Oaks Athletic 2 - 5 Springhouse F.C.

Springhouse gained revenge for the 5-0 thrashing by the Oaks earlier in the season, by putting the same number past the Oaks in this return fixture. The Oaks showed good character to come back from 2-0 down, but were outdone by three long range efforts in the second half. Deano picked up an injury playing on Saturday, and with Rob watching his dad run the London Marathon this meant Nathan took up the vacant centre back position as well as the Captain's armband. Browne deputised at left back with Eye-Ball moving to the right.

Subs: Gollum, Nick, Harry

Defeat means the Oaks will definitely finish 6th

It was a hot, sunny day and although this was a pleasant change it meant you didn't want to be the team chasing the ball. Unfortunately this was the Oaks, as Springhouse's experienced midfield took control in the early exchanges. They kept the ball well, and put the Oaks under a lot of pressure when out of possession. They took the lead when a clearance from a corner caught the Oaks out at the back, and the striker raced clear to score: 0-1.

The lead was doubled from a long throw that the Oaks failed to clear, and a Springhouse player pounced on the loose ball: 0-2. The Oaks could have found themselves even further behind if it hadn't been for Connor (sporting a new short haircut), who pulled off a couple of fantastic saved including a one-on-one block and a flying save from a close range header that was reminiscent of David Seaman's save against Sheffield United.

The Oaks pulled a goal back before half time when Ryan's corner was met by Tapsell at the back post, and despite the best efforts of the defender on the line, he couldn't keep the ball out: 1-2.

There were some other good chances for the Oaks in the first half. Sharpy came close when he threw himself at a cross from Scott, but could only glance his header wide. Sharpy was involved again when he bravely challenged for the ball with the keeper. The loose ball dropped to Dale, but he couldn't avoid the defender on the line.

Harry replaced Scott at half time, and played on the right with Ryan switching to the left. The Oaks started the second half brightly, and scored a fantastic equaliser. Ryan played a diagonal ball into the box, where H was waiting and side footed the ball on the volley low into the far corner: 2-2.

The Oaks were unable to capitalise further as the Springhouse left winger cut inside and hit a shot into the top corner that was out of Connor's reach. This then became the story of the rest of the half as the Oaks midfield tired in the difficult conditions and allowed Springhouse time and space to try their luck from distance. The fourth was a scorcher from 35 yards, and there was quite a lot of controversy surrounding the fifth. A free kick was awarded on the edge of the area, and despite Connor obviously trying to get his wall set, the referee decided he would let Springhouse take the kick early and it was lifted into the goal off the post. The Oaks players were incensed that the referee hadn't made it clear that he would allow a quick kick, but the Oaks learnt a valuable lesson and will always position a man over the ball from now on.

It wasn't our day today, but it is always worth remembering that there are usually others having a worse day. On this occasion it was AFC Blackshots, who would have been odds on favourites to win the league. All they had to do was beat lowly Mossops in their final game. They obviously didn't bank on Mossop's determination to gain the win they needed to stay up, and Mossops ran out 4-3 winners, handing the league to Brema in the process. Although we can't now finish any better (or worse) than sixth, hopefully we can finish the season next week on a high as we take on Greyhound in our final game of the season. Will Dale get to 30 goals? Will Eye-Ball or Niki get a notch on the goals/assist chart? Will Sharpy last another 90 minutes? We'll find out on Sunday.

Eye-Ball

Next game: At home v Greyhound - 10:30 k.o.

Goal Scoring chart

Oaks Athletic 4 - 2 Mossops

Thank you to Mikey for providing the following report of Sunday's game

This was a game largely dictated by the wind, and if you pardon an old cliche, a game of two halves

With the oaks resting the Kenyons (it is marathon season afterall) It was an opportunity for a couple of the Oaks longer serving players to get a run out, namely Sharpy and Gollum.

Nathan handed the team by Milesy that looked like

subs: Ryan, Dale, Bunny

The first half kicked off and the wind was to play a major part, with the Oaks struggling to get out of their own half for long periods. Mossops created few clear cut chances despite their territorial advantage. However, midway through the first half they finally made it count when quick feet from probably their best player saw him beat a couple of players and fire low into the corner from the edge of the box, 1-0 Mossops.

Mossops continued to put pressure on, albeit wind assisted, but the Oaks stood firm until just before half time, when one of the few attacks we did mount resulted in a ball over the top seeing Nathan race onto it, right side of the area. Mossops keeper come running out like David James the night after playing his PS2 and duly took him out resulting in an Oaks penalty.

Sharpy put the ball on the spot, despite Jose Luis Chilavert - I mean Connor - coming forward looking to take it. He smashed the ball high into the centre, no mistake and the Oaks went into half time one apiece.

