Pegasus Coryton 1 - 5 Oaks Athletic

I've been reading the match reports for our past encounters with Pegasus (see April 2010, May 2010 and January 2011), and I was quite surprised to see that our record against this side is quite good: in four games over the last two seasons we have picked up 7 points with two wins, one draw and only the one (ridiculous) defeat. I say I was surprised by this, as reading the match reports would suggest Pegasus have always been a superior footballing side to the Oaks; a team who pass and move well and have the ability to keep possession for large periods. In contrast the Oaks name was synonymous with dogged and organised defending, being dangerous from set pieces and kicking the man if the ball couldn't be reached. The fact that we picked up so many points in this fixture has been due to Pegasus's lack of pace both down the flanks and through the middle which has meant they have always struggled to unsettle the Oaks defence with the final ball despite all their possession in midfield. In the past however, we have lacked our own cutting edge to make more of the small amount of possession we had and as a result have never scored more than 2 goals.

What a difference a season makes.

There is a directness about the way the Oaks are playing these days, and with the vision and creativity we now possess chances are being created for fun. And we are starting to turn these chances into league goals: 2 goals in the first game, 3 in the second, 4 in the third and 5 this week. At this rate I'm going to have to carry a note pad and pen come the end of the season! This was a quite superb performance from everyone in the team, and if it hadn't been for the fact that we played most of the second half with ten men, who knows what the score might have been.

Given the enormous scale of the Pegasus pitch Milesy has, in the past, opted to pack the midfield to try and disrupt Pegasus's passing game. However, on this occasion he chose to stay with the 4-4-2 formation that has worked so well in recent weeks. A mention for Luke, whose performance as a sub at right back a couple of weeks ago earned him his first league start.

ppppppppppppppppTy

LukeppppppRobppppDeano (c)ppppEye-Ball

BunnyppppppMikey BpppppTapsellppppppAl

ppppppppppNickppppHarry

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

Watchers: Ryan, Gavin

New player introduction: Luke

Known as:Luke (anything else?)

Best attributes: A booming right boot that can be used to clear the ball way up the pitch or play an inch perfect cross field ball. Quick feet for a tall man that help him glide past the opposition. Not bad with a pair of gloves either.

Most common sound when near him: That of a pin dropping. Luke is a quiet bloke which leaves me short of embarrassing or humorous comments. All in good time...

The game couldn't have started better for the Oaks and within the first 5 minutes we were in front. Luke took a free kick from inside the Oaks half, floating a perfect ball over the Pegasus back four who had obviously not realised the danger Harry's pace would pose them. Their high line allowed him to run in behind and show great composure to lift the ball over the stranded keeper and into the net for his 4th of the season: 0-1.

Whilst it's obviously great to see the Oaks scoring lots of goals, it doesn't make my job any easier and I must admit I'm starting to struggle to remember the order of events. Therefore apologies for any inaccuracies in the chronological order of the following account (and again if there is anything I forget that is worthy of a mention let me know).

The Oaks were now looking settled, composed and organised. With Al and Bunny working tirelessly down the flanks, Mikey and Tapsell patiently waiting for the opportunity to rob Pegasus of the ball and then showing the vision to play Al, Bunny and Harry in behind the Pegasus defence, and Nick working hard to make himself available whilst holding the ball up to bring others into the game, at times the defensive quintet just had to stand back and admire their team mates as they kept the opposition on the back foot for much of the half.

The defence played their part when required of course, and with arguably the best and most uncompromising ball winner in the Sunday league on our side, playing alongside our best all round and most versatile defender, and flanked by two full backs who between them offer a mixture of pace, defensive instinct, level headedness and composure on the ball, it's no surprise that our experienced and dependable keeper had relatively little to do in the first half.

It wasn't long before the Oaks extended their lead when the Pegasus fullback put the ball behind for a corner whilst under pressure from Harry following a long clearance from Ty. The ball into the box eventually fell to Al after efforts from Rob and Nick had been blocked, and he struck the ball firmly through the crowd of players and into the net for his first goal for the Oaks: 0-2 (note that I have not awarded an assist for this goal).

We were looking so comfortable up to this point that it was somewhat disappointing to let Pegasus back into the game when a good through ball caught the Oaks back four square playing a higher line than was necessary.

