Jurgens Sports 0 - 3 Oaks Athletic

As the Oaks extended their unbeaten start to the season to 6 games with another dominate display, Tyrone revealed that he has vowed not to cut his hair until the Oaks lose. The prospect of seeing Ty sporting an alice band should be all the incentive the rest of us need to keep this impressive run going for as long as we can.

Everyone likes a good stat, and although I'm wary of jinxing the team, the numbers for The Oaks' season to date are pretty impressive:

- our unbeaten league run currently stands at 6 games for the season (DWWWDW)
- this is two behind our best run (from data available on league website) of 8 games unbeaten (WWWDWWWW) in 2005/06 when we gained promotion from the old league 3B
- I think that there are 6 members of the current squad who were in the side in 2005/06 (Rob, Deano, Parker, Gollum, Nathan and Sharpy). Plus Milesy of course
- if you include last season, our current unbeaten league run actually stretches to 11 games! (DDDWWDWWWDW)
- we have kept 3 clean sheets already this season (our best over the previous 7 seasons was 6 in 05/06)

Before the game had even kicked off, the signs weren't good. Half the team had been out on the lash the day before; either watching England beat the World champions, or playing drinking Monopoly (you'll have to teach us that one Tapsell). To add to this we were put in the girls changing rooms, with individuals showers. There wasn't a problem with the number of showers (the squad is rife with soap dodgers), but I caught a few anxious glances from those who were visibly dejected at the thought of missing out on our weekly shower banter (on the bright side I reckon you could easily fit three people in one of the cubicles).

We then walked out onto the school playing field to find a group of grown men playing with petrol powered planes on pieces of string, and would have to put up with the constant whine of their engines for the whole match. Then there was the pitch: we refer to our pitch as a postage stamp, but this was tiny in comparison - and the goals weren't even as big as they should be (Ty's hair nearly touched the cross bar).

Still, these things are sent to try us, and Milesy chose a starting eleven who he thought would be more than capable of dealing with such distractions:

ppppppppppppppppTy

LukeppppppRobppppDeano (c)ppppEye-Ball

NathanppppppMikey BpppppTapsellppppppRyan

ppppppppppNickppppHarry

subs: Parker, Steve, Gollum, Whiley, Sharpy, Niki, Jordan, Joe, Gavin

It may seem like I'm repeating myself each week, but once again it was fantastic to see so many of the squad turn up. It seems that everyone is willing to wait patiently for their chance to impress Milesy on the pitch, and I know for a fact that everyone who has had that chance has done just that.

New player introduction:

Ryan

Full Name: Ryan Kenyon

Best position: Winger

Best attributes:Lightning pace, great at running with the ball, and the ability to turn defenders inside out. Deceptively strong (maybe even a match for the Titanium Peperami), which has meant he is coping really well with the fact that inferior Sunday League defenders will spend all day trying to kick him up in the air. Good at crossing, an eye for a killer pass and willing to track back and do his bit defensively. I could go on, but then we might not fit his head in our cramped Blackshots dressing room!

Most surprising factRyan was introduced to the Oaks by Sharpy!

This match can be summed up pretty quickly, so for once I'm going to be brief. The Oaks dominated from the first whistle to the last, and never looked in any danger of conceding a goal let alone losing the match. There was some concern when, after half an hour we still hadn't taken the lead. The size of the pitch, combined with a heavy dew was causing problems for our slick passing game. Passes were over-hit or were running out of play when usually there would have been plenty of time to collect the ball. It was also a frustrating game for our wingers - Nathan and Ryan - as hitting the ball past their man would lead to them running out of pitch, and turning inside would see them confronted by centre back and central midfielder (who were basically occupying the same inch of space between the 18 yard box and centre circle).

Given that our attempts to play the ball into the goal were coming to nothing, it took a more direct root to break the deadlock. Nathan took a throw-in on the right into the box, Rob headed it on, and Nick was on hand to rise and head the ball into the goal from 8 yards out: 0-1.

Our very own BFJ (Big Friendly Jamaican) was also heavily involved in the second goal, as he stuck out a leg "donkey style" to redirect the ball over the defence on the right hand side. The defender made a right mess of dealing with the ball, and only succeeded in laying it on a plate for Nathan to race onto and dispatch his trademark finish from a tight angle which, on this occasion, went through the keeper's legs. 0-2.

Nathan's celebration - a back flip with pike - was probably not what the doctor had in mind when he said that Nathan could continue to play football as long as he warmed up and down properly. His excuse was that a lot of the new guys hadn't seen it, and I'm sure future goal celebrations (of which I'm sure there will be many) will be more sedate.

The Oaks strolled to half-time with Milesy's main instruction being to keep it tight and look to finish of the game by finding the third goal that would make it safe.

Harry didn't make it to the end of the match, as his involvement was cut short when he received a stray elbow that lead to an angry H leaving the field with a bloody nose and nothing but a purple sock to stem the bleeding.

Before he left the field he did his bit for the Oaks cause by making the game safe, when he latched onto a fantastic through ball from Mikey. It was far too good for the Jurgens defence to deal with, as was Harry's drop of the shoulder that took him round the keeper to slot home for his 6th goal of the season: 0-3.

The rest of the half was dominated by a hat full of Oaks chances, with only the odd free kick for the home side giving them any hope of troubling Ty (the pitch was so small that even an off-side flag would create an attacking situation).

Harry's early departure gave Sharpy a chance to get a good 25 minutes under his belt, and although his brain was more willing than his legs at times (and that's saying something!) he did show some flashes of what a fully fit Sharpy can offer. Having come on when Harry went off injured, he proceeded to insist on taking the resulting free kick (to be fair it was the right side for a left footer). His effort was on target, but was well saved by the Jurgens Keeper.

Sharpy was also involved in the best move of the half (after Mikey's goal creating pass), when Rob won the ball at the back and played it up to Tapsell. He then passed it to Mikey who moved it on to the BFJ. Nick continued to do what he had done really well all game, as he took one touch before laying it off to Sharpy. Sharpy's nonchalant back heel sent the ball into the path of Ryan, whose shot across the keeper just didn't quite have enough curl to bring it inside the post.

I've already said that the new players need to shine when they get the opportunity, and the two other second half substitutes - Gav for Taps and Jordan for Luke - did just that. Gav is another ball playing centre half in the Tapsell mould, whose composure on the ball and ability to make the simple passes make him exactly the sort of player Milesy likes to see in the centre of midfield, and I'm sure would have been impressed with what he saw. Jordan also worked hard in the short amount of time he had - although Weed's flying slide tackle wasn't to the referee's like - and his deliveries from the right were up to his usual high standards.

Although some players may feel they missed the opportunity to move up the goal scoring chart (ask Nick about his shot from close range that went the wrong side of the post for example),but from a personal point of view it was great to be part of a defence unit (which includes all those who have played in defence this season) that kept yet another clean sheet and to play with a squad of players who are 100% behind each other. Deano has expressed his surprise on a number of occasions that, despite so many new players, there isn't one wally (I'm using a polite term as my Nan read this - hi Nan!) and we definitely don't want anyone to leave the team.

The biggest surprise for me each week is the performances, the results and the manner in which we are winning games. I'm far too used to being part of an Oaks side that you know will give 100%, but will have to battle to grind out a win which would come as predictably as tossing a coin. What I'm seeing now is that, whoever is on the pitch, we still have eleven players who are willing to put their bodies on the line for the team, but that we now have the added ability, class and determination to win to give us justification for thinking we should win every game. Deano sums it up by saying that our game plan was also to win the ball and get it out to Nathan in the hope he could make something happen, now we have a wealth of players who can swing the game in our favour (that's not to say we don't need you Nathan!).

Our biggest enemy will be complacency, and next week we play Thameside again, who we have already beaten 4-2. However, they are doing well in the league (currently sitting 3rd), and last week beat Stanford Wanderers (who themselves have beaten Tilbury twice) 5-0! While we should obviously go into the game full of confidence, we shouldn't think we wont have to work for a win.

Eye-Ball

TRAINING: Just a reminder that training starts tomorrow at St Cleres School (be there at 1845 to give time to set up). Milesy will be looking for people to contribute £10 each for the first five sessions (that's a bargain £2 per week).

Next game: Sunday 20th November Away @ The billet v Thameside: 1030 KO.

Goal Scoring/Assist chart