George & Dragon 3 - 0 Oaks Athletic

"Sometimes you have to learn how to lose before you are ready to win"
Arnold J. Rimmer

All good things must come to an end, and after one year and one month, 29 games, one league title, one league cup and an unmeasurable number of ham sandwiches, the Oaks players finally experienced the feeling of losing a game. It isn't a nice feeling, especially when you've not felt it in so long, but much like the flu vaccine a small dose of a bad thing can only make us stronger. Ideally our run would have ended with a great performance, where we fought valiantly until the end only to lose out in a game that could have gone either way. That wasn't to be, and although George & Dragon showed themselves to be a fine young side who are worthy of their position at the top of the table, our performance was disappointing. We allowed the opposition to play their slick passing football, and were inaffective in possesion.

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Deano (c)ppppppRobppppNikippppEye-Ball

NathanppppppTapsellpppppMikeyppppppScott

ppppppppppppppppRyanppppDale

subs: Browne, Milly, Bunny, Luke



Still a lot of fixtures behind everyone else

I'm not going to go into much detail about the game. We were beaten by three goals from set pieces; two in the first half and one in the second. Two came from crosses and the other was scored directly. Apart from that, and having the lion's share of possession, G & D never really got behind us. We created very few chances, with the closest we came to scoring being a shot hit into the ground by Tapsell that looked destined to go in but hit a dodgy patch of grass that diverted the ball onto the post. This would have made the score 2-1, and who knows what might have happened then. The referee was awful, and at times we were rash as frustrations got the better of us.

It's important not to dwell on this defeat, and I know individuals (your match reporter included) will be wishing they could turn back the clock and not concede that free kick, or make a better job of marking their man, or have another go at making that pass or shooting at goal. Instead we've got to be as much of a team in defeat as we have in every victory over the last glorious year. Forget this game, and take some time to think back to what we have achieved. Read through some of the old match reports of your favourite games and memorable moments: the 5-1 win against Pegasus that convinced us we would be a force to be reckoned with in Division 2; coming back from 3 nil down against Tilbury in the cup semi final; Tapsell's goals in extra time to win us the cup; H fouling himself two yards from goal. The list goes on and on, and I think it would be great to hear some more when we meet next week. Everyone should feel immensely proud to have played a part in what has been the most succesful period in the Oaks history, and I'm sure we'll have many more reasons to celebrate in the future.

Eye-Ball

Next game: Sunday 25th November - Away v Dynamo Basildon - Meet Orsett Cock - 0930

Goal Scoring chart