The Oaks made a couple of changes at half time, The Kenyons replacing Brownie and Gollum respectively, with Mikey slotting in at Left Back and Sharpy dropping back into Midfield.

The wind was to again dictate the game, as this time it was the Oaks turn to enjoy vast periods spent in the oppostion half.

The Oaks began to create chances, and whilst a few were squandered, they finally took the break through with one of the few actually decent footballing moments of the game, when a decent move saw Dale get in behind the Mossops defence on the right side of the box. He picked out a good square ball to Ryan who tucked home from 2 yards (something many an Oaks player has found difficult this season) 2-1 Oaks

As quickly as the Oaks had gained the lead, they gave it away. One of only a handful of Mossops attacks in the 2nd half saw a cross watched by the Oaks defence, as the centre forward stole in to flick the ball home from close range. 2-2.

From here on the Oaks piled on the pressure, yet struggled to string a pass together or play much football. The gap in quality did finally show through however albeit from a more tradition Oaks attack. A long throw from Dale saw Ash, who had recently replaced Nathan, steal in at the back post to nod home. Not too long after, Taps played a long searching ball, that saw Bunny hit it first time on the half volley from the right side of the box, the shot looping over the keeper, giving Bunny his 2nd, and the goal of the game. 4-2 the Oaks and that was pretty much that.

Goal Scoring Chart:

Next game: Sunday 21st April @ Home v Springhouse

Oaks Athletic 1 - 2 Lakeside Reserves

This was a much improved performance from the Oaks, both in terms of the football and the attitude. There really wasn't much to choose between the sides, but in the end it came down to chance conversion and the god of long range speculative efforts once again being with our opposition.

With three games left there are still nine points up for grabs

With Connor making a Wembley appearance (as a spectator), we were grateful to Scott for taking the gloves. In every other position Milesy once again had a wealth of options, and a lot of fire power in reserve with three strikers on the bench (or that's what they call themselves anyway).

subs: Sharpy, Nick, Harry, Browne, Gollum

With the sun shining, the grass freshly cut and the lines painted (with only four games left it's about time) conditions were perfect for an enjoyable game of football, and this was a competitive but good natured encounter. Both sides were playing to their strengths, with the Oaks dominating in the air and creating good chances from the superb set piece deliveries from Ryan and Nathan. It was from one of these that the Oaks took the lead, when Nathan's long throw hit Tapsell from an attempted clearance and fell to Mikey at the back post. He took full advantage of the lack of marking and clear goal to slot the ball into the net: 1-0.

Lakeside's main strength was the pace and energy of their midfield, who would play it up to the big target man before racing forward to support him in attack. With a lot of the attention in the middle, their speedy attacking midfielder/centre forward latched onto a ball over the top down our right, and supplied an excellent finish to lift the ball over Scott and into the empty net: 1-1.

There were not many clear cut chances to talk of in this game, which meant it was all going to come down to who capitalised on them when they arrived. The Oaks had the two best chances to firstly take a 2-0 lead, and then a chance to go 2-1 in the second half. Midfielders naturally get fewer chances to score, and the fact that Tapsell and Bunny have 18 goals between them this season shows how reliable they are in front of the posts. It just didn't work for them today as first Tapsell shot wide with the goal at his mercy when Eye-Ball's ball into the box eluded the Lakeside defence, and then Bunny found himself free at the back post but got a little over-excited and completely missed the ball.

Lakeside then provided the proverbial kick in the teeth when their right winger picked the ball up some 35 yards from goal and decided to try his luck. The contact he made with the outside of his foot wasn't that good, but resulted in a ridiculous amount of swerve. As a result for every inch Scott dived, the ball moved two inches away from him and the ball crept just inside the post: 1-2.

The Oaks deserved at least a point from the game, and threw everything they had at Lakeside. Milesy made three attacking substitutions in the second half, and we finished the game with four strikers on the pitch. Still, every header or shot at goal was met by a defender or the goal keeper. The best of the late chances fell to Niki, who is still waiting for his first Oaks goal. He made a good contact with his header from a corner, but there were just too many bodies between him and the goal.

As the Oaks committed more men forward it was inevitable that Lakeside would catch us on the break, and should have scored again had it not been for some woeful finishing, firstly when their winger kicked wide from one yard, and then the same player blasted over from a similar distance.

The referee's whistle finally put pay to any hope of the Oaks getting any points. Still it wasn't all bad: I got to the pub this time before the sausages were all eaten.

Three games left now, and all against teams that we have already beaten this season. Let's try our best to finish in style.

Eye-Ball

Next game: Sunday 14th April @ Home v Mossops - 1030 KO.

