmy (CM) Stu (CM) (c) Aaron (LM)
pppppppppNathan (CF) Gollum (CF)
Subs: Scott
Apparently football is supposed to be a game of two halves. Thanks to Mother Nature, and in particular the gale force wind blow from one end of the pitch to the other, this was a game of just one half – and it was the half the Oaks were defending in the first half.
Despite the low expectations, pulling on the Oaks shirt seems to install a sense of pride in all who wear it, and we definitely weren’t going to go down without a fight. I think Milesy summed it up when he likened the first half to the Battle of the Alamo, with our penalty area being under siege from the first to the forty fifth minute. We hardly had a sniff of the ball, and when we did regain possession we struggled to keep it for more than one or two passes. However, thanks to some dogged tackling, and a couple of good saves from Ty (including a one-on-one when Eye-Ball had put the striker clean through) the score was held at nil-nil until half time.
I should really correct one inaccuracy at this point, as Ty was the one Oaks player who had plenty of touches of the ball, mostly as he collected the ball from the basketball court behind the goal thanks to Greyhound’s inept finishing.
The mood in the Oaks camp at half time was surprisingly upbeat. It was apparent that the weather was going to have a major bearing on the outcome of this game, and the common consensus was that Greyhound had thrown us a lifeline by not gaining any sort of numerical advantage having had the elements on their side for the first 45 minutes. As well as the twelfth man who would be wearing Oaks colours in the second half, the thing that was going to really give the Oaks the edge was the fantastic team spirit and togetherness that was evident between all twelve players who played a part in this game. The first half had been littered with errors, but not once did any player moan or berate one of his team mates, and the only words exchange were ones of encouragement.
With the weather deteriorating by the minute our chances were looking better and better, and when Scott (who had replaced Aaron at half-time) ran down the left and put in a superb low cross that was met by a diving Nathan at the front post, we all thought our vice captain had headed us into the lead. However, the linesman had other ideas and flagged Nathan off-side. Now, I’m usually pretty pragmatic about these decisions, and will argue that the linesman has made what he feels is an honest call. However, in this case I’d then have to argue that Henry honestly thought you were allowed to use your hands to keep the ball in play. There is no way this goal should have been disallowed, and not only were the Oaks denied the lead, but Nathan was cruelly denied the goal his finish deserved. To make matters worse the dodgy hip that had been troubling him throughout the game was now aggravated further in the process.
The response to being cheated out of the lead was once again superb; we just picked ourselves up and got straight back at them. The reward finally came when the Greyhound keeper failed to deal with a cross when the ball was played back into the danger zone following a corner, and with the help of Gollum and the crossbar, Deano was on hand to poke the ball home for his second goal of the season: 0-1.
At this point it is advisable to forget everything that is written in the first paragraph of this report. This was now a game the Oaks were more determined than ever to win, and the tables had definitely been turned on those pesky Mexicans. The combination of the weather and some brutal tackling was gradually battering Greyhound into submission, and when they did get any where near our goal their advance was either brought to an abrupt end by the Oaks defence unit, or Ty was on hand to snuff out the danger.
The game clinching moment came with about 15 minutes to go; Bill played a delightful ball over the defence to put Nathan clear on the right, and he let the ball bounce before unleashing a venomous volley which was nestling in the top corner before the keeper could get off the ground. Remember this one when we are talking about goal of the season at the end of the year: 0-2.
It was only right that the weather had the last laugh, with horizontal rain growing heavier and heavier, and finally being replaced by horizontal hale stones. Fortunately the referee blew his whistle, and following some quick hand shakes we were able to run, with a smile on our faces, to the safety of the changing rooms.
Perhaps the lack of pressure we felt to get a result from this game helped, but this was one of the most enjoyable games I have been involved in. Whether it was watching Gollum shrink to a pigmy trying to head the ball or Aaron and Stu sliding into each others shorts, this game epitomised what Sunday football is all about: getting battered and drench by the weather and living a deluded dream of footballing excellence. Bring on the Legends!
I’d usually pick out a few-stand out performances at this point, but only mentioning one or two contributions would do a disservice to the other nine or ten players who also deserve praise. We shouldn’t forget Milesy’s contribution in making the inspired decision to move Stu to the holding role – truly Capello-esque. It’s also worth highlighting that this game puts to bed any doubts about the Oaks strength in depth. Those who stepped up to the plate in the absence of others did a truly superb job, and will definitely cause Milesy some head-aches if available for selection next week.
Eye-Ball
Next Match – Sun 29th November Cup Game v Linford Wanders @ Corringham Rec (Away).
Goal scoring chart (with one lot of appearances to be added)
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Oaks Athletic 3 - 2 Greyhound (League game 5)
I’d like to start by issuing a warning to all Oaks Athletic match report readers, of a previously undiscovered danger that could be lurking in a fruit bowl near you: the “Angry Banana”. This intoxicating yellow piece of fruit is indistinguishable in every way from an everyday banana, but when consumed it turns a usually placid and well mannered left back into a vicious, goal-keeper kicking animal. Fortunately the referee spotted the side effects (foaming at the mouth, diluted pupils etc.) and realised that the unfortunate victim was not acting under his own will, and spared Evil Eric from any further yellow coloured punishment. Next week I’m bringing an orange.
Anyway, now the public health warning has been issued I feel I can move onto the far more gratifying matter of The Oaks fourth victory out of five games in the league. You don’t have to have too good a memory to remember that our one defeat in the league came against the same Greyhound side we were facing today. You should also remember that we made a few excuses for that defeat – mainly around player availability. Well, we definitely weren’t going to be able to make such excuses today, with Milesy basically having a full squad to choose from, with the exception of Scott (work) and Parker (imminently erupting third nipple). With Jamie available again, and Al having impressed at centre midfield in the previous week, Milesy chose to start with Jordan on the left. The full line-up was as follows:
Anyway, now the public health warning has been issued I feel I can move onto the far more gratifying matter of The Oaks fourth victory out of five games in the league. You don’t have to have too good a memory to remember that our one defeat in the league came against the same Greyhound side we were facing today. You should also remember that we made a few excuses for that defeat – mainly around player availability. Well, we definitely weren’t going to be able to make such excuses today, with Milesy basically having a full squad to choose from, with the exception of Scott (work) and Parker (imminently erupting third nipple). With Jamie available again, and Al having impressed at centre midfield in the previous week, Milesy chose to start with Jordan on the left. The full line-up was as follows:
ppppppppppppppTyrone (GK)
pDeano (RB) Milly (CB) Rob (CB) Eye-Ball (LB)
pNathan (RM) Al (CM) Stu (CM) (c) Jordan (LM)
pppppppppJamie (CF) Sharpy (CF)
Subs: Bill, Aaron, Jimmy
The pre-match talk from the skipper was a positive one, and re-iterated the fact that this was our chance to stake our claim as one of the main challengers for the league, and that – at the fourth attempt – we should finally do what we should have done already and beat this team.
The uneducated onlooker may have thought that Stu would be ill-advised to ever attempt a career as a motivational speaker when The Oaks went behind within the first two minutes. Having kicked off we were immediately under pressure, and Deano was unfortunate to be penalised for a perfectly good challenge on the edge of the 18 yard box. The resulting free kick was not dealt with, and an easy tap in gave Greyhound the lead: 0 - 1.
Conceding such an early goal against one of the better teams in the league would have had previous Oaks teams preparing for a painful morning. However, the current crop play with much more self belief, and soon set about getting back on level terms.
The equaliser came when Evil Eric intercepted a pass up the line, and swung the ball first time with his left foot into the penalty area. Sharpy reacted quickest to head the bouncing ball past the advancing keeper. He did exceptionally well to get over the ball and keep it under the crossbar, and deserved to claim his sixth goal of the season: 1 – 1.
This goal was a real boost for the Oaks, and with Sharpy and Jamie spearheading the attack we started creating a number of chances. It seemed that Jamie especially was involved in every good Oaks attack, and used his superb control and ability to hold up the ball to bring others into the game, and create a couple of good chances for himself which flew just wide of the mark. He was also undeservedly denied a goal when Jordan, having drifting in-field, played a delightful through ball which Jamie subsequently buried in the bottom corner. Only two people were adamant that he was off-side, and unfortunately they were the linesman and referee, so the goal didn’t stand.
The Oaks have been conceding a few too many sloppy goals from set pieces of late, and the latest to add to the catalogue was inexcusable. A failure to react to Ty’s well voiced instructions left two Greyhound players unmarked at the back post from a corner, who were basically allowed to challenge each other for the honour of heading the ball goal-wards. Despite Jordan’s best efforts on the line he was unable to keep the ball out, and Greyhound had retaken the lead: 1 – 2.
Given the chances we had been creating there was no need for heads to drop, and when Jamie followed up some good work on the right with an inviting low cross into the six yard box, those unfamiliar with Sharpy’s game would have bet their life savings on seeing the unmarked talisman levelling the scores again. Those of us who know only too well that the 6 yard box is to Sharpy what Kryptonite is to Superman, and have stared in disbelief as our most prolific goal scorer has put the ball over, under and either side of the goal when all these achievements seemed impossible, only held our breath and prayed. Initially these prayers seemed to have been unanswered as we watched the ball hit Sharpy’s knee and shin before finally making contact with the business end of the typical footballer’s anatomy, and trickle harmlessly towards the goal. Fortunately the goalkeeper was one of those poor unfamiliar soles, and had obviously set himself to hopefully get something in the way of a rasping shot. He was definitely not prepared for making a simple save, and as a result was only able to help the ball into the bottom corner: 2 – 2.
Having been behind twice we were very happy to be drawing at half time, and given the nature of the two goals conceded the confidence in The Oaks ranks was clear to see. Milesy made one change at half time with Bill replacing Jordan on the left.
Both teams were really pushing for the vital third goal in the second half, and every challenge was well contested and there were some really hard tackles flying in. Rob, as always, was leading by example in this department. There is definitely no such thing as a 50:50 where Rob is concerned, and the sight of Greyhound players flying through the air (with the ball having been fairly won) on numerous occasions made me glad – as always – that I’m on his team! He definitely inspired the rest of the side, and the commitment of the outfield players combined with Ty’s dominance of his 18 yard box meant that we restricted Greyhound to a few speculative long range efforts in the opening twenty minutes.
The pre-match talk from the skipper was a positive one, and re-iterated the fact that this was our chance to stake our claim as one of the main challengers for the league, and that – at the fourth attempt – we should finally do what we should have done already and beat this team.
The uneducated onlooker may have thought that Stu would be ill-advised to ever attempt a career as a motivational speaker when The Oaks went behind within the first two minutes. Having kicked off we were immediately under pressure, and Deano was unfortunate to be penalised for a perfectly good challenge on the edge of the 18 yard box. The resulting free kick was not dealt with, and an easy tap in gave Greyhound the lead: 0 - 1.
Conceding such an early goal against one of the better teams in the league would have had previous Oaks teams preparing for a painful morning. However, the current crop play with much more self belief, and soon set about getting back on level terms.
The equaliser came when Evil Eric intercepted a pass up the line, and swung the ball first time with his left foot into the penalty area. Sharpy reacted quickest to head the bouncing ball past the advancing keeper. He did exceptionally well to get over the ball and keep it under the crossbar, and deserved to claim his sixth goal of the season: 1 – 1.
This goal was a real boost for the Oaks, and with Sharpy and Jamie spearheading the attack we started creating a number of chances. It seemed that Jamie especially was involved in every good Oaks attack, and used his superb control and ability to hold up the ball to bring others into the game, and create a couple of good chances for himself which flew just wide of the mark. He was also undeservedly denied a goal when Jordan, having drifting in-field, played a delightful through ball which Jamie subsequently buried in the bottom corner. Only two people were adamant that he was off-side, and unfortunately they were the linesman and referee, so the goal didn’t stand.
The Oaks have been conceding a few too many sloppy goals from set pieces of late, and the latest to add to the catalogue was inexcusable. A failure to react to Ty’s well voiced instructions left two Greyhound players unmarked at the back post from a corner, who were basically allowed to challenge each other for the honour of heading the ball goal-wards. Despite Jordan’s best efforts on the line he was unable to keep the ball out, and Greyhound had retaken the lead: 1 – 2.
Given the chances we had been creating there was no need for heads to drop, and when Jamie followed up some good work on the right with an inviting low cross into the six yard box, those unfamiliar with Sharpy’s game would have bet their life savings on seeing the unmarked talisman levelling the scores again. Those of us who know only too well that the 6 yard box is to Sharpy what Kryptonite is to Superman, and have stared in disbelief as our most prolific goal scorer has put the ball over, under and either side of the goal when all these achievements seemed impossible, only held our breath and prayed. Initially these prayers seemed to have been unanswered as we watched the ball hit Sharpy’s knee and shin before finally making contact with the business end of the typical footballer’s anatomy, and trickle harmlessly towards the goal. Fortunately the goalkeeper was one of those poor unfamiliar soles, and had obviously set himself to hopefully get something in the way of a rasping shot. He was definitely not prepared for making a simple save, and as a result was only able to help the ball into the bottom corner: 2 – 2.
Having been behind twice we were very happy to be drawing at half time, and given the nature of the two goals conceded the confidence in The Oaks ranks was clear to see. Milesy made one change at half time with Bill replacing Jordan on the left.
Both teams were really pushing for the vital third goal in the second half, and every challenge was well contested and there were some really hard tackles flying in. Rob, as always, was leading by example in this department. There is definitely no such thing as a 50:50 where Rob is concerned, and the sight of Greyhound players flying through the air (with the ball having been fairly won) on numerous occasions made me glad – as always – that I’m on his team! He definitely inspired the rest of the side, and the commitment of the outfield players combined with Ty’s dominance of his 18 yard box meant that we restricted Greyhound to a few speculative long range efforts in the opening twenty minutes.
During this time we also had to cope with the significant blow of losing Al with an injured toe, which meant Aaron had to come on and replace him in the middle of the park (at least we think that is where he had been asked to play)!
Our efforts were duly rewarded when Jamie linked up with Sharpy on the left, who then crossed the ball into the middle where it was met by Nathan who volleyed left footed into the bottom corner: 3 – 2.
The next 20 minutes felt like an eternity, and it was quite clear that to stop Greyhound we had to stop their star player who was determined to run through us at any opportunity. To be fair we really struggled to get the ball off him, but we were disciplined in defence and managed to keep him at bay (although Aaron was a little less subtle in his approach to stopping him). We also had to defend with 10 men for some of this time while Jamie recovered from a knock on his dodgy ankle.
Greyhound were now throwing everything at us, and when they threw an extra man upfront he could have scored with his first touch, but Rob was there once again to make yet another superbly timed challenge from 12 yards. That was to be their last chance, and the Oaks were able to run down the clock and end the match as deserved 3 – 2 winners.
This was the sort of gutsy and determined display that you expect when The Oaks play the best sides. The real test will be when we play Linford and Anchor in the upcoming weeks as we definitely won’t be the underdogs in these games, but if we don’t show have same attitude we showed today we will drop points, and today’s efforts would have been wasted. Well done lads, and let’s keeping climbing that ladder.
Evil Eric
Next Match – Sun 22nd November Cup Game v Greyhound @ Blackshots (Away so no nets to put up).
Our efforts were duly rewarded when Jamie linked up with Sharpy on the left, who then crossed the ball into the middle where it was met by Nathan who volleyed left footed into the bottom corner: 3 – 2.
The next 20 minutes felt like an eternity, and it was quite clear that to stop Greyhound we had to stop their star player who was determined to run through us at any opportunity. To be fair we really struggled to get the ball off him, but we were disciplined in defence and managed to keep him at bay (although Aaron was a little less subtle in his approach to stopping him). We also had to defend with 10 men for some of this time while Jamie recovered from a knock on his dodgy ankle.
Greyhound were now throwing everything at us, and when they threw an extra man upfront he could have scored with his first touch, but Rob was there once again to make yet another superbly timed challenge from 12 yards. That was to be their last chance, and the Oaks were able to run down the clock and end the match as deserved 3 – 2 winners.
This was the sort of gutsy and determined display that you expect when The Oaks play the best sides. The real test will be when we play Linford and Anchor in the upcoming weeks as we definitely won’t be the underdogs in these games, but if we don’t show have same attitude we showed today we will drop points, and today’s efforts would have been wasted. Well done lads, and let’s keeping climbing that ladder.
Evil Eric
Next Match – Sun 22nd November Cup Game v Greyhound @ Blackshots (Away so no nets to put up).
League Update
With Rec Rovers losing to Lakeside, and Belhus and Pegasus playing out a nil-nil draw, this win lifts us to third in the table:
Goal Scoring Chart (appearances from one game still to be added)
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Oaks Athletic 1 - 0 Linford Wanderers (League game 4)
With the analysis of last week’s heavy defeat complete, nobody was under any illusions of what we needed to do to ensure we returned to winning ways against a team who we had beaten on three occasions last season. The football aspects (passing, dribbling etc.) would improve with a run of matches, but we needed to increase the intensity, work-rate and togetherness that are synonymous with The Oaks at their best. You could say mission accomplished, and although not everything we tried came off when we had the ball, the way we played without it – hustling Linford and limiting them to a few half chances – was the main contributing factor that gave us a well earned and hard fought victory.
With Jordan unavailable due to work commitments Milesy again had to give the team a bit of a shake up, and with the luxury of fourteen players to choose from he went with the following starting eleven:
With Jordan unavailable due to work commitments Milesy again had to give the team a bit of a shake up, and with the luxury of fourteen players to choose from he went with the following starting eleven:
ppppppppppppppTyrone (GK)
pJimmy (RB) Milly (CB) Rob (CB) Deano (LB)
pEye-Ball (RM) Al (CM) Stu (CM) (c) Bill (LM)
pppppppppNathan (CF) Sharpy (CF)
Subs: Parker, Scott, Aaron
It would be interesting to see how Nathan and Sharpy played together upfront, with the former obviously being rewarded for his three goals the previous week which had put him level with Sharpy in the goal-scoring charts.
A respectably observed minute’s silence preceded the match to remember those who had fought and died for our country, and soon afterwards the game got under way.
It always seems to take us a little while to get into our stride, and today was no exception, with Linford starting the brighter of the two sides. However, although we struggled to find our rhythm Linford didn’t pose much of a threat in the final third and Ty’s goal remained fairly untroubled.
Most people would agree that the best refs are the ones you don’t notice, and it was soon obvious that today’s official was definitely not one to be put into this category. So often the team who handles the ref best is the one that comes out on top, and the early signs weren’t good for The Oaks as Deano understandably showed his frustration after being wrongly accused of hand-ball and then also being denied an obvious free kick. I don’t know for sure, but I think Deano holds the record for the Oaks player who has sent himself off the most and he was a whisker away from adding to that record (it’s a good job those shirts are a bit tight). However, he soon composed himself and went on to play a leading role in a strong defence display.
Although most of the play was in The Oaks half in the first 45 you could still argue that we should have been in the lead at the break with Sharpy and Nathan both coming close, but failing to find the killer finish with only the keeper to beat. It’s hard to say who would have been happier with the nil-nil half time score-line. Ordinarily you would definitely say Linford given the drubbings we had given them last season, but then they didn’t know they were facing an Oaks side who whose confidence had taken a bit of a battering the previous week.
The instructions for the second half were pretty straight forward; keep concentrating, fight for every ball, and get the ball in the onion bag! Milesy made one substitution (and a number of positional changes) at half time, with Scott replacing Jimmy and slotting in at left-midfield, Eye-Ball going back to left back to relieve the altitude sickness, Deano shifting to right-back and Bill following him over to play right-mid.
I’ve often wondered what Milesy puts in the water bottles, but whatever it is it definitely worked as the Oaks were soon on top in the second half in every respect. In defence Rob and Milly were immense; they didn’t give the Linford strikers a sniff, and funnily enough the only challenging save Ty had to make was from Milly who misunderstood the strange concoction of sounds emanating from Ty’s mouth and ended up almost heading the ball past him.
Ty did request that I justify his self appointed position as “the best footballer in the world”, but I’m afraid the fine defence display denied him the opportunity to shine today. Deciding to kick the ball out for an attacking Linford throw when it would have been Oaks ball didn’t help either (although he could argue a Linford throw is possibly less dangerous than letting Eye-ball take it). When he did need to claim a cross or gather a shot he did so with ease, and deserved his first clean sheet of the season.
In midfield Stu and Al were dominating their opposite numbers and must be commended for their work-rate and commitment both in attack and defence. On the wings Scott’s introduction made a definite impact. I think we are all in agreement that he’s a very good young footballer, and will be a valuable asset if we continue to see him over the rest of the season. On the other wing Bill – on his second pair of boots for the game – work tirelessly and is definitely benefiting from the regular appearances.
Upfront the Oaks answer to Jedward (Sathan or Narpy maybe…) were showing a telepathic understanding that is usually only gained from time spent together in the womb, and despite his own run in with the ref vice skipper Nathan once again led by example from the front and was a constant menace.
There is always something to talk about where Sharpy is concerned. Thankfully a lot of the time we’re talking about his goals, but after last week’s shenanigans there was a point when we didn’t think he’d be pulling the Oaks shirt on again. However, it takes a big man to admit he is wrong, and the apology he gave to the whole team before kick-off was much appreciated (although he knows he still has one apology to make). It also seemed to lift a big weight off his shoulders, as a dry and happy Sharpy had one of his best games in the Oaks colours. Yes, his finishing has been better but his movement, determination and overall attitude (not to mention he avoid the ref for the full 90 minutes) meant there will be a couple of Linford defenders having Sharpy coloured nightmares tonight.
As already mentioned, Sharpy’s finishing wasn’t quite at its best but this didn’t stop him giving the Oaks the lead when the keeper could only help a scuffed shot into the net. 1-0 to The Oaks.
This spurred on the Oaks to get that all important second goal, and Al was a whisker away from scoring the best team goal that I can remember for the Oaks. The ball was passed through the midfield, and then up to Sharpy, who then played a delightful first time ball behind the defence to Al, who had made a superb run into the box. With only the keeper to beat Al fired inches wide of the left hand post.
With a number of other chances coming to nothing (including Eye-Ball almost inadvertently lobbing the keeping from an attempted cross) there was a fear that Linford might snatch an underserved point, and the last ten minutes was definitely “squeaky bum” time. However, the Oaks dug deep - with even Aaron (who had replace Bill) winning a header for the cause – and got the three points they deserved.
1-0 is a great score-line when the 90 minutes are up, but it’s probably the worst score-line for the subs as, injuries permitting, it is always a risk to change things. Parker was the unfortunate one to miss out this time, but at least he avoided the flag!
We know the next match against Greyhound is going to be a tougher encounter, but if we take the momentum from this game into next week’s match we can definitely get something from a game we really need to if we want to make a real challenge for the league title this year.
Eye-Ball
Next Match – Sun 15th November v Greyhound @ Blackshots (Home so 09:45 meet).
A respectably observed minute’s silence preceded the match to remember those who had fought and died for our country, and soon afterwards the game got under way.
It always seems to take us a little while to get into our stride, and today was no exception, with Linford starting the brighter of the two sides. However, although we struggled to find our rhythm Linford didn’t pose much of a threat in the final third and Ty’s goal remained fairly untroubled.
Most people would agree that the best refs are the ones you don’t notice, and it was soon obvious that today’s official was definitely not one to be put into this category. So often the team who handles the ref best is the one that comes out on top, and the early signs weren’t good for The Oaks as Deano understandably showed his frustration after being wrongly accused of hand-ball and then also being denied an obvious free kick. I don’t know for sure, but I think Deano holds the record for the Oaks player who has sent himself off the most and he was a whisker away from adding to that record (it’s a good job those shirts are a bit tight). However, he soon composed himself and went on to play a leading role in a strong defence display.
Although most of the play was in The Oaks half in the first 45 you could still argue that we should have been in the lead at the break with Sharpy and Nathan both coming close, but failing to find the killer finish with only the keeper to beat. It’s hard to say who would have been happier with the nil-nil half time score-line. Ordinarily you would definitely say Linford given the drubbings we had given them last season, but then they didn’t know they were facing an Oaks side who whose confidence had taken a bit of a battering the previous week.
The instructions for the second half were pretty straight forward; keep concentrating, fight for every ball, and get the ball in the onion bag! Milesy made one substitution (and a number of positional changes) at half time, with Scott replacing Jimmy and slotting in at left-midfield, Eye-Ball going back to left back to relieve the altitude sickness, Deano shifting to right-back and Bill following him over to play right-mid.
I’ve often wondered what Milesy puts in the water bottles, but whatever it is it definitely worked as the Oaks were soon on top in the second half in every respect. In defence Rob and Milly were immense; they didn’t give the Linford strikers a sniff, and funnily enough the only challenging save Ty had to make was from Milly who misunderstood the strange concoction of sounds emanating from Ty’s mouth and ended up almost heading the ball past him.
Ty did request that I justify his self appointed position as “the best footballer in the world”, but I’m afraid the fine defence display denied him the opportunity to shine today. Deciding to kick the ball out for an attacking Linford throw when it would have been Oaks ball didn’t help either (although he could argue a Linford throw is possibly less dangerous than letting Eye-ball take it). When he did need to claim a cross or gather a shot he did so with ease, and deserved his first clean sheet of the season.
In midfield Stu and Al were dominating their opposite numbers and must be commended for their work-rate and commitment both in attack and defence. On the wings Scott’s introduction made a definite impact. I think we are all in agreement that he’s a very good young footballer, and will be a valuable asset if we continue to see him over the rest of the season. On the other wing Bill – on his second pair of boots for the game – work tirelessly and is definitely benefiting from the regular appearances.
Upfront the Oaks answer to Jedward (Sathan or Narpy maybe…) were showing a telepathic understanding that is usually only gained from time spent together in the womb, and despite his own run in with the ref vice skipper Nathan once again led by example from the front and was a constant menace.
There is always something to talk about where Sharpy is concerned. Thankfully a lot of the time we’re talking about his goals, but after last week’s shenanigans there was a point when we didn’t think he’d be pulling the Oaks shirt on again. However, it takes a big man to admit he is wrong, and the apology he gave to the whole team before kick-off was much appreciated (although he knows he still has one apology to make). It also seemed to lift a big weight off his shoulders, as a dry and happy Sharpy had one of his best games in the Oaks colours. Yes, his finishing has been better but his movement, determination and overall attitude (not to mention he avoid the ref for the full 90 minutes) meant there will be a couple of Linford defenders having Sharpy coloured nightmares tonight.
