Oaks Athletic 2 -3 Prittlewell

pppppppppppppppppTy

ppDeanopppppppRobpppMillyppppppAaron

Nathan(c)ppppGollumpppppJordanpppppParker

ppppppppppMikey BpppppSharpy


The Oaks first competitive fixture of the season saw us have our usual first round defeat to a team from a higher league, who should not really be in our part of the Essex Cup. Today the lucky team was Prittlewell of Southend's first division.
Before the game we had to go through a Champions League style handshake before kick off. This was the closest we got to the opposition in the first couple of minutes! Prittlewell took advantage of the Oaks pacey left hand combo to go 1-0 up with barely a minute played! This gave us a chance to show our famous fighting spirit and Oaks only had to wait 20 minutes or so to draw level.
Jordan took the ball down 30 yards from goal and looped a stunning shot over the keeper into the onion bag. In fact the shot was so good that the first thought on most of our minds was, "did he mean it?" :O)

The oaks were now settled into the game and we appeared to be going in at half time all square. Unfortunately this was not to be the case. Ty conceded a penalty and the ref told Ty he thought the Prittlewell striker had dived! Work that one out! Anyway the spot kick was cooly dispatched, which to be fair was made more impressive by the fact that Gollum was virtually on the penalty spot by the time the striker struck the ball, such was his enthusiasm to be first to any rebound!

The second half bought many changes, the subs were Parker off for returnee Alex White at half time, Gollum for new boy Nick about 20 minutes later and Jimmy came on for Aaron shortly after this.
This meant that Alex slotted in at left back with Jimmy in front of him and MikeyB going into the middle with Nick up top.

The second half really sprung into life during injury time. Alex up on the edge of the area for an Oaks set play had the ball land perfect for a stunning goal from the famous ONE FAT LEG. In fact it was so good that we all thought...... You get the idea! With the ref looking nervously at his watch and the prospect of missing his afternoon game, he decided to let Prittlewell have one last attack. A throw to the edge of the box led to another Alex/Jordan style shot into the top corner and that was that for another Essex Cup run.

It was not the result we wanted, but if we play that well in the league, then surely we have got a chance this year?

Todays report was by Mr Parker, due to Eyeball being away blowing his own trumpet!

End of season round up

Better late than never...

The Oaks finished the 2009/10 season comfortably mid-table, but maybe a disappointing finish given our fine start to the season. However, the usual injuries and disappearance of key players means those who stood by the club should be proud of their contribution.

One sad note is the retirement of club captain Stuart Hand. He has been a great servant to the club, and we hope to see him at the pub at some point at the very least.

The end of season drinks was a well attended affair, and I vaguely remember that top goal scorer Nathan rightfully received the Player's Player of the year award, with Milly Swopping Milesy's Manager's player award. There is no doubt that both were thoroughly deserved, and we hope they both have another fantastic season in 10/11.

Eye-Ball

AFC Blackshots 6 - 0 Oaks Athletic

The season finished early for two of the Oaks players as we finished the match with 9 men, playing much of the match with 10. While the Oaks had nothing to play for in this game, Blackshots needed to grab the league title from Anchor Tilbury – who had turned up in force to make sure we gave it 100%. There was no denying that most of us preferred a particular outcome, especially with there being more than one family connection between the Oaks and the opposition. However, Steve put out a strong team, and resisted the temptation to play people out of position for the last game.

pppppppppppppppppppTyrone (GK)

ppppJimmy (RB) Milly (CB) Eye-Ball (CB) Deano (LB)

Jordan (RM) Gollum (CM) Stu (CM) (c) Rob (CM) Scott (LM)

ppppppppppppppppppppNathan (CF)

Subs: Aaron, Casey, Sharpy

The Oaks started well, and for the first 20 minutes were able to contain a determined Blackshots side, with a bit of help from the post and some good reactions from Ty, as a deep cross hit the far post and game back along the line for Ty to kick away. Blackshots finally got the lead they needed when the Oaks weren’t quick enough to close down the player in the box, who was able to shoot low past Ty: 1-0.

Blackshots were now well and truly on top, and soon extended their lead. As if things weren’t bad enough the Oaks then went down to ten men; Eye-ball successfully intercepted a low cross, but rather than clearing the ball up-field, only managed to slice it behind him at pace. Deano’s instinct took over, and he palmed the ball down thinking it was on root into the net. The referee took no sympathy (despite a number of Blackshots players showing commendable sportsmanship to try and convince the referee to not show a red card), and sent Deano off. The resulting penalty was converted: 3-0.

The referee was central to the match now, and seemed to take a real disliking to the Oaks, perhaps thinking the rowdy lager swigging Anchor fans were actually our supporters. He even managed to irate Eye-ball, as the competitive left-back was penalised for what was seen as a rash challenge when attempting to block a ball up the line. The rest of the match became a bit of a waste of time, as frequent bursts of the referee’s whistle added to the numerical disadvantage effectively ended the game as a contest. The Oaks continued to battle in vain, with the frustration becoming too much for Nathan who was sent off for telling the referee what we all really thought of him.

Eye-Ball