AFC Blackshots 6 - 2 Oaks Athletic

This week's game was disappointing for a number of reasons. Obviously the scoreline doesn't make pretty reading as an Oaks fan, but even worse was the performance and the reaction to individual and collective errors of which there were too many to count. I realise that it is easy to get caught up in the passion and intensity of the moment, but when you think about it in the cold light of day you can find an argument for the fact that we are much too harsh on ourselves and each other. At the centre of this argument is the opposition - AFC Blackshots. Because of the familiarity and rivalry between our two sides, the fact that Blackshots are a very good side is often overlooked. They've only lost one league game all season, and play with the consistency, confidence, swagger and determination of a team who have it in their own hands to win the league (remind you of anyone?). It's therefore not surprising that we made more mistakes than usual, as teams like this don't give you as much time on the ball, or allow players the freedom to find space to receive passes. Mistakes are also more likely to be punished, as they have the energy and quality to break in numbers and put away their chances. This then becomes a vicious circle, as our own confidence and energy levels drop and more mistakes are inevitable.

It's good that expectations are high, and of course nobody likes losing, but I'd encourage everyone to treat each game (regardless of the outcome) as part of a learning curve. I think we've done fantastically well in our first season in this league - this is Blackshots's third season in Div 1 and they finished 7th first time round - and there is so much more than results that make this a great squad to be a part of: enough of us turn up every week to give Milesy a selection headache; we all get on pretty well and can have a laugh both before the game and in the pub afterwards; we have no pre-madonna types and a good mix of old and young players; the club is run the right way with Milesy and Trev taking on all the admin to allow us to just get on with playing football; we have our only weekly blog; we are a pretty diverse punch but value and respect each other. It's this last point that is most important, and to me it means that we all have our own strengths that make the team function as a whole (and these aren't just strengths in terms of what we can do with a football). We should value what each person brings to the squad, and respect the fact that we all have our weaknesses, some of which manifest themselves as mistakes on the football pitch. I also know that we are all our own harshest critics, and will worry that some of the respect we have all earned would have been lost as a result of these mistakes. This is why encouragement, a hand on the shoulder, and some constructive advice is what is needed rather than the two most damaging responses which involve pointing the finger of blame or worst still, doing and saying nothing at all.

Subs: Sharpy, Parker, Browne, Harry, Gollum, Nick (who found his way there having driven himself for the first time, but an hour late having forgot to put his clocks forward - name and shame!)

I'm not going to dwell too much on the details of the match as we just need to move on. We went two nil down in the first half through two soft goals. The first was a penalty, which Connor was unlucky not to save as he got a much better contact with the spot kick than he had with the player when the kick was awarded. Connor was also involved with the second when he got caught in two minds and decided to punch rather than catch a ball into the box. The close proximity of a sizeable Blackshots player made this the wrong option and the ball ricocheted off him and into the net. We pulled one back before half-time through a sublime curling finish - through a crowded box - from Ryan when Tapsell's flick-on was presented to him just inside the box by an opposition defender.

We created more good chances in the first half with Ryan rising well (but heading wide) from Nathan's cross, Dale blazing just high and wide of the far post from a tight angle, and Mikey being unable to generate any power with a header from a looping cross to the back post. We also had a good shout for a penalty when the defender conceded a corner via his arm. Although the whistle had gone, it's still worth mentioning Deano's unconventional attempt at clearing the ball from a corner as he smashed it against the underside of our own cross-bar.

The second half was were it all really went wrong, as we lost our shape, composure and a few marbles following two copy cat goals from Acer Lawrence. Rob's boy doesn't have the greatest reputation for the way he conducts himself during a match (Rob knows exactly what H thinks of him now), but there is no deny that as good as his Dad is at stopping goals, Acer is as prolific at putting the ball in the back of the net. We presented him with two chances, and he took them both with identical lobbed finishes.

We then conceded again from the spot following an awesome two handed save on the line from Tapsell (at least his good looks were protected), and a break away goal when possession was lost and we were left short at the back. Connor again got hands to the spot kick, but he didn't get enough of his body behind it (which when you haven't got much to start with is pretty vital). We did pull one back when Dale played a one two with his brother before racing clear to score.

There were some other good things to note in this match: H came on for Deano and had a massive hissy fit; Sharpy managed to play about 20 minutes in central midfield without collapsing; Browne came on to charge up and down the right wing; Ryan put Mikey through one-on-one but the keeper saved; Tapsell made another awesome clearance off the line (with his head this time); Connor made a flying save for the cameras from a free kick; and Rob missed out on a chance to score when he was taken by surprise when his youngest boy put in a late bid for extra Easter eggs by not flagging him offside when everyone moved up following a corner.

The great thing about football is there is always next week to put things right (provided it isn’t the last game of the season). It’s going to be tough again against Lakeside, but we know we should have beaten them last time so this should be an extra incentive to go one better this time.

Eye-Ball

Goal Scoring Chart