As already mentioned, Sharpy’s finishing wasn’t quite at its best but this didn’t stop him giving the Oaks the lead when the keeper could only help a scuffed shot into the net. 1-0 to The Oaks.
This spurred on the Oaks to get that all important second goal, and Al was a whisker away from scoring the best team goal that I can remember for the Oaks. The ball was passed through the midfield, and then up to Sharpy, who then played a delightful first time ball behind the defence to Al, who had made a superb run into the box. With only the keeper to beat Al fired inches wide of the left hand post.
With a number of other chances coming to nothing (including Eye-Ball almost inadvertently lobbing the keeping from an attempted cross) there was a fear that Linford might snatch an underserved point, and the last ten minutes was definitely “squeaky bum” time. However, the Oaks dug deep - with even Aaron (who had replace Bill) winning a header for the cause – and got the three points they deserved.
1-0 is a great score-line when the 90 minutes are up, but it’s probably the worst score-line for the subs as, injuries permitting, it is always a risk to change things. Parker was the unfortunate one to miss out this time, but at least he avoided the flag!
We know the next match against Greyhound is going to be a tougher encounter, but if we take the momentum from this game into next week’s match we can definitely get something from a game we really need to if we want to make a real challenge for the league title this year.
Eye-Ball
Next Match – Sun 15th November v Greyhound @ Blackshots (Home so 09:45 meet).
Goal scoring chart (with appearances from one previous game to be added)
Sunday, November 01, 2009
AFC Blackshots 6 - 3 Oaks Athletic (League Cup Rd 1)
It was only a few weeks ago that I was saying how fortunate it was for me to have to rarely report on a heavy defeat for the Oaks. And yet here I am having to explain how we managed to ship 6 goals in this League cup encounter. However, I plan to spend as much time dwelling on this defeat as it took for the score line to go from 2-1 at half time to 5-1 (which you’ve probably guessed wasn’t very long!)
Milesy understandably decided to start with the same 11 who had won so emphatically in the last match. Unfortunately a last minute change was required as Deano was still feeling the affects of the flu, and so Eye-Ball came in at right-back:
ppppppppppppppTyrone (GK)
pEye-Ball (RB) Milly (CB) Rob (CB) Aaron (LB)
Nathan (RM) Jordan (CM) Stu (CM) (c) Bill (LM)
pppppppppppAl (CF) Sharpy (CF)
Subs: Jamie, Parker, Jimmy, Deano
It’s not always necessary to give a weather report, but today the elements were to play a major role. Heavy rain that had been falling all morning, and continued throughout the game made the pitch very wet, and caused to the ball move and skid very quickly across the ground; add to this a strong wind (which the Oaks were kicking against in the first half) and you can imagine that these were challenging conditions in which to play football. As we were soon to discover, the conditions definitely favoured the younger, quicker AFC Blackshots.
It became apparent almost immediately that AFC’s plan was to put balls behind the back four for their speedy forwards to run on to, and if not for their failure to beat the off-side trap and some good keeping from Ty, they would have taken the lead. Despite looking dangerous in attack, their defence and goal keeper had a shaky start, and when an innocuous high ball from Al into the box was insufficiently dealt with, Nathan was on hand to slot home with a cool finish from 12 yards. 1-0 to the Oaks.
Re-starts were to prove a problem for The Oaks throughout the match, and as soon as they had taken the lead it was lost. AFC played the ball forward from the centre circle, and a ball through to their striker left the Oaks back four inexcusably standing waiting for Parker to raise the flag. Honest John didn’t however, and the striker had time to compose himself, have a cup of tea, watch the latest Harry Potter Movie, read the book, decide the book was better, and write a letter to the Harry Potter Fan Club telling them as much. Having done all this, he rounded Ty and put the ball into the back of the net. 1-1.
To lose the lead so soon after taking it was obviously unsettling, and AFC made the most of the momentum the goal had given them to take the lead when the AFC striker finished neatly past a diving Ty, who managed to get a hand to it but couldn’t stop the wet, slippery ball going into the net. 2-1 AFC.
The only other incidents to mention from the first half were Eye-Ball finally managing to put in a tackle in the area on his least favourite pitch at Blackshots without conceding a penalty, and a couple of great saves from Ty; one with his legs when the striker was clean through and a superb double save.
Despite going in 2-1 down at half time The Oaks were still well in the game. They had created plenty of chances, and would be kicking with the wind in the second half. The orders for the second half were given, and two changes were made with Deano replacing Aaron and Jamie replacing Bill. Jamie took his customary position upfront, whilst Al dropped into midfield and Eye-Ball moved to left back to make room for Deano at right back.
I said I wouldn’t dwell on the first 10 minutes of the second half. So here is what happened in as few words as I can manage: Oaks kick off, lose possession, AFC score. Oaks kick off, lose possession, AFC score. Oaks kick off, AFC don’t score straight away, but then Rob unluckily heads the ball past Ty when trying to block a shot. 5-1 AFC.
This was a really sloppy period for The Oaks, and to give away 3 soft goals in such a short space of time was obviously a shock. This shouldn’t take anything away from AFC who were clinical, and showed a quality in possession and finishing which highlights why they gained promotion in their first season in the Sunday League, and are currently sitting top of League 2B.
The one positive from conceding four goals so quickly was that we still had most of the second half to get back in the game. Although it would have been easy to give up at this point, credit must be given to the eleven Oaks players who finished the game strongly and managed to claw the score back to 5-3 before unsurprisingly conceding a sixth late on.
It may seem odd that we played our best football at 5-1 down, but I suppose we had nothing left to lose, and seeing as we had all got up on a Sunday morning to get drenched and caked in mud we might as well enjoy it! The Oaks second goal typified the freedom with which they were now playing. It started with Jordan holding the ball up on the left touch line and then passing in field to Stu, who found Al on the half way line. Al then split open the AFC defence with a through ball to Nathan who had timed his run behind the back four perfectly and again finished with aplomb with a side foot across the keeper into the bottom left hand corner. 5-2.
This lifted the Oaks and for the next 20 minutes they dominated possession and started creating genuine chances thanks to some superb link up play. When Nathan completed his hat-trick with a shot which was helped in via a deflection I for one believed extra time was a real possibility. 5-3.
It would have been hard to tell if AFC were sweating at this point due to the monsoon conditions, but you could be pretty sure that they would have been if their keeper hadn’t pulled of a stunning reaction save to deny Parker from 3 yards following more good build up play between Jordan and Jamie on the left. To be fair to Parker the only thing he did wrong was to start celebrating the goal before it was safely in the back of the net.
If that chance had gone in, the last 10 minutes the game would have been very interesting. As it was, despite Rob and Jamie also coming close we weren’t able to get any closer to AFC, and the game ended with AFC finally finishing us off with a sixth goal on the break. 6-3.
Although we were obviously disappointed to lose, and may have thought we could have played better, Milesy made an important point at the end of the game. This is Sunday League Football, and you’re never going to win them all. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it though, and at the end of the day that has to be the reason we give up our own time to get up on a Sunday morning come rain, wind or shine to get kicked about and pay for the privilege. Those who were playing for The Oaks in 2006/07 will remember that we only managed to win 3 games in the whole season, but I still remember looking forward to every game to have the opportunity to play a game of football with a bunch of guys who I liked and respected, and who respected me. The only thing that has changed since then is we’ve actually got a bit better at the football bit, and as long as the other parts don’t change I’ll definitely keep turning up.
Eye-Ball
P.S. Please spare a thought for Rob who is going to have to put up with some stick from his son for a while, who I believe was playing upfront for AFC and scored 3 goals.
Next Match – Sun 8th November v Linford Wanderers @ Blackshots (Home so 09:45 meet).
Goal scoring chart (with appearances against Lakeside to be added)
Milesy understandably decided to start with the same 11 who had won so emphatically in the last match. Unfortunately a last minute change was required as Deano was still feeling the affects of the flu, and so Eye-Ball came in at right-back:
ppppppppppppppTyrone (GK)
pEye-Ball (RB) Milly (CB) Rob (CB) Aaron (LB)
Nathan (RM) Jordan (CM) Stu (CM) (c) Bill (LM)
pppppppppppAl (CF) Sharpy (CF)
Subs: Jamie, Parker, Jimmy, Deano
It’s not always necessary to give a weather report, but today the elements were to play a major role. Heavy rain that had been falling all morning, and continued throughout the game made the pitch very wet, and caused to the ball move and skid very quickly across the ground; add to this a strong wind (which the Oaks were kicking against in the first half) and you can imagine that these were challenging conditions in which to play football. As we were soon to discover, the conditions definitely favoured the younger, quicker AFC Blackshots.
It became apparent almost immediately that AFC’s plan was to put balls behind the back four for their speedy forwards to run on to, and if not for their failure to beat the off-side trap and some good keeping from Ty, they would have taken the lead. Despite looking dangerous in attack, their defence and goal keeper had a shaky start, and when an innocuous high ball from Al into the box was insufficiently dealt with, Nathan was on hand to slot home with a cool finish from 12 yards. 1-0 to the Oaks.
Re-starts were to prove a problem for The Oaks throughout the match, and as soon as they had taken the lead it was lost. AFC played the ball forward from the centre circle, and a ball through to their striker left the Oaks back four inexcusably standing waiting for Parker to raise the flag. Honest John didn’t however, and the striker had time to compose himself, have a cup of tea, watch the latest Harry Potter Movie, read the book, decide the book was better, and write a letter to the Harry Potter Fan Club telling them as much. Having done all this, he rounded Ty and put the ball into the back of the net. 1-1.
To lose the lead so soon after taking it was obviously unsettling, and AFC made the most of the momentum the goal had given them to take the lead when the AFC striker finished neatly past a diving Ty, who managed to get a hand to it but couldn’t stop the wet, slippery ball going into the net. 2-1 AFC.
The only other incidents to mention from the first half were Eye-Ball finally managing to put in a tackle in the area on his least favourite pitch at Blackshots without conceding a penalty, and a couple of great saves from Ty; one with his legs when the striker was clean through and a superb double save.
Despite going in 2-1 down at half time The Oaks were still well in the game. They had created plenty of chances, and would be kicking with the wind in the second half. The orders for the second half were given, and two changes were made with Deano replacing Aaron and Jamie replacing Bill. Jamie took his customary position upfront, whilst Al dropped into midfield and Eye-Ball moved to left back to make room for Deano at right back.
I said I wouldn’t dwell on the first 10 minutes of the second half. So here is what happened in as few words as I can manage: Oaks kick off, lose possession, AFC score. Oaks kick off, lose possession, AFC score. Oaks kick off, AFC don’t score straight away, but then Rob unluckily heads the ball past Ty when trying to block a shot. 5-1 AFC.
This was a really sloppy period for The Oaks, and to give away 3 soft goals in such a short space of time was obviously a shock. This shouldn’t take anything away from AFC who were clinical, and showed a quality in possession and finishing which highlights why they gained promotion in their first season in the Sunday League, and are currently sitting top of League 2B.
The one positive from conceding four goals so quickly was that we still had most of the second half to get back in the game. Although it would have been easy to give up at this point, credit must be given to the eleven Oaks players who finished the game strongly and managed to claw the score back to 5-3 before unsurprisingly conceding a sixth late on.
It may seem odd that we played our best football at 5-1 down, but I suppose we had nothing left to lose, and seeing as we had all got up on a Sunday morning to get drenched and caked in mud we might as well enjoy it! The Oaks second goal typified the freedom with which they were now playing. It started with Jordan holding the ball up on the left touch line and then passing in field to Stu, who found Al on the half way line. Al then split open the AFC defence with a through ball to Nathan who had timed his run behind the back four perfectly and again finished with aplomb with a side foot across the keeper into the bottom left hand corner. 5-2.
This lifted the Oaks and for the next 20 minutes they dominated possession and started creating genuine chances thanks to some superb link up play. When Nathan completed his hat-trick with a shot which was helped in via a deflection I for one believed extra time was a real possibility. 5-3.
It would have been hard to tell if AFC were sweating at this point due to the monsoon conditions, but you could be pretty sure that they would have been if their keeper hadn’t pulled of a stunning reaction save to deny Parker from 3 yards following more good build up play between Jordan and Jamie on the left. To be fair to Parker the only thing he did wrong was to start celebrating the goal before it was safely in the back of the net.
If that chance had gone in, the last 10 minutes the game would have been very interesting. As it was, despite Rob and Jamie also coming close we weren’t able to get any closer to AFC, and the game ended with AFC finally finishing us off with a sixth goal on the break. 6-3.
Although we were obviously disappointed to lose, and may have thought we could have played better, Milesy made an important point at the end of the game. This is Sunday League Football, and you’re never going to win them all. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it though, and at the end of the day that has to be the reason we give up our own time to get up on a Sunday morning come rain, wind or shine to get kicked about and pay for the privilege. Those who were playing for The Oaks in 2006/07 will remember that we only managed to win 3 games in the whole season, but I still remember looking forward to every game to have the opportunity to play a game of football with a bunch of guys who I liked and respected, and who respected me. The only thing that has changed since then is we’ve actually got a bit better at the football bit, and as long as the other parts don’t change I’ll definitely keep turning up.
Eye-Ball
P.S. Please spare a thought for Rob who is going to have to put up with some stick from his son for a while, who I believe was playing upfront for AFC and scored 3 goals.