Ty has informed us that his little black book doesn't contain the usual list of conquests, but rather records every game of football he has played. This explanation becomes a lot more conceivable than the first when you consider that this game was the 800th entry. I doubt whether he has every played better than on this landmark occasion, with his performance being worthy of a clean sheet. Especially as he saved the initial effort from the Pegasus striker well with his foot, only for the ball to fall perfectly at the feet on another of the opposition to slot home into the empty net: 1-2.

This goal threatened to change the balance of the game, but thankfully the Oaks in-form player was on hand to dash Pegasus's hopes of a come back whilst rocketing himself up the coveted goal/assists chart.

Tapsell's first goal of the game came when Nick fought hard to win a long throw in from Luke, and claimed the last touch as the ball sat up nicely for Tapsell to strike the ball towards goal. A deflection caused the ball to spin clear of the keeper into the bottom left hand corner of the goal: 1-3.

Tapsell doubled his tally for the game, and the season before half time with the goal of the game. Although Tapsell supplied the final touch, this goal was all about Harry who twisted the opposition defenders in knots in the corner before winning a corner. Despite feeling aggrieved at not being awarded a free-kick he needn't have worried, as his inch perfect in swinging corner was attacked at the back post by Tapsell who arrived unmarked at pace to power the ball into the net: 1-4.

We could have had more goals in the first half had it not been for the Pegasus linesman flagging Harry offside on a number of occasions. Many of these decisions could politely be described as "tight", and led to much frustration from Harry, Nick and others who questioned the honesty of the man with the flag. On one stand out occasion Luke jinxed his way across the midfield (leading Sharpy to compare him to Oaks legend Geoff, who was famous for such tricky and once scored a hat-trick from full back) before playing a delightful ball over the top with the outside of his right boot. Unsurprisingly Harry was flagged for offside, and that was that.

The first half couldn't have gone much better, and although Steve was full of praise for our performance, his instruction was for us to concentrate on defending as a team and not letting Pegasus back into the game.

Tapsell and Harry obviously had other ideas, and yet again combined early in the second half with a diagonal ball by Tapsell eluding defender and goalkeeper, and leaving Harry to slot home for his second of the game: 1-5.

I must admit that at this point I made the mistake of wondering when the last time was that the Oaks had looked in such control of a game, only for Bunny to even the contest when he was sent off for reacting to an elbow and kick from his opposite number. Justice was definitely not done as the petulant Pegasus player was allowed to stay one the pitch, and we would have to play the last 35 minutes with 10 men.

It was inevitable that we would have to soak up the pressure now, and soak it up we did. The fact we managed to keep a second half clean sheet was due in no small part to some fine saves from Ty, including getting down well to save a near post effort, a fine tip over the bar from a free-kick (he wasn't going to leave this one), and a good readjustment to cling onto an effort that he nearly dived over (and led to some harsh "beached whale" comparisons). We also had our share of luck as Pegasus hit the bar and the post twice.

Our efforts were also once again helped by the strength of the Oaks subs bench, and as is often the case when a player is sent off, it is one of the attackers who is unlucky to be sacrificed. On this occasion Nick was the unfortunate one to take one for the team, as he was replaced by Nathan who had his fan club with him for this game (including little Megan and even smaller pink poodle). Spurred on by this support Nathan created two great chances to open his account for the season. The first came when he powered past the Pegasus defence into the box only for his shot to strike the keeper. He then showed good determination to close down the ball in the box, but could only deflect the ball over the bar.

Niki "Lawsie" Law also came on for Eye-Ball to make his first appearance for the Oaks, and his first game of football for 14 months following a period of travelling. Niki obviously gets his footballing ability from his father's side (he's related to Ty and Jordan on his mum's side) and showed no signs of rust as his obvious class shone through to help the Oaks regain control of the game.

The final substitution saw Sharpy replace the impressive Al, and make his first appearance of the season following a long suspension. Although the 20 minutes was tough for him (even though he spent 10 of them tying his shoelaces) he looked like he enjoyed himself and may have even got on the score sheet if he had actually been on the back post when he instructed Harry to put the ball there.

The mood after the game was understandably buoyant, and I'm sure others will be watching our results with interest. The pressure is now on for us to continue to perform, and if we can eradicate the inconsistency that has been an issue for Oaks sides of the past there is no reason why we can't maintain our record as the only unbeaten side in the league for some time to come.

Eye-Ball

Next game: Sunday 6th November Away @ Daisyfields v Tilbury United: 1030 KO