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)