Next Match – Sun 8th November v Linford Wanderers @ Blackshots (Home so 09:45 meet).
Goal scoring chart (with appearances against Lakeside to be added)
Oaks Athletic 6 - 2 Lakeside (League Game 3)
I'm afraid this report is lacking detail as I was sunning myself in Tenerife (although I don't have much of a tan to show for it).
I've been told that despite going into half time 2-0 the Oaks rallied in the second half, and scored 6 goals in 20 or so minutes. The scorers were Nathan, Bill, Al, Jamie, Sharpy and Jordan.
Eye-Ball
I've been told that despite going into half time 2-0 the Oaks rallied in the second half, and scored 6 goals in 20 or so minutes. The scorers were Nathan, Bill, Al, Jamie, Sharpy and Jordan.
Eye-Ball
Monday, October 12, 2009
Greyhound 4 - 1 Oaks Athletic (League game 2)
Thankfully it is rare that I have to report on a heavy defeat for The Oaks. The only positive is that the report tends to take less time to write as everyone knows it’s unhealthy to dwell on the irreversible anguish that such situations contribute to. Certain mitigating circumstances could be pointed at – the lack of manager, team captain, and both halves of the regular centre back partnership spring to mind – but ultimately the match was a contest between two sets of eleven mortals, and was one in which the Oaks came up a long way short.
The eleven unlikely lads who took to the field were:
ppppppppppppppTyrone (GK)
ppScott (RB) Deano (CB) Eye-Ball (CB) Jimmy (LB)
pNathan (RM) (c) Al (CM) Bill (CM) Aaron (LM)
pppppppppppParker (CF) Sharpy (CF)
Subs:
I always think that the edge The Oaks have over many of the others is the balance between youth and experience. Unfortunately we weren’t missing these in equal measure for this match, with all those unavailable being seasoned campaigners. This, along with the fact that we were playing one of the top teams in the division, no doubt contributed to the nerves that were evident before kick-off. There were none more nervous than Deano and Eye-ball, who were much more comfortable when the linesman’s flag was within striking distance. Although to be fair to Deano, he has played at centre half regularly in the past, and had shared a successful relationship with Eye-ball in this position in a previous match.
The Oaks started the match brightly, playing some good passing football and putting the opposition under pressure when the ball was lost. They then deservedly took the lead when the long throw of Nathan once again earned an assist as Sharpy rose superbly at the back post to head the ball home from 6 yards. 1-0 to the Oaks.
Although Greyhound looked a dangerous threat, the Oaks were successfully keeping them at bay. However, all their Christmas’s were to come at once as Eye-Ball all but gifted them one goal, and then might as well have been stuck up the chimney when they took the lead soon after.
Statistics can be deceiving; only conceding one foul in the 90 minutes might be a stat most centre backs would be proud of. But when that one foul is via a tackle that was so late you would have thought the clocks had gone forward, and is inside the 18 yard box, you may have well gone onto the pitch wielding a sledge hammer. Greyhound subsequently licked the plate clean from 12 yards. 1-1.
The idea of putting the ball out for a throw is that it’s a lot less risky than trying to beat the man bearing down on you, and also gives you and your team-mates time to re-group. However it helps if you manage to kick the ball further than two yards over the touch-line. Greyhound reacted much quicker than the Oaks were able to, and a disorganised and under-strength Oaks defence was unable to stop the ball once again rippling the back of the net. 2-1 to Greyhound.
Going from leading to losing so quickly would hit most teams for six, and the score would have got even worse if it hadn’t been for a superb last ditch tackle from Jimmy when the striker had the goal at his mercy. The Oaks did have chances to score, but these mainly came from set pieces that we weren’t able to convert and the half ended with the score still 2-1 to Greyhound.
With 20 minutes played in the second half in which the Oaks had spent most of the time defending it was decided we needed to push another man upfront to support the strikers. Given the score-line this was a risk worth taking, but unfortunately it didn’t pay off as another sloppy goal was conceded when Greyhound were allowed to cross and finish from close range.
In possession the Oaks had just about run out of ideas, but without the ball there was a dogged determination shown by all in the red and black. The stand-out contribution being from Bill, who had worked tirelessly throughout the match and deserved better, when chasing back from a failed free kick from just outside the opposition’s 18 yard box, than to see the ball in the net having single-handedly blocked the first 3 or 4 attempts. 4-1 to Greyhound.
Although this is how the game ended, there were definitely some positives to take from this game, with players who don’t usually get 90 minutes showing they were able deputies, who will give Milesy real headaches if they continue to make such telling contributions. We also saw the first recorded full blooded sliding tackle from Aaron, and it was a beauty!
Given time this line-up could be successful (and maybe one day may have to be), but to call this a baptism of fire would be an understatement. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the challenge, and is looking forward to next week when we get the chance to start again from scratch.
Eye – Ball
Next Match – Sun 18h October v Lakeside @ Blackshots (Home so 09:45 meet)
Scoring chart (not included cup stats)
The eleven unlikely lads who took to the field were:
ppppppppppppppTyrone (GK)
ppScott (RB) Deano (CB) Eye-Ball (CB) Jimmy (LB)
pNathan (RM) (c) Al (CM) Bill (CM) Aaron (LM)
pppppppppppParker (CF) Sharpy (CF)
Subs:
I always think that the edge The Oaks have over many of the others is the balance between youth and experience. Unfortunately we weren’t missing these in equal measure for this match, with all those unavailable being seasoned campaigners. This, along with the fact that we were playing one of the top teams in the division, no doubt contributed to the nerves that were evident before kick-off. There were none more nervous than Deano and Eye-ball, who were much more comfortable when the linesman’s flag was within striking distance. Although to be fair to Deano, he has played at centre half regularly in the past, and had shared a successful relationship with Eye-ball in this position in a previous match.
The Oaks started the match brightly, playing some good passing football and putting the opposition under pressure when the ball was lost. They then deservedly took the lead when the long throw of Nathan once again earned an assist as Sharpy rose superbly at the back post to head the ball home from 6 yards. 1-0 to the Oaks.
Although Greyhound looked a dangerous threat, the Oaks were successfully keeping them at bay. However, all their Christmas’s were to come at once as Eye-Ball all but gifted them one goal, and then might as well have been stuck up the chimney when they took the lead soon after.
Statistics can be deceiving; only conceding one foul in the 90 minutes might be a stat most centre backs would be proud of. But when that one foul is via a tackle that was so late you would have thought the clocks had gone forward, and is inside the 18 yard box, you may have well gone onto the pitch wielding a sledge hammer. Greyhound subsequently licked the plate clean from 12 yards. 1-1.
The idea of putting the ball out for a throw is that it’s a lot less risky than trying to beat the man bearing down on you, and also gives you and your team-mates time to re-group. However it helps if you manage to kick the ball further than two yards over the touch-line. Greyhound reacted much quicker than the Oaks were able to, and a disorganised and under-strength Oaks defence was unable to stop the ball once again rippling the back of the net. 2-1 to Greyhound.
Going from leading to losing so quickly would hit most teams for six, and the score would have got even worse if it hadn’t been for a superb last ditch tackle from Jimmy when the striker had the goal at his mercy. The Oaks did have chances to score, but these mainly came from set pieces that we weren’t able to convert and the half ended with the score still 2-1 to Greyhound.
With 20 minutes played in the second half in which the Oaks had spent most of the time defending it was decided we needed to push another man upfront to support the strikers. Given the score-line this was a risk worth taking, but unfortunately it didn’t pay off as another sloppy goal was conceded when Greyhound were allowed to cross and finish from close range.
In possession the Oaks had just about run out of ideas, but without the ball there was a dogged determination shown by all in the red and black. The stand-out contribution being from Bill, who had worked tirelessly throughout the match and deserved better, when chasing back from a failed free kick from just outside the opposition’s 18 yard box, than to see the ball in the net having single-handedly blocked the first 3 or 4 attempts. 4-1 to Greyhound.
Although this is how the game ended, there were definitely some positives to take from this game, with players who don’t usually get 90 minutes showing they were able deputies, who will give Milesy real headaches if they continue to make such telling contributions. We also saw the first recorded full blooded sliding tackle from Aaron, and it was a beauty!
Given time this line-up could be successful (and maybe one day may have to be), but to call this a baptism of fire would be an understatement. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the challenge, and is looking forward to next week when we get the chance to start again from scratch.
Eye – Ball
Next Match – Sun 18h October v Lakeside @ Blackshots (Home so 09:45 meet)
Scoring chart (not included cup stats)
Oaks Athletic 1 - 4 Castle Ranges (Essex Cup Preliminary Round)
I'm afraid all I know is that Sharpy scored our goal, Castle Rangers were a strong side, and Deano and Parker's pre-match preparation had only ended about 4 hours before kick-off. If anyone could leave a comment with line-up/subs I'll update the records.
Eye-ball
Eye-ball
Thursday, September 17, 2009
***2009/10 Season - Game 1 - 13/09/09 *** ****Young Knights 2 - 4 Oaks Athletic ****
The Oaks started the new season with a hard fought victory against the newly promoted Young Knights. This scrappy affair was not without incident, including injuries, two red cards, a missed penalty, and the usual array of goals ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous
Pre-season had been a short affair for The Oaks, with only two matches for Milesy to have a look at the squad at his disposal for the new season. He will be pleased that the squad from last year has remain more or less completely in tack, and that the few players that have been added will add real quality. The one disappointment is that Gollum’s continuing back problems show no sign of abating, and although we know he will be available if required, his involvement is likely to be limited this season.
With 14 players to choose from for this game Milesy went for the following starting eleven:
ppppppppppppppTyrone (GK)
ppDeano (RB) Milly (CB) Rob (CB) Eye-Ball (LB)
pNathan (RM) Jordan (CM) Stu (CM) (c) Aaron (LM)
pppppppppppJamie (CF) Sharpy (CF)
Subs: Jimmy, Bill, Parker
The line-up included two brothers making their league debut for The Oaks; Tyrone is a seasoned campaigner who has played in the Premier division of the Sunday league. Less is known of the younger Jordan, but impressive pre-seasoned displays rightly earned him a place in the starting eleven.
The Oaks had been guilty of being slow out of the blocks in the two pre-season friendlies, but perhaps were a bit too keen to get stuck into the opposition with too many silly fouls being conceded around our penalty area in the early exchanges. This really set the tone for the match, with the sound of the referee’s whistle being heard on far too many occasions. We spend a lot of time lamenting about referee’s, and the conclusion is always the same; the team who are prepared to accept the decisions and hold their tongue more often than not come out on top, with this match being no exception.
A less than perfect start got even worse for The Oaks, as two influential players left the field injured in quick succession within the first fifteen minutes. You know when Rob stays down following a collision that things are bad, and the blood spewing from just above his eye confirmed our worst fears. With Rob heading off to A&E a quick re-shuffle saw Stu moving to centre back, Aaron replacing him in central midfield, and Bill coming into left midfield. The only people happy to see Jamie limp off with a groin injury would have been the Young Knights defenders, who had been finding his obvious quality difficult to deal with. However, they probably hadn’t banked on The Oaks having yet another prolific goal scoring machine waiting in the wings.
Given these disruptions, it was something of a surprise when The Oaks took the lead. The source of the goal was all too familiar, as a long throw in from Nathan went through the hands of the opposing keeper. The goal stood because the keeper had fondled the ball on its way into the net. I’m sure Nathan will argue that he should be awarded the goal, but because a goal can not be scored directly from a throw in the keeper has to take the credit.
1-0 soon became 1-1 when a good passing move from the Young Knights saw them cut through the heart of the Oaks defence and finish smartly pass Tyrone.
The lead was regained mid way through the first half when Sharpy bagged his first goal of the season with a curling free kick from just outside the penalty area that left the keeper rooted to the spot. Sharpy’s 21 goals from last season will take some beating, but if he gets anywhere near that total it will surely be a good year.
Surely no player can claim to be more loyal to The Oaks cause than Michael Parker. In over ten years at the club he has probably played in more positions than most, including being the regular goalkeeper for a number of seasons. However, his request to no longer be the No. 1 has lead in recent years to prolonged periods spent either warming the bench or treading a well worn path up and down the touch line with flag in hand. How someone with such a prolific goal scoring record (two games starting upfront, and two goals) has been overlooked for a regular striker’s berth beggars belief. If you’ve never had the pleasure of seeing the man in action, just imagine the love child of Steve Claridge and Ade Akinbiyi, and you won’t be far off. We all know the lad can play, and natural ability combined with energy and enthusiasm meant Parker had quite an impact when he replaced the injured Jamie. His impressive work rate was rewarded when he arrived in the box to volley home a low cross with the outside of the boot – it was a quite superb finish, and gave The Oaks a two goal cushion which was to prove the catalyst for the self destruction of the opposition.
When half time eventually arrived the score was 3-1 to the Oaks, but everyone knew there was still a lot to do to secure victory.
The events of the second half reminded me of an episode of the Simpsons, where Lisa conducts an experiment to see if Bart is dumber than a hamster. Electrodes are attached to a cup cake, and the hamster soon associates touching the cup cake with a painful electric shock, and so stops trying to eat the cup cake. Bart on the other hand can’t see the link between the pain and his attempts to eat the cake, and so continues regardless. It would be unfair of me to compare the entire Young Knights side to Bart Simpson, but a few of their players definitely made Bart look like a young Albert Einstein.
Their failure to accept the referee’s decisions (regardless of whether they were correct) and the frustration they subsequently felt compelled to expel caused them to completely loose their discipline, and with it any hope of winning the match. Up to this point they had looked a threat going forward, and only a fine acrobatic save by Tyrone following a corner prevented them from closing the deficit. However, when they had a man sent off for what I can only assume to be foul and abusive behaviour towards the referee that was it, and they were soon 4-1 down.
Eye-ball was encouraged to sneak in unmarked at the back post for a corner, from which he was expertly picked out by Nathan. Credit must be given to Sharpy who acknowledged the call from Eye-ball and allowed him to head the ball back into the danger area where Deano was on hand to guide the ball into the net: 4-1.
No Oaks match would be complete without a paragraph dedicated to The Oaks keeper, and this time Tyrone gets his first taste of the spot light. Ty is different, in a lot of ways, to the keepers we have had in recent years, and it was clear that The Oaks defence took a while to acclimatise to the strange hollering emanating from somewhere near the goal behind them. Ty attempts to do all the things a good keeper should; he commands his penalty area, gives clear, decisive calls; marshals his defensive troops; and knows when to come for a ball and when to stay. He is clearly going to make a big difference to the side, and will hopefully enjoy himself in the process. Unfortunately, following this match, he does now have one thing in common with all the keepers I have played with at the Oaks: being caught off his line and lobbed by a speculative effort from 40 yards: 4-2. Oh well…..
The game should have been well a truly wrapped up with 15 minutes to go when a lapse back pass presented Sharpy with a guilt edge scoring chance, only for the keeper to fell him. The keeper was rightly sent off, and Sharpy once again added weight to the claim that the closer he is to the goal, the less likely he is score; first seeing his penalty saved from 12 yards, and then almost demolishing the chimney of the house behind the goal from 6 yards. Perhaps Stevie Akinbiyi should have been given the chance to make it four in three.
Hopefully nothing too exciting happened in the last five minutes; the score line definitely didn’t change, and we should all give ourselves a slap on the back for such a great team display, and for starting the season with a win.
Eye – Ball
Next Match – Sun 27th September v Castle Rangers (Essex Cup) @ Blackshots
Goal Scoring Chart
Pre-season had been a short affair for The Oaks, with only two matches for Milesy to have a look at the squad at his disposal for the new season. He will be pleased that the squad from last year has remain more or less completely in tack, and that the few players that have been added will add real quality. The one disappointment is that Gollum’s continuing back problems show no sign of abating, and although we know he will be available if required, his involvement is likely to be limited this season.
With 14 players to choose from for this game Milesy went for the following starting eleven:
ppppppppppppppTyrone (GK)
ppDeano (RB) Milly (CB) Rob (CB) Eye-Ball (LB)
pNathan (RM) Jordan (CM) Stu (CM) (c) Aaron (LM)
pppppppppppJamie (CF) Sharpy (CF)
Subs: Jimmy, Bill, Parker
The line-up included two brothers making their league debut for The Oaks; Tyrone is a seasoned campaigner who has played in the Premier division of the Sunday league. Less is known of the younger Jordan, but impressive pre-seasoned displays rightly earned him a place in the starting eleven.
The Oaks had been guilty of being slow out of the blocks in the two pre-season friendlies, but perhaps were a bit too keen to get stuck into the opposition with too many silly fouls being conceded around our penalty area in the early exchanges. This really set the tone for the match, with the sound of the referee’s whistle being heard on far too many occasions. We spend a lot of time lamenting about referee’s, and the conclusion is always the same; the team who are prepared to accept the decisions and hold their tongue more often than not come out on top, with this match being no exception.
A less than perfect start got even worse for The Oaks, as two influential players left the field injured in quick succession within the first fifteen minutes. You know when Rob stays down following a collision that things are bad, and the blood spewing from just above his eye confirmed our worst fears. With Rob heading off to A&E a quick re-shuffle saw Stu moving to centre back, Aaron replacing him in central midfield, and Bill coming into left midfield. The only people happy to see Jamie limp off with a groin injury would have been the Young Knights defenders, who had been finding his obvious quality difficult to deal with. However, they probably hadn’t banked on The Oaks having yet another prolific goal scoring machine waiting in the wings.
Given these disruptions, it was something of a surprise when The Oaks took the lead. The source of the goal was all too familiar, as a long throw in from Nathan went through the hands of the opposing keeper. The goal stood because the keeper had fondled the ball on its way into the net. I’m sure Nathan will argue that he should be awarded the goal, but because a goal can not be scored directly from a throw in the keeper has to take the credit.
1-0 soon became 1-1 when a good passing move from the Young Knights saw them cut through the heart of the Oaks defence and finish smartly pass Tyrone.
The lead was regained mid way through the first half when Sharpy bagged his first goal of the season with a curling free kick from just outside the penalty area that left the keeper rooted to the spot. Sharpy’s 21 goals from last season will take some beating, but if he gets anywhere near that total it will surely be a good year.
Surely no player can claim to be more loyal to The Oaks cause than Michael Parker. In over ten years at the club he has probably played in more positions than most, including being the regular goalkeeper for a number of seasons. However, his request to no longer be the No. 1 has lead in recent years to prolonged periods spent either warming the bench or treading a well worn path up and down the touch line with flag in hand. How someone with such a prolific goal scoring record (two games starting upfront, and two goals) has been overlooked for a regular striker’s berth beggars belief. If you’ve never had the pleasure of seeing the man in action, just imagine the love child of Steve Claridge and Ade Akinbiyi, and you won’t be far off. We all know the lad can play, and natural ability combined with energy and enthusiasm meant Parker had quite an impact when he replaced the injured Jamie. His impressive work rate was rewarded when he arrived in the box to volley home a low cross with the outside of the boot – it was a quite superb finish, and gave The Oaks a two goal cushion which was to prove the catalyst for the self destruction of the opposition.
When half time eventually arrived the score was 3-1 to the Oaks, but everyone knew there was still a lot to do to secure victory.
The events of the second half reminded me of an episode of the Simpsons, where Lisa conducts an experiment to see if Bart is dumber than a hamster. Electrodes are attached to a cup cake, and the hamster soon associates touching the cup cake with a painful electric shock, and so stops trying to eat the cup cake. Bart on the other hand can’t see the link between the pain and his attempts to eat the cake, and so continues regardless. It would be unfair of me to compare the entire Young Knights side to Bart Simpson, but a few of their players definitely made Bart look like a young Albert Einstein.
Their failure to accept the referee’s decisions (regardless of whether they were correct) and the frustration they subsequently felt compelled to expel caused them to completely loose their discipline, and with it any hope of winning the match. Up to this point they had looked a threat going forward, and only a fine acrobatic save by Tyrone following a corner prevented them from closing the deficit. However, when they had a man sent off for what I can only assume to be foul and abusive behaviour towards the referee that was it, and they were soon 4-1 down.
Eye-ball was encouraged to sneak in unmarked at the back post for a corner, from which he was expertly picked out by Nathan. Credit must be given to Sharpy who acknowledged the call from Eye-ball and allowed him to head the ball back into the danger area where Deano was on hand to guide the ball into the net: 4-1.
No Oaks match would be complete without a paragraph dedicated to The Oaks keeper, and this time Tyrone gets his first taste of the spot light. Ty is different, in a lot of ways, to the keepers we have had in recent years, and it was clear that The Oaks defence took a while to acclimatise to the strange hollering emanating from somewhere near the goal behind them. Ty attempts to do all the things a good keeper should; he commands his penalty area, gives clear, decisive calls; marshals his defensive troops; and knows when to come for a ball and when to stay. He is clearly going to make a big difference to the side, and will hopefully enjoy himself in the process. Unfortunately, following this match, he does now have one thing in common with all the keepers I have played with at the Oaks: being caught off his line and lobbed by a speculative effort from 40 yards: 4-2. Oh well…..
The game should have been well a truly wrapped up with 15 minutes to go when a lapse back pass presented Sharpy with a guilt edge scoring chance, only for the keeper to fell him. The keeper was rightly sent off, and Sharpy once again added weight to the claim that the closer he is to the goal, the less likely he is score; first seeing his penalty saved from 12 yards, and then almost demolishing the chimney of the house behind the goal from 6 yards. Perhaps Stevie Akinbiyi should have been given the chance to make it four in three.
Hopefully nothing too exciting happened in the last five minutes; the score line definitely didn’t change, and we should all give ourselves a slap on the back for such a great team display, and for starting the season with a win.
Eye – Ball
Next Match – Sun 27th September v Castle Rangers (Essex Cup) @ Blackshots
Goal Scoring Chart
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
End of Season Summary
I think everyone will agree that our achievements in the 2008/09 season far outweighed expectations. When you consider we had finished near the bottom of the third division the previous year, and had only been promoted due to the large number of new teams to finish fifth in division 2B was quite an achievement.
The Oaks found the net a grand total of 63 times in the league last season (the second highest total in the league), and a further 7 goals being scored in cup competitions by Oaks players. One of our greatest strengths was that players from all positions contributed to the scoring; 38 goals came from our three main strikers, 15 from regular midfielders, and 12 from the defenders. The only outfield players not to score were Milly, Eye-Ball, Jimmy and Parker (who has already removed himself from this list in the new season). Approximately 1/3 of our goals were scored by Sharpy, who really found his shooting boots this season. Some say he was inspired by a burning desire to stay top of the goal scoring chart, and if that's the case let's hope he keeps the desire the retain his crown.
The Oaks capped a great year with an end of season awards night where Al picked up the Players Player award, and Sharpy and Rob deservedly picked up Milesy's manager player award, with Milly and Eye-Ball picking up second and third place respectively.
Let's hope the new season is as much fun, and even more successful than the last.
Eye-Ball
Oaks Athletic 1 - 3 Greyhound
Thanks to the league deciding we should wait four weeks for the last game of the season, this game was a bit of an anti-climax, with The Oaks only able to field ten players.
It didn't matter too much as fifth position was already secure, and at least Aaron got to add one more to his goal tally and bring him level with Deano for the season.
Eye-Ball
It didn't matter too much as fifth position was already secure, and at least Aaron got to add one more to his goal tally and bring him level with Deano for the season.
Eye-Ball
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Oaks Athletic 2 - 2 Greyhound
If you believe the numbers Greyhound would have been overwhelming favourites to win this game; before this game they had only lost 3 times and still had an outside chance of winning the league. Compare this to The Oaks who had lost 7 times, and could only finish 4th at best if they won the last two games. You might then expect that not only would Greyhound be hungrier for the win, but that The Oaks may have been resided to defeat before the whistle had even been blown. However, this isn’t a mindset that exists amongst The Oaks faithful, who are playing with a desire and belief that belie the stats. This was evident today through the mixed feelings of satisfaction and disappointment at the end of this game; satisfaction for an excellent performance, but disappointment at not gaining the additional two points we felt we deserved.
With Captain Stu still on the injury list Nathan once again took the arm-band, and after being exhausted by an extra length in the warm-up an unchanged side from the previous week took to the field:
ppppppppppppppParker (GK)
With Captain Stu still on the injury list Nathan once again took the arm-band, and after being exhausted by an extra length in the warm-up an unchanged side from the previous week took to the field:
ppppppppppppppParker (GK)
ppDeano (RB) Milly (CB) Rob (CB) Eye-Ball (LB)
pNathan (RM) Al (CM) Gollum (CM) (c) Aaron (LM)
pppppppppppJamie (CF) Sharpy (CF)
Subs: Jimmy, Bill
We were assigned the same ref as last week, and fortunately he turned up this time and the game kicked off on time. Greyhound are obviously a good footballing side, but it was also clear that they try to use their physical presence to intimidate and disrupt the opposition. This may work against some of the teams in this league, but is not a tactic that is going to work against The Oaks; we more than matched them when competing for the ball and didn’t give them any time to settle. Although, having said this, Sharpy possible could have picked on someone else rather than the biggest player on the pitch – he does love a challenge.
If Greyhound hadn’t expected such a hard fought match, they definitely didn’t expect to go behind, which they duly did half way through the first half. We can all remember what it’s like to be the young newbie in the team (OK some of us remember), when you want to show you can hold your own with the big guys, but you invariably learn some valuable lessons. Greyhound’s young winger definitely learnt a lesson today (although I doubt he’ll heed it): that people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. He’s just lucky that Milly only communicated this message verbally, although I suspect this was all that was needed and the next time we play he won’t show such petulance if Milly beats him to the ball. A similar incident when the youngster was beaten to the ball by Eye-Ball gave The Oaks the free-kick that lead to The Oaks first goal. Aaron whipped in an outswinging cross that eluded the defence and was met by Sharpy at the back post to tuck away. Sharpy has admitted that he may have inadvertently controlled the ball with his hand, but then what the ref doesn’t see doesn’t count: 1-0.
This goal gave us an extra impetus, and we were unfortunate not to go two up when the keeper called to collect a trademark Nathan long throw, but completely misjudged the flight to allow Rob to rise well and head home at the back post. However, this time the ref saw something none of the rest of us did and awarded a free kick.
We were then hit a hammer blow when Jamie paid the price for not joining in the pre-match warm up and pulled his groin. This meant a quick re-shuffle with Al moving upfront and Jimmy coming on to partner Gollum in the middle. Although we took a little time to settle again we were able to weather a mini storm, with Parker coming quickly off his line on more than one occasion to clear the danger and making a good save at the feet of the striker.
Before half time The Oaks gained further reward for their efforts when Nathan speared a throw to the near post that was not dealt with by Greyhound and was poked in by one of their own players under pressure from Sharpy. If only he’d known Sharpy can’t score from one yard. 2:0.
We went out for the second half knowing that Greyhound would commit extra men forward, but that they would also try to wind us up in the hope that we would make life easier for them. We continued to cope pretty well with their attacking threat, and even created some really good chances to finish off the game.
Unfortunately Greyhound were handed a life line when the ball fell to one of their players following a long throw, who managed to thread the ball through the crowded box and into the net. 2-1.
The equaliser came with about 15 minutes to go when some scrappy play around the area led to Parker having to push out a looping ball at the back post under pressure, only for it to fall straight onto the head of a Greyhound player. At this point we were starting to tire, and were probably the most likely to concede the third goal. However, we were denied a great opportunity when it seemed everyone – Oaks, Greyhound and Ref! – were in agreement that Sharpy had been illegally felled in the area, only for the Ref to wave play on. Apparently he was hoping to re-align his karma having realised Sharpy’s first goal should have been disallowed. This didn’t help us much, and in the end we had to settle for a 2-2 draw.
This was a great performance, and it was fantastic to see the commitment and desire from all in the squad despite it being the penultimate game of a long and tough season. Well played everyone and let’s finish off in style.
Eye-Ball
Next Match – v Greyhound away @ Blackshots– Date to be confirmed.
Goal Scoring Chart
Subs: Jimmy, Bill
We were assigned the same ref as last week, and fortunately he turned up this time and the game kicked off on time. Greyhound are obviously a good footballing side, but it was also clear that they try to use their physical presence to intimidate and disrupt the opposition. This may work against some of the teams in this league, but is not a tactic that is going to work against The Oaks; we more than matched them when competing for the ball and didn’t give them any time to settle. Although, having said this, Sharpy possible could have picked on someone else rather than the biggest player on the pitch – he does love a challenge.
If Greyhound hadn’t expected such a hard fought match, they definitely didn’t expect to go behind, which they duly did half way through the first half. We can all remember what it’s like to be the young newbie in the team (OK some of us remember), when you want to show you can hold your own with the big guys, but you invariably learn some valuable lessons. Greyhound’s young winger definitely learnt a lesson today (although I doubt he’ll heed it): that people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. He’s just lucky that Milly only communicated this message verbally, although I suspect this was all that was needed and the next time we play he won’t show such petulance if Milly beats him to the ball. A similar incident when the youngster was beaten to the ball by Eye-Ball gave The Oaks the free-kick that lead to The Oaks first goal. Aaron whipped in an outswinging cross that eluded the defence and was met by Sharpy at the back post to tuck away. Sharpy has admitted that he may have inadvertently controlled the ball with his hand, but then what the ref doesn’t see doesn’t count: 1-0.
This goal gave us an extra impetus, and we were unfortunate not to go two up when the keeper called to collect a trademark Nathan long throw, but completely misjudged the flight to allow Rob to rise well and head home at the back post. However, this time the ref saw something none of the rest of us did and awarded a free kick.
We were then hit a hammer blow when Jamie paid the price for not joining in the pre-match warm up and pulled his groin. This meant a quick re-shuffle with Al moving upfront and Jimmy coming on to partner Gollum in the middle. Although we took a little time to settle again we were able to weather a mini storm, with Parker coming quickly off his line on more than one occasion to clear the danger and making a good save at the feet of the striker.
Before half time The Oaks gained further reward for their efforts when Nathan speared a throw to the near post that was not dealt with by Greyhound and was poked in by one of their own players under pressure from Sharpy. If only he’d known Sharpy can’t score from one yard. 2:0.
We went out for the second half knowing that Greyhound would commit extra men forward, but that they would also try to wind us up in the hope that we would make life easier for them. We continued to cope pretty well with their attacking threat, and even created some really good chances to finish off the game.
Unfortunately Greyhound were handed a life line when the ball fell to one of their players following a long throw, who managed to thread the ball through the crowded box and into the net. 2-1.
The equaliser came with about 15 minutes to go when some scrappy play around the area led to Parker having to push out a looping ball at the back post under pressure, only for it to fall straight onto the head of a Greyhound player. At this point we were starting to tire, and were probably the most likely to concede the third goal. However, we were denied a great opportunity when it seemed everyone – Oaks, Greyhound and Ref! – were in agreement that Sharpy had been illegally felled in the area, only for the Ref to wave play on. Apparently he was hoping to re-align his karma having realised Sharpy’s first goal should have been disallowed. This didn’t help us much, and in the end we had to settle for a 2-2 draw.
This was a great performance, and it was fantastic to see the commitment and desire from all in the squad despite it being the penultimate game of a long and tough season. Well played everyone and let’s finish off in style.
Eye-Ball
Next Match – v Greyhound away @ Blackshots– Date to be confirmed.
Goal Scoring Chart
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Oaks Athletic 3 – 1 Belhus Park Athletic
Today’s victory was The Oaks third in a row, which guaranteed them 5th spot in the league. It has been a very successful season so far, and one which we are all really enjoying (even Milesy!). We’ve got two games left in which to make it even better (win, lose or draw).
These two teams last met back in October in the first game of the season (which feels like a very long time ago), when The Oaks out-played their opponents but were denied all three points by two late goals. They had waited a long time for revenge, and had to wait longer than expected due to a no-show by the referee. Some speculated that he may have forgotten to put his clocks forward, but the fact he didn’t turn up at all suggests he may have actually put them back! However, we were fortunate that one of the opposition substitutes had access to a ref’s top and a whistle, and stepped in to enable the game to go ahead.
Nathan skippered the side in place of the injured Stu, and Milesy picked the following starting 11:
ppppppppppppppParker (GK)
ppDeano (RB) Milly (CB) Rob (CB) Eye-Ball (LB)
pNathan (RM) Al (CM) Gollum (CM) (c) Aaron (LM)
pppppppppppJamie (CF) Sharpy (CF)
Subs: Jimmy, Bill
The delayed start didn’t seem to affect The Oaks, who started really positively; dominating both possession and chances. The reward for this good start didn’t take long to arrive as Rob rose well from a Nathan long throw to head the ball into the top corner: 1:0.
The problem with nicknames is that some people (especially those who weren’t there when it was earned) need convincing that the nickname is truly deserved. Eye-Ball left no one in doubt that this moniker was well earned as he picked up his latest facial injury: this time a nice golf ball implant below the left eye thanks to a collision when going for a header – at least I won the ball (I think).
It seems that mild concussion can be contagious, as the whole team seemed to lose the early sharpness as the half wore on. We were still the better team with the ball in possession, but gave Belhus too many opportunities from free kicks, corners and throw-ins in our own half. Belhus were unlucky not to have the chance to bring the scores level from the spot, when Deano handled the ball in the area. The ref’s inexcusable error also meant that Eye-Ball still holds the position as top penalty conceder (not that I’m bitter).
The Oaks may have got away with this decision, but didn’t get any help from the ref when they failed to close down and defend a cross which was smartly headed home by Belhus: 1-1. This was the last action of the half and left The Oaks frustrated not to go into half time in front.
Stu may not have been leading the team on the pitch, but his constructive words at half time were well received, and seemed to do the trick as The Oaks started the second half much better than they had ended the first. Everyone increased the work-rate, with Nathan leading by example in both attack and defence. Al is also striving in his new central midfield position; with Jamie partnering Sharpy upfront now when Al picks up the ball in midfield he has two willing targets rather than one.
It was vital that we got the next goal, and Sharpy once again showed why he is leading goal scorer when he latched onto a perfect low cross from Nathan and hit the bouncing ball first time into the bottom corner. This was a really good finish and fortunately it wasn’t an easy chance: 2-1.
You could have the memory of a gold fish and still remember that a one goal lead has rarely been sufficient, especially with still 20 minutes to go. This was evident in The Oaks approach, which was to push on for the third goal rather than sit on the one goal advantage. This approach paid off when Jamie expertly took the ball down off a combination of his chin and shoulder, and unleashed a rasping shot that the keeper could only parry into the path of Al, who showed Sharpy how to finish from 2 yards: 3-1.
Belhus Park Ath were now almost beaten, but the last thing we wanted to do was raise their spirits by giving away a sloppy goal, and I’m happy to say I don’t need to describe how we held out for the last 10 min. We finished the half as strongly as we had started it, to earn a much deserved 3 points, and justice was done – and boy was it sweet.
Eye-Ball
Next Game: Sunday 5th April, 10:30 v Greyhound @ Home.
Goal Scoring Chart:
These two teams last met back in October in the first game of the season (which feels like a very long time ago), when The Oaks out-played their opponents but were denied all three points by two late goals. They had waited a long time for revenge, and had to wait longer than expected due to a no-show by the referee. Some speculated that he may have forgotten to put his clocks forward, but the fact he didn’t turn up at all suggests he may have actually put them back! However, we were fortunate that one of the opposition substitutes had access to a ref’s top and a whistle, and stepped in to enable the game to go ahead.
Nathan skippered the side in place of the injured Stu, and Milesy picked the following starting 11:
ppppppppppppppParker (GK)
ppDeano (RB) Milly (CB) Rob (CB) Eye-Ball (LB)
pNathan (RM) Al (CM) Gollum (CM) (c) Aaron (LM)
pppppppppppJamie (CF) Sharpy (CF)
Subs: Jimmy, Bill
The delayed start didn’t seem to affect The Oaks, who started really positively; dominating both possession and chances. The reward for this good start didn’t take long to arrive as Rob rose well from a Nathan long throw to head the ball into the top corner: 1:0.
The problem with nicknames is that some people (especially those who weren’t there when it was earned) need convincing that the nickname is truly deserved. Eye-Ball left no one in doubt that this moniker was well earned as he picked up his latest facial injury: this time a nice golf ball implant below the left eye thanks to a collision when going for a header – at least I won the ball (I think).
It seems that mild concussion can be contagious, as the whole team seemed to lose the early sharpness as the half wore on. We were still the better team with the ball in possession, but gave Belhus too many opportunities from free kicks, corners and throw-ins in our own half. Belhus were unlucky not to have the chance to bring the scores level from the spot, when Deano handled the ball in the area. The ref’s inexcusable error also meant that Eye-Ball still holds the position as top penalty conceder (not that I’m bitter).
The Oaks may have got away with this decision, but didn’t get any help from the ref when they failed to close down and defend a cross which was smartly headed home by Belhus: 1-1. This was the last action of the half and left The Oaks frustrated not to go into half time in front.
Stu may not have been leading the team on the pitch, but his constructive words at half time were well received, and seemed to do the trick as The Oaks started the second half much better than they had ended the first. Everyone increased the work-rate, with Nathan leading by example in both attack and defence. Al is also striving in his new central midfield position; with Jamie partnering Sharpy upfront now when Al picks up the ball in midfield he has two willing targets rather than one.
It was vital that we got the next goal, and Sharpy once again showed why he is leading goal scorer when he latched onto a perfect low cross from Nathan and hit the bouncing ball first time into the bottom corner. This was a really good finish and fortunately it wasn’t an easy chance: 2-1.
You could have the memory of a gold fish and still remember that a one goal lead has rarely been sufficient, especially with still 20 minutes to go. This was evident in The Oaks approach, which was to push on for the third goal rather than sit on the one goal advantage. This approach paid off when Jamie expertly took the ball down off a combination of his chin and shoulder, and unleashed a rasping shot that the keeper could only parry into the path of Al, who showed Sharpy how to finish from 2 yards: 3-1.
Belhus Park Ath were now almost beaten, but the last thing we wanted to do was raise their spirits by giving away a sloppy goal, and I’m happy to say I don’t need to describe how we held out for the last 10 min. We finished the half as strongly as we had started it, to earn a much deserved 3 points, and justice was done – and boy was it sweet.
Eye-Ball
Next Game: Sunday 5th April, 10:30 v Greyhound @ Home.
Goal Scoring Chart:
Corrections
Oaks 5 - 2 Concept B
I now know the team was as follows:
pppppppppppppppBill (GK)
ppDeano (RB) Milly (CB) Rob (CB) Jimmy (LB)
pNathan (RM) Al (CM) Stu (CM) (c) Aaron (LM)
pppppppppppJamie (CF) Sharpy (CF)
Special mention must be made for Bill who made his maiden appearance in goal, and only conceded 2.
Aaron scored 2, Jamie scored 2, and Stu scored 1.
Rec Rovers 5 - 6 Oaks Athletic
As expected I got my knickers in a twist last week, which I think is understandable given 11 goals were scored during the game. The goal from Al's cross that I awarded to Jamie was actually scored by Nathan, and Jamie got his second when he latched onto an unsuccessful attempt from Rob.
Eye-Ball
I now know the team was as follows:
pppppppppppppppBill (GK)
ppDeano (RB) Milly (CB) Rob (CB) Jimmy (LB)
pNathan (RM) Al (CM) Stu (CM) (c) Aaron (LM)
pppppppppppJamie (CF) Sharpy (CF)
Special mention must be made for Bill who made his maiden appearance in goal, and only conceded 2.
