The long lay-off due to the harsh winter means double headers will be a regular feature for the rest of the season. These often throw up strange result and this first one against a good Pegasus side was no exception, with the Oaks inflicting only Pegasus’s second defeat of the season, before conceding 6 in a result that was heavily influenced by Mother Nature, and Gollum’s rear end.
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The Thurrock Sunday League manager really earns his salt when the double headers come round, and Milesy obviously came with a plan (and a scrap of paper). I can’t remember the Oaks squad being as big, or attendance being better than at the moment, and even with Deano (crippled) and Alex (man flu) missing, Milesy still had 15 players to choose from, with the return of Mikey especially being a massive boost. To start with the following eleven took the field for the first match:
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pppppppppppppppppTyrone (GK)
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ppJimmy (RB) Rob (CB) Milly (CB) Eye-Ball (LB)
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Parker (RM)pGollum (CM) Jordan (CM) Scott (LM)
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pppppppppppNathan (CM) (c)
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pppppppppppppppppppSharpy (CF)
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Subs: Aaron, Aaron(2), Mikey, Nick
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The strong wind and low sun would cause havoc for much of this match, and in the first half (i.e. the first 30 minutes of the first 1 hour long match), the Oaks really struggled with the conditions. Passes frequently went astray, and possession was given up again as soon as it was won. Much of the half was spent on the back-foot, and it was clear that we would have to be strong defensively. Matters weren’t helped when Milly limped off following a kick on the knee in the first 10 minutes, and that was the end of Milesy’s master plan for squad rotation. As has already been mentioned, both Deano and Alex were missing, which meant that Eye-Ball - the fifth choice centre half – had to move to the middle to partner Rob with Aaron coming on to fill the hole at left back.
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We know Pegasus are a good side who like to play football, but they are used to playing on a pitch that is almost as big as Wembley, and always struggle when they come to our postage stamp. Although we struggled to create many chances of our own, we defended well and played the off-side trap when it was appropriate. We maybe didn’t deserve to go in at half time on level terms, but the fact we did meant we had a good chance of snatching something from this match.
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With so many changes I may get some wrong, but I believe Mikey and Nick came on in the second half for Jordan and Parker, and Milesy reverted to a 4-4-2 with Nick partnering Sharpy up front.
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The Oaks continued to frustrate Pegasus by allowing them no time on the ball, and forcing them into errors which were berated by their team mates. At the back Eye-Ball and Rob looked comfortable against their strikers who looked to have all but given up. We even started to create chances of our own, and maybe should have had a penalty when Scott was brought down on his way towards goal, but the referee deemed the foul to have been just outside the area. Nick also had a great chance to make an impact, but when Rob nodded a corner back across goal he somehow managed to head it wide with the goal at his mercy.
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Our endeavours were finally rewarded after Mikey was fouled for the umpteenth time on the half way line. Rob floated a superb ball to the back post where Nick, Nathan and Sharpy were queuing up to score. Sharpy shouted the loudest and met the ball low with a diving header that evaded the keeper and gave the Oaks the lead: 1-0.
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There was still 15 minutes to go, and it was backs to the wall time. The Oaks defence held firm, and although I can’t recall any individual saves Ty completely dominated his area and was on hand to claim anything that came anywhere near the six yard box. His huge clearances, while helping to run down the clock also caused the opposition goalkeeper to panic on one occasion when he had to tip an awkward bouncing ball over the bar.
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We did get some luck as Pegasus failed to convert good chances from crosses, and a ball that was flicked goalwards in the dying seconds fell straight into Ty’s hands. The final whistle was a welcome sound, and a battling performance was rewarded with 3 points for the Oaks.
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After a short break to take on water and compare wounds we were at it again. Milesy again rotated the squad as much as he could and I think he went with the following eleven for the start of round 2, with the obvious tactic being to hit them with our pace down the flanks:
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pppppppppppppppppTyrone (GK)
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ppJimmy (RB) Rob (CB) Eye-Ball (CB) Aaron (LB)
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Aaron(2) (RM)pGollum (CM) Mikey (CM) Parker (LM)
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pppppppppppNathan (CM) (c)
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pppppppppppppppppppNick (CF)
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Subs: Scott, Sharpy, Jordan
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The relief of getting a win in the first game never really subsided, and the Oaks struggled to raise their game again for this second match. This wasn’t helped when we found ourselves behind in the first half when the Pegasus striker finally broke free of our defence to slot neatly past Ty: 1-0.
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Pegasus’s dangerous crosses from the right also finally found their reward, when Jimmy – faced with a two on one situation at the back post – decided to make it a more even contest by pushing one of the attackers to the floor. The resulting penalty was easily converted: 2-0.
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Although we didn’t seem to be on the same pitch as the opposition, we were still in the game come half time thanks to a goal from an unfamiliar source. Aaron Bass has collected significantly more cards than goals this season, but was on hand to steer home his first of the season from inside the area after Pegasus had failed to clear an Oaks set piece.
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Milesy again reverted to 4-4-2 in the fourth and final half, with Scott and Sharpy replacing Aaron(2) and Jimmy. Jordan replaced Mikey – who had done well to last as long as he did following a long illness – mid way through the half.
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Any hopes we had of improving on the 3 points we already had were soon dashed in a farcical 30 minutes of football. The Sun may have disappeared behind a mass of clouds, but the wind was still causing havoc, and seemed to be blowing in the exact direction occupied by the 12 by 6 space known more commonly as the Oaks’ goal.
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The next four goals can be summarised as follows:
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3-1: corner from the right hits Scott, then hits Gollum on the bum and goes in (o.g.)
4-1: high inswinging corner curls toward the back post. Ty gets a hand on it but can’t direct it away from the goal (we’ll say the ball was going in before Ty’s intervention).
5-1: the Oaks don’t learn the lesson from the previous goal, and the ball is once again swung in wind assisted and flies above the below-maximum-height man at the back post and into the net.
6-1: Rob looks to have cleared the ball from the goal line following a throw-in, but the brave (and ridiculously large) Pegasus defender puts his head in the way and Rob claims the assist.
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Some last ditch defending (including a crunching, but for once well timed challenge from Aaron) and a great finger tips save from Ty stopped the score line getting any worse.
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Despite the game seeming to be beyond us, we could have had an interesting finish if the referee had not, once again, decided to award only a free kick for a foul on Scott that looked pretty close to being in the box. Also, Sharpy unfortunately seemed to have put the boots back on that he was wearing against Linford, as he produced two incredible and uncharacteristic misses from right in front of the goal. Such was Sharpy’s frustration, that in a change from the normal routine, we almost had to step in to stop him from beating himself up.
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Losing by such a margin may have left heads hanging low when the 120 minutes of football was finally over, but Milesy was happy with the day’s work and the shift put in by all 15 players. Next week we do it all again, against AFC Staggs who – on paper at least – look like another tough propostion.
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Eye-Ball
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