George and Dragon 5 - 3 Oaks Athletic (Div 1 Cup Semi Final)

The way George's manager was talking after the game you would have thought the result was better for the Oaks as, by losing, we would be avoiding humiliation by Brema in the final. As it turns out, a shock penalty shoot-out win for SSC Orsett makes George and Dragon favourites to lift the cup, and although the news of this in the pub left some Oaks players wondering what might have been, we gave it our all in this game and the fact that this wasn't enough just shows that it wasn't meant to be.

Milsey started this game with a familiar line-up, but with plenty of attacking options on the bench should they be needed.

Subs: H, Sharpy, Scott, Browne, Parker

The Oaks started brightly and controlled the game for the opening half an hour as George and Dragon - a young team well known for their good passing football - became increasingly frustrated by the pressure they were put under. The Oaks early dominance saw them create the better of the chances, with Niki coming close with a dipping effort that wasn't far wide.

The Oaks deservedly took the lead midway through the first half when Mikey was brought down on the edge of the area. Ryan stepped up and curled the ball over the wall and into the net via the near post: 1-0.

The Oaks defended resolutely in this game, but on one of the few occasions that G&D got behind us we were punished. Their tricky left winger ran into the box on our right, and his pull back would almost definitely have resulted in a goal if it had not been for Mikey's intervention. Unfortunately his sliding block had the same end result, and our lead was wiped out: 1-1.

We could do nothing about the goal that gave G&D the lead before half time, as the same player who had set up the first goal hooked the ball over his head towards goal from the edge of the area. It must have been more luck than judgement that saw it dip over Connor's head and into the far top corner of the net: 2-1.

Parity, at the very least, was deserved for the Oaks first half performance, and we needed to lift ourselves if the next 45 minutes wasn't to be our last in the competition. In fairness to G&D they showed great quality both defensively and in possession to repel most of what we threw at them. They were strong in the air from corners and throw-ins, their tall keeper claimed what wasn't headed clear, and they did a lot better than most teams at keeper Dale relatively quiet (although illness meant he probably wasn't at his best).

Both teams were struggling to break down the other's defence, and so long range efforts were the order of the day. Bunny had a good one for the oaks that would have dipped under the cross bar had it not been for the keeper's acrobatic intervention. With chances from open play at a premium, it was via a penalty that the Oaks got back on level terms. Tapsell's shot was judged to have been stopped with an arm inside the box, and Dale stepped up to calmly send the keeper the wrong way from the spot: 2-2.

If you were being hyper-critical, you could say that the Oaks were at fault for allowing the long range efforts that saw us two goals down in the space of ten minutes. The reality is that we had to take our hats off to the finishes that you might expect to see once in a handful of games at this level, but not twice in ten minutes. The first may have added further weight to the call for goal line technology, but the ref was convinced that the movement of the net meant it had crossed the line as it came down off the underside of the crossbar. There was no doubt about the fourth, that was curled into the far corner from the right side of our box: 4-2.

Scott had already come on to replaced sick note (that's Mikey B in case you were wondering), and Milesy made two more changes with H replacing Bunny and Sharpy coming on for Eye-Ball, as we went 3-4-3 in an attempt to overhaul the deficit. It has been almost a year since Sharpy last pulled on an Oaks shirt, and many thought that, following his op he never would again. However, he is actually under doctor's orders to play again and it was great to see this Oaks legend back on the pitch. One thing you can say about Sharpy is that when he is on the pitch things happen. Most of the time these things are both football related and positive, and he almost made instant headlines as he rose at the back post to win a header with his first touch. Understandably he's a little rusty, and the chance flew over the bar.

H then had a similar chance from another Ryan cross, but he too failed to keep his header down. The Oaks then got caught short in the box, having pushed so many men forward, and G&D's left back found time and space in the box to fire into the net: 5-2.

I was really proud of the boys, as they kept giving it everything despite the desperate nature of the task in hand. The pressure from the Oaks finally paid off when Dale's shot deflected into Ryan's path, and he found a gap at the near post to fire the ball into the net from 6 yards: 5-3.

Ryan was the stand out Oaks player in this game, with everything good that we created coming through him. He could have had a hat full of assists, and put one on a plate for H when he drove to the bye-line and pulled the ball low back across the box. H did everything right, but couldn't account from the amazing reactions of the G&D keeper, as he dived low and somehow pushed the ball over the bar.

That final chance summed up that it wasn't to be our day, and we were humble in defeat as we wished George and Dragon all the best for their final clash against Orsett. At least we will always have the fond memories of last year.

Eye-Ball

Goal scoring chart