Aaron scored 2, Jamie scored 2, and Stu scored 1.
Rec Rovers 5 - 6 Oaks Athletic
As expected I got my knickers in a twist last week, which I think is understandable given 11 goals were scored during the game. The goal from Al's cross that I awarded to Jamie was actually scored by Nathan, and Jamie got his second when he latched onto an unsuccessful attempt from Rob.
Eye-Ball
Monday, March 23, 2009
Rec Rovers 5 - 6 Oaks Athletic
In theory winning a game of football is easy: just score one more goal than the other team. They score none, you score one; they score one, you score two; they score five you score 6. OK, so a simple equation can soon become complicated, and The Oaks didn’t exactly make it easy for themselves on this sunny Sunday morning at Belhus Park.
Like so many times this season Milesy had the luxury of 14 players from which to select his starting line up, and he opted for the following team:
ppppaaaaaaaaaaaaaNNeil (GK)
pppDeano (RB) Rob (CB) Milly (CB) Eye-Ball (LB)
pNathan (RM) Al (CM) Stu (CM) (c) Aaron (LM)
ppppaaaaaaaaaaaJamie (CF) Sharpy (CF)
subs: Parker, Gollum, Bill
It had been three weeks since The Oaks last played, and it definitely showed as they struggled to find first gear in the opening exchanges, and were soon behind thanks to a deflected shot from their dangerous number 6 (don’t worry Rob, definitely not an o.g.).
This woke the Oaks up a bit, and they were soon back on level terms when Sharpy found himself through on goal and supplied a neat finish from 8 yards. Next came the first of two own goals (or the only one depending on who you talk to), as The Oaks were beaten at their own game; a long throw into the six yard box was met by Al who cleared in the wrong direction and left Neil no chance. 2-1 to Rec Rovers (I hope you’re keeping up).
The Oaks have shown what an effective and direct passing side they can be, and once they remembered this the benefits were clear to see. No more so than when Captain Stu finished off a slick passing move with a delightful ball into Jamie who was never going to miss when through on goal with only the keeper to beat: 2-2.
Having twice come from behind, The Oaks now took the lead for the first time when Al whipped a low ball to the back post and Jamie was once again perfectly place to put the ball past the helpless Rec keeper: 3-2.
I should at this point mention that The Oaks could easily have gone in to half time three goals up rather than one if one of our number hadn’t put a header over from 1 yard and manage to smash the ball straight into the keeper’s face with the whole goal was at his mercy. I’m not going to mention any names, but you must admire the fact that this guy has scored 19 goals when he can’t put away the easy ones.
Rec Rovers must have had something stronger in their water at half-time, as they once again looked to put The Oaks under pressure from the off. The scores were soon back level as Rec scored one of the goals of the game with one player starting and finishing a move with a good header from a left-wing cross: 3-3.
Having had to mentally capture 6 goals up to this point, I must admit that the following period is a little hazy – I blame it on my lung bursting runs that starved my brain of oxygen (I really should learn to multi-task). I do know that The Oaks went 4-3 up and that Nathan scored the goal (sorry Nathan, you’ll have to remind me what happened).
At this point Gollum was bought on for the injured Stu, Parker came on for Neil and Bill replaced Aaron. Gollum’s orders were to sit in front of the defence and break up any attacks; but, to be honest, Neil could have parked his No. 11 bus in-front of the goal and we still would have conceded. This time we were punished for failing to clear the ball from a set piece. 4-4.
I’ll have to leave it to Milesy to decide whether Nathan should be credited with the next goal, but from where I was standing it looked like the defender leathered the ball into the bottom corner in attempting to cut out a cross: 5-4.
There were now only 2 minutes remaining, and the Oaks went 5 at the back in a desperate attempt to keep hold of a lead for only half the time it takes to boil an egg. Unfortunately one extra man in defence could do nothing about the dipping shot from 40 yards that left parker wishing the Mansfield stewards had thrown him out of the country and not just the ground 5:5!
I think that the majority of us had lost the will to live at this point, but fortunately Nathan and Jamie weren’t prepared to give up so easily. The last of many bursting runs from Nathan earned a corner, which he swung over quickly to the back post much to the annoyance of the advancing defenders who wanted to get in the box for one last attempt at being near the ball when it went it at the right end! Fortunately Nathan’s quick thinking paid off as he caught all but one fast asleep. That one was Jamie who snuck in at the back post to head the ball into the goal from an impossible angle. 6-5 to the Oaks! It was the perfect way to round off a brilliant hat-trick, and Jamie obviously enjoyed it has he went running off like the 10 year old school girl who’d just had her first kiss.
So to summarise: The Oaks scored one more goal than Rec Rovers and therefore won the game. THE END.
Eye-Ball
Next game: Sun 29th March –v- Belhus Park Athletic @ Home – 10:30 a.m. K.O.
Scoring Chart*:
Like so many times this season Milesy had the luxury of 14 players from which to select his starting line up, and he opted for the following team:
ppppaaaaaaaaaaaaaNNeil (GK)
pppDeano (RB) Rob (CB) Milly (CB) Eye-Ball (LB)
pNathan (RM) Al (CM) Stu (CM) (c) Aaron (LM)
ppppaaaaaaaaaaaJamie (CF) Sharpy (CF)
subs: Parker, Gollum, Bill
It had been three weeks since The Oaks last played, and it definitely showed as they struggled to find first gear in the opening exchanges, and were soon behind thanks to a deflected shot from their dangerous number 6 (don’t worry Rob, definitely not an o.g.).
This woke the Oaks up a bit, and they were soon back on level terms when Sharpy found himself through on goal and supplied a neat finish from 8 yards. Next came the first of two own goals (or the only one depending on who you talk to), as The Oaks were beaten at their own game; a long throw into the six yard box was met by Al who cleared in the wrong direction and left Neil no chance. 2-1 to Rec Rovers (I hope you’re keeping up).
The Oaks have shown what an effective and direct passing side they can be, and once they remembered this the benefits were clear to see. No more so than when Captain Stu finished off a slick passing move with a delightful ball into Jamie who was never going to miss when through on goal with only the keeper to beat: 2-2.
Having twice come from behind, The Oaks now took the lead for the first time when Al whipped a low ball to the back post and Jamie was once again perfectly place to put the ball past the helpless Rec keeper: 3-2.
I should at this point mention that The Oaks could easily have gone in to half time three goals up rather than one if one of our number hadn’t put a header over from 1 yard and manage to smash the ball straight into the keeper’s face with the whole goal was at his mercy. I’m not going to mention any names, but you must admire the fact that this guy has scored 19 goals when he can’t put away the easy ones.
Rec Rovers must have had something stronger in their water at half-time, as they once again looked to put The Oaks under pressure from the off. The scores were soon back level as Rec scored one of the goals of the game with one player starting and finishing a move with a good header from a left-wing cross: 3-3.
Having had to mentally capture 6 goals up to this point, I must admit that the following period is a little hazy – I blame it on my lung bursting runs that starved my brain of oxygen (I really should learn to multi-task). I do know that The Oaks went 4-3 up and that Nathan scored the goal (sorry Nathan, you’ll have to remind me what happened).
At this point Gollum was bought on for the injured Stu, Parker came on for Neil and Bill replaced Aaron. Gollum’s orders were to sit in front of the defence and break up any attacks; but, to be honest, Neil could have parked his No. 11 bus in-front of the goal and we still would have conceded. This time we were punished for failing to clear the ball from a set piece. 4-4.
I’ll have to leave it to Milesy to decide whether Nathan should be credited with the next goal, but from where I was standing it looked like the defender leathered the ball into the bottom corner in attempting to cut out a cross: 5-4.
There were now only 2 minutes remaining, and the Oaks went 5 at the back in a desperate attempt to keep hold of a lead for only half the time it takes to boil an egg. Unfortunately one extra man in defence could do nothing about the dipping shot from 40 yards that left parker wishing the Mansfield stewards had thrown him out of the country and not just the ground 5:5!
I think that the majority of us had lost the will to live at this point, but fortunately Nathan and Jamie weren’t prepared to give up so easily. The last of many bursting runs from Nathan earned a corner, which he swung over quickly to the back post much to the annoyance of the advancing defenders who wanted to get in the box for one last attempt at being near the ball when it went it at the right end! Fortunately Nathan’s quick thinking paid off as he caught all but one fast asleep. That one was Jamie who snuck in at the back post to head the ball into the goal from an impossible angle. 6-5 to the Oaks! It was the perfect way to round off a brilliant hat-trick, and Jamie obviously enjoyed it has he went running off like the 10 year old school girl who’d just had her first kiss.
So to summarise: The Oaks scored one more goal than Rec Rovers and therefore won the game. THE END.
Eye-Ball
Next game: Sun 29th March –v- Belhus Park Athletic @ Home – 10:30 a.m. K.O.
Scoring Chart*:
*Note that the chart has not been updated with goals or appearances from the previous match (I need to get the details of who played from Milesy).
Sun 1st Mar - Oaks Athletic 5 - 2 Concept B
I could tell you about my holiday, but unfortunately not what happened in this match. All you need to know is that Aaron and Jamie scored twice with Nathan getting the other one in a fine victory for the Oaks.
Eye-Ball
Eye-Ball
Friday, February 27, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
No match reports for two weeks
I'm off to Barbados tomorrow so will miss all the action for the next two weeks. Good luck lads, and if I can log on to find out the results I will do.
Eye-Ball
Eye-Ball
Monday, February 23, 2009
Oaks Athletic 1 - 1 & 1 - 2 -v- Kynoch Sports (Double Header)
Kynoch Sports 1 -1 Oaks Athletic
Another week, and another double header; this time away at The Pegasus Club to Kynoch Sports. Two hours of football on a massive pitch, against a youthful side who are definite title contenders would not be top of most of our lists as an enjoyable way to spend a Sunday morning. However, we had already shown earlier in the season that we could compete with them on this ground, when we were narrowly defeated 3-2 in the cup.
Milesy decided to start with a 5-3-2 formation, in a hope to squeeze the play in midfield, and included Eye-Ball for his first game in 7 weeks since breaking a big toe (it should be noted at this point that sneezing was the most energetic thing Eye-Ball had done in 5 weeks, and therefore expected to play no more than 60 minutes). However, the return of Eye-Ball was small consolation for missing Al for the first time this season – who injured his foot the week before.
ppppaaaaaaaaaaaaaNNeil (GK)
pppppppppRob (CB) Milly (CB) Stu (LB) (c)
pppDeano (RWB) ppppppppppppppppJason (LWB)
ppppppNathan (RM) Jimmy (CM) Eye-Ball (LM)
ppppaaaaaaaaaaaJamie (CF) Sharpy (CF)
subs: Parker, Gollum, Aaron
The early signs were not good, as The Oaks players spent much of the first half chasing shadows. We struggled to adapt to the new formation, and gave Kynoch far too much time on the ball in which to show off their individual qualities. However, we held on well at the back, and it took a cracking header from a good cross from the right to give Kynoch the lead in the first half.
Despite our lack of possession, when we were able to get the ball up to Sharpy and Jamie we looked like creating chances. Jamie, especially, showed his class and should have given The Oaks the equaliser when he finished off a cross superbly on the left side of the box. Unfortunately the spring loaded arm of the Kynoch linesman was raised in response to spotting Sharpy offside. However, he was not interfering with play and the goal should have been allowed to stand.
Half time was reached with the score at 1-0. There were understandably a few dejected faces as we left the field; we seemed well out of our depth against a well organised and energetic Kynoch side, and when we had put the ball in the net the goal had been disallowed. The scoreline could have looked a lot worse though if it hadn’t been for a superb goal-line clearance by Milly.
Realising that things just weren’t working Milesy changed the formation and personnel. The Oaks reverted to the more familiar 4-4-2, with Eye-Ball moving to left back, and Gollum coming on to join Stu in the centre of Midfield. Aaron came on to play on the left in place of Jimmy, and Parker replaced Neil (who had a good half) in goal.
The difference was instantly visible; we started competing more for every ball and did not allow Kynoch to gain any momentum. When they did get the ball forward Parker looked confident and assured in claiming the ball and snuffling out the danger.
The referee (the infamous Graham Monk), was handling the game well (as you would expect). However he did seem to get withdrawal symptoms if he had not blown the whistle for a few minutes, and kept blowing up for niggling little fouls – more often than not against the Oaks. However, on one occasion when the decision went our way Stu capitalised on Kynoch’s slowness to re-group and lofted the ball into the area where it was met by Nathan, who deftly headed the ball into the bottom corner. 1-1.
This really brought the game to life, and both sides had good chances to snatch a winner. The match finished 1-1, with The Oaks definitely the happier of the two sides although perhaps a little disappointed to have not got all 3 points.
Oaks Athletic 1 -2 Kynoch Sport
After a quick breather and another bite of the banana The Oaks headed back onto the field to do it all again. Tinkerman Milesy again did a quick bit of squad rotation, which was partly enforced by Milly’s ever-present injury worries. So Eye-Ball moved to right-back, Deano partnered Rob in the centre, Jason came on at left-back and Neil tagged out Parker (hey! Weren’t you guys The Natural Disasters!).
Parker and Neil in the good old days when they had finely tuned bodies and facial hair to die for.
ppppaaaaaaaaaaaaaNNeil (GK)
pppEye-Ball (RB) Rob (CB) Deano (CB) Jason (LB)
pNathan (RM) Gollum (CM) Stu (CM) (c) Aaron (LM)
ppppaaaaaaaaaaaSharpy (CF) Jamie (CF)
subs: Parker, Jimmy, Milly
Like wounded dogs Kynoch bounced back strongly, and it wasn’t long before they took the lead when they cut straight through the centre of the Oaks defence, with the striker finishing coolly.
It could easily have been much worse had it not been for Neil, who was caught out of position when Deano and Eye-ball failed to deal with a low cross into the box. The Kynoch striker had a seemingly easy tap in, but Neil somehow managed to get a strong hand to the ball, diving to his right, and put it behind for a corner. We were also fortunate when the Kynoch winger got clean through and lobbed Neil, only for the ball to come back off the post for Deano to clear.
Another week, and another double header; this time away at The Pegasus Club to Kynoch Sports. Two hours of football on a massive pitch, against a youthful side who are definite title contenders would not be top of most of our lists as an enjoyable way to spend a Sunday morning. However, we had already shown earlier in the season that we could compete with them on this ground, when we were narrowly defeated 3-2 in the cup.
M&S hope their new Spring fashion range will appeal to the more discerning gentleman
Milesy decided to start with a 5-3-2 formation, in a hope to squeeze the play in midfield, and included Eye-Ball for his first game in 7 weeks since breaking a big toe (it should be noted at this point that sneezing was the most energetic thing Eye-Ball had done in 5 weeks, and therefore expected to play no more than 60 minutes). However, the return of Eye-Ball was small consolation for missing Al for the first time this season – who injured his foot the week before.
"Hands Up! Baby Hands Up!....." You're singing it to now!
ppppaaaaaaaaaaaaaNNeil (GK)
pppppppppRob (CB) Milly (CB) Stu (LB) (c)
pppDeano (RWB) ppppppppppppppppJason (LWB)
ppppppNathan (RM) Jimmy (CM) Eye-Ball (LM)
ppppaaaaaaaaaaaJamie (CF) Sharpy (CF)
subs: Parker, Gollum, Aaron
The early signs were not good, as The Oaks players spent much of the first half chasing shadows. We struggled to adapt to the new formation, and gave Kynoch far too much time on the ball in which to show off their individual qualities. However, we held on well at the back, and it took a cracking header from a good cross from the right to give Kynoch the lead in the first half.
Simon Cowell wonders if he should be brutally honest and tell Jamie he has as much chance of being the next pop sensation as Parker has of going a week without being abused.
Despite our lack of possession, when we were able to get the ball up to Sharpy and Jamie we looked like creating chances. Jamie, especially, showed his class and should have given The Oaks the equaliser when he finished off a cross superbly on the left side of the box. Unfortunately the spring loaded arm of the Kynoch linesman was raised in response to spotting Sharpy offside. However, he was not interfering with play and the goal should have been allowed to stand.
Having spotted Simon Cowell, Nathan decides to break out the moon-walk
Half time was reached with the score at 1-0. There were understandably a few dejected faces as we left the field; we seemed well out of our depth against a well organised and energetic Kynoch side, and when we had put the ball in the net the goal had been disallowed. The scoreline could have looked a lot worse though if it hadn’t been for a superb goal-line clearance by Milly.
Realising that things just weren’t working Milesy changed the formation and personnel. The Oaks reverted to the more familiar 4-4-2, with Eye-Ball moving to left back, and Gollum coming on to join Stu in the centre of Midfield. Aaron came on to play on the left in place of Jimmy, and Parker replaced Neil (who had a good half) in goal.
The difference was instantly visible; we started competing more for every ball and did not allow Kynoch to gain any momentum. When they did get the ball forward Parker looked confident and assured in claiming the ball and snuffling out the danger.
The referee (the infamous Graham Monk), was handling the game well (as you would expect). However he did seem to get withdrawal symptoms if he had not blown the whistle for a few minutes, and kept blowing up for niggling little fouls – more often than not against the Oaks. However, on one occasion when the decision went our way Stu capitalised on Kynoch’s slowness to re-group and lofted the ball into the area where it was met by Nathan, who deftly headed the ball into the bottom corner. 1-1.
This really brought the game to life, and both sides had good chances to snatch a winner. The match finished 1-1, with The Oaks definitely the happier of the two sides although perhaps a little disappointed to have not got all 3 points.
Oaks Athletic 1 -2 Kynoch Sport
After a quick breather and another bite of the banana The Oaks headed back onto the field to do it all again. Tinkerman Milesy again did a quick bit of squad rotation, which was partly enforced by Milly’s ever-present injury worries. So Eye-Ball moved to right-back, Deano partnered Rob in the centre, Jason came on at left-back and Neil tagged out Parker (hey! Weren’t you guys The Natural Disasters!).
Parker and Neil in the good old days when they had finely tuned bodies and facial hair to die for.ppppaaaaaaaaaaaaaNNeil (GK)
pppEye-Ball (RB) Rob (CB) Deano (CB) Jason (LB)
pNathan (RM) Gollum (CM) Stu (CM) (c) Aaron (LM)
ppppaaaaaaaaaaaSharpy (CF) Jamie (CF)
subs: Parker, Jimmy, Milly
Like wounded dogs Kynoch bounced back strongly, and it wasn’t long before they took the lead when they cut straight through the centre of the Oaks defence, with the striker finishing coolly.
It could easily have been much worse had it not been for Neil, who was caught out of position when Deano and Eye-ball failed to deal with a low cross into the box. The Kynoch striker had a seemingly easy tap in, but Neil somehow managed to get a strong hand to the ball, diving to his right, and put it behind for a corner. We were also fortunate when the Kynoch winger got clean through and lobbed Neil, only for the ball to come back off the post for Deano to clear.
It's always embarrasing when you forget to remove the coat hanger
The Oaks were really flagging at this point, and got a much needed boost when Sharpy flicked on to Jamie, who then put the ball through for Nathan to run onto one on one with the keeper. We all held our breath as Nathan’s firmly struck shot hit the on-rushing keeper, but fortunately the ball’s momentum carried it on into the net. 1-1.
We then had a great chance to take the lead as the ball fell to Aaron following a fine save to deny Jamie. Unfortunately it fell on Aaron’s considerably weaker right foot, and he was only able to strike the ball onto the crossbar and over for a goal kick. Half time came with the scores yet again level at 1-1.
Parker and Jimmy came on for Neil and Aaron for the second half, and we had made it to the last half hour of this epic encounter. Some players were really starting to feel the burn now (included yours truly – 120 minutes was not quite what I had in mind!), and it was becoming a real war of attrition. Fouls were becoming more frequent, as players were struggling to time tackles and unsurprisingly Parker was required to get us out of jail on more than one occasion.
We held out until the last 10 minutes, when Kynoch earned a corner after Parker saved well from a header. The corner was swung in, Parker flapped and missed – as did the defenders who were in close proximity – and somehow the smallest player on the pitch was able to head the ball (somewhat fortuitously) into the roof of the net.
The Oaks struggled to summon up the energy to respond, but should have been awarded a penalty if a foul had been awarded on Jimmy for a similar type of push which had been consistently punished everywhere else on the pitch. The game finished 2-1, and we limped off disappointed to have not got more points, but happy with the determined performance.
Well played lads, and I hope you’re not hurting as much as I am!
Next Match: Sunday 1st March v Concept B @ Home – 10:30 K.O.
Goal Scoring Chart:
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Next Fixture Sunday 22nd February - Correction
Please note that this Sunday's game is at the Pegasus Club. It's a double header.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Oaks Athletic 2 - 1 & 4 - 1 -v- Asda Tilbury (Double Header)
There were no freak weather conditions to affect today’s matches, and this double header against Asda Tilbury gave The Oaks an opportunity to earn six much needed points. However, Asda are not the whipping boys they once were – as displayed by their good mid-table league position – and therefore The Oaks would need to battle hard and fight for every ball if they were to get maximum points from these two 60 minute matches.
Due to my absence these reports will be short and sweet, and thanks to Parker for providing the vital information. These double headers are definitely a squad game and super tanned Milesy (I assume he must be after spending two weeks in the Dominican Republic – avoiding the snow!), had 14 players to choose from. The line-up for the first game was as follows:
ppppaaaaaaaaaaaaaNParker (GK)
pppDeano (RB) Rob (CB) Milly (CB) Stu (LB) (c)
pNathan (RM) Gollum (CM) Jimmy (CM) Bill (LM)
ppppaaaaaaaaaaaAl (CF) Sharpy (CF)
subs: Neil, Jamie, Aaron
Stat of the week: I could be wrong, but I do believe this if the first time Milesy has selected the same team, in the same formation, for two consecutive matches!
Rumour has it that some football was played in the first half, with both sides kicking the quasi-spherical leather object towards the opposition's goal. However neither side managed to merge object and net, and the score at half-time was 0-0.
Milesy rung the changes for the second half with Parker paying the price for not scoring by being replaced in goal by Neil (you really should try harder Parker!). Aaron replaced Bill and Jamie came on for Gollum.
The second half saw Robo-Rob requiring treatment for a cut above his eye. The “slap some Vaseline on it” treatment worked a treat, and he was able to continue.
Due to my absence these reports will be short and sweet, and thanks to Parker for providing the vital information. These double headers are definitely a squad game and super tanned Milesy (I assume he must be after spending two weeks in the Dominican Republic – avoiding the snow!), had 14 players to choose from. The line-up for the first game was as follows:
ppppaaaaaaaaaaaaaNParker (GK)
pppDeano (RB) Rob (CB) Milly (CB) Stu (LB) (c)
pNathan (RM) Gollum (CM) Jimmy (CM) Bill (LM)
ppppaaaaaaaaaaaAl (CF) Sharpy (CF)
subs: Neil, Jamie, Aaron
Stat of the week: I could be wrong, but I do believe this if the first time Milesy has selected the same team, in the same formation, for two consecutive matches!
Rumour has it that some football was played in the first half, with both sides kicking the quasi-spherical leather object towards the opposition's goal. However neither side managed to merge object and net, and the score at half-time was 0-0.
Milesy rung the changes for the second half with Parker paying the price for not scoring by being replaced in goal by Neil (you really should try harder Parker!). Aaron replaced Bill and Jamie came on for Gollum.
The second half saw Robo-Rob requiring treatment for a cut above his eye. The “slap some Vaseline on it” treatment worked a treat, and he was able to continue.
Robo-Rob - It takes more than a slight flesh wound to keep down this warrior
Things did not look good when The Oaks went behind after a long range free-kick from Asda evaded Neil and ended up in the back of the net. 1-0 to Asda.
The Oaks were not prepared to give up without a fight, and started to pile on the pressure. The equaliser didn’t come until injury time, when The Oaks won a corner. Deano has looked like our most dangerous player from corners in recent weeks, and he finally got the goal he deserved when he headed home from close range. 1-1.
I have received a quote straight from Milesy, who says that “we should have won both games by a lot more; we were really good”. I can therefore only assume that justice was done when, before the full-time whistle, another corner from Nathan was met by a bullet header from Sharpy, and the Oaks had won 2-1!
Oaks Athletic 4 -1 Asda Tilbury
I imagine that Asda must have been devastated to have lost via two injury time goals, and would have wanted nothing less than to have to go on for another 60 minutes. On the contrary The Oaks were on a high, and took the momentum of the victory into the second match. Milesy again made good use of the versatile squad at his disposal to put out the following team:
ppppaaaaaaaaaaaaaNNeil (GK)
pppDeano (RB) Rob (CB) Milly (CB) Stu (LB) (c)
pNathan (RM) Gollum (CM) Sharpy (CM) Aaron (LM)
ppppaaaaaaaaaaaAl (CF) Jamie (CF)
subs: Parker, Bill, Jimmy
Deano again stole the show as he put the Oaks in front with another header. Apparently he hadn’t learnt his lesson after having his clothes stolen a couple of weeks ago, and promptly dropped his shorts claiming someone had spat on them! There is no photographic evidence to support this claim, but below is an artist’s impression from an eye-witness account:
If Deano is really a stick man he wouldn't wear shorts anyway; so what's all the fuss about!
Jamie very rarely fails to get on the score sheet, and today was no exception as he pounced on a parried shot/cross to put the oaks 2-0 up. The fact that The Oaks maintained their two goal advantage going into half time was helped by a great save from Neil to deny the Asda striker. It also meant that both Neil and Parker can claim a clean sheet for their day’s work.
Milesy ensured everyone got at least an hour of football by bringing on Parker (for Neil), Bill (for Aaron) and Jimmy (for Sharpy) for the second half.
Deano was again involved in a key moment in the game, as his handball in the area handed Asda a lifeline, which they duly took to make the score 2-1.
The nerves were settled a bit when a long kick upfield from Parker was headed on by Nathan to Al, who lashed the bouncing ball past the Asda trolley (I mean keeper of course), who could only stand and watch.
Al was obviously looking to take advantage of the fact that the Oaks top scorer was watching from the sideline when he doubled his tally with a neat finish following some good link up play between Nathan and Bill. 4-1 to the Oaks.
This rounded off a great day at the office for the Oaks; 6 points in the bag at a vital part of the season. Well done lads and I’ll see you next week.
Eye-Ball
Next Match: Sunday 22nd Feb v Concept B @ Home – 10:30 K.O.
Goal Scoring Chart
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