Oaks Athletic 4 - 4 Wilburn Wanderers

With the league and cup in the bag, double winners Oaks Athletic can afford to give out a little charity to their defeated opponents between now and the end of the season. They were definitely in a generous mood today as missed chances, individual errors and a lacklustre second half performance gifted Wilburn a point that they were more than grateful to take.

With the league won it will now be interesting to see who will be joining us in promotion to Division One next year. It is impossible to say how many teams will go up as this will depend on how many teams are pushed up to the Premier Division (there are currently only eight teams in that league) and how many fold over the summer. Still, it's a pretty safe bet that at least four will go up, and with Thameside beating Tilbury they have secured promotion. Jacks Lads beat Stanford, but they have left it too late to get into the top four, having finished with 31 points. Pegasus were the other team to win this week, beating Jurgens, but they will have to wait to see if their 32 points will be enough to finish in the top four as it could well come down to goal difference.



Despite Bunny being available again, Al (Blake) was rewarded for a good performance last week with another start alongside Tapsell in the centre of midfield. Sharpy was also given a start, partnering H up front, and with only a few weeks until his operation we all hoped he would make the most of this opportunity.

ppppppppppppppppTy

Deano (c)ppppppRobppppNikippppEye-Ball

NathanppppppAlpppppTapsellppppppRyan

ppppppppppppSharpyppppHarry

subs: Nick, Bunny, Parker

The Oaks played well in the first half, and looked to make the most of the freshly mowed surface as they passed the ball around with confidence. It was clear that H, Nathan and Ryan had the better of their opposite numbers and Blake, Tapsell and Sharpy looked to play the ball in behind the defence whenever possible.

Ty had very little to do in the first half, and despite a couple of efforts that went wide, Wilburn never threatened our goal.

The Oaks took the lead in the first half when Sharpy got to the ball first on the the edge of the 18 yard box, and back heeled the ball into the danger zone for H to chase. The defenders really should have dealt with the ball, but their hesitation was enough for H to stick out a boot and poke the ball past the keeper: 1-0.

The Oaks should have been at least two or three up going into the break, but some good saves from Wilburn's fine young keeper, and a few misses - including a tame finish from H from 5 yards that went straight to the keeper (sorry H, that one stuck in the mind) - kept the scoreline looking respectable.

With the league and cup won (just thought I'd mention that again), and a comfortable one nil lead it's not surprising that some of the intensity that has been so key to the Oaks success was missing in the second half. Despite a couple of glimpses of what we can do when we play the ball along the floor (a defence splitting left to right pass from Ryan being a prime example), we never really got into top gear and a combination of poor decision making and lapses in concentration gifted four goals to Wilburn in the second half. Still, the Oaks always play with a lot of pride which was evident in the fact that we came back from a goal down twice in the second half and really should have left with all three points.

Wilburn equalised when the ball broke to their striker in the box, and he was allowed time to get the ball out of his feet and lift it over Ty into the roof of the net: 1-1.

The Oaks then regained the lead when the industrious Sharpy beat the keeper to the ball when it was played into the box and was subsequently brought down. Sharpy took the penalty he had won, and admitted to taking a leaf out of Nick's book as he smashed it hard down the middle. Despite getting something on it, the keeper could only redirect it into the roof of the net: 2-1.

The Oaks then leaked two goals in quick succession, both of which came from individual errors that 9 times out of 10 wouldn't have happen. Firstly, Niki moved up the pitch to the win the ball and played it to Ryan on the left. Rather than play the way he was facing, Ryan then tried to play a reverse pass back to Niki that was intercepted. With Niki out of position Wilburn broke into the box, and despite Eye-Ball making the initial tackle, the ball broke nicely for the Wilburn striker who finished sweetly into the bottom corner: 2-2.

The third Wilburn goal came from a much bigger howler as the ball was played diagonally behind the Oaks centre backs for their speedsters to run on to. As he has done on countless occasions Eye-Ball read the danger and drifted across to clear the ball with his favoured right foot. Unfortunately the right foot proved to be the best of a bad punch on this occasion as the ball looped up off his shin right into the path of the on rushing forwards. Ty made the initial save, but the ball fell right at the feet of the second striker who tapped home into an empty net: 2-3.

With 15 minutes still to play, the Oaks needed to lift themselves, and with Nick now on for Harry we looked to make the most of our physical presence to dominate from set pieces. The equaliser came when a long throw from Nathan was nodded down by Tapsell into the path of Ryan, and the young winger let out his frustration on the ball as he whacked it through a crowded box into the net: 3-3.

I believe the fourth goal for the Oaks also started from a Nathan throw. This time Wilburn did manage to clear the ball, but only as far as Nathan. He then broke to the bye-line, and had time to pick his spot. This he did perfectly as he put the ball right on the head of Nick, who was unmarked in the box. He rose and nodded the ball into the net for his 14th of the season: 4-3.

The Oaks, and most of the Wilburn players as well, thought this would be the winning goal. However, Wilburn had already shown that if we gave them a whiff of goal they were capable of capitalising. With Deano preparing to take a throw on the right, the usual "up the line - flick on" combination seemed the most likely option. However, Tapsell decided to make himself available to receive the ball inside our half (for which he should be commended). Unfortunately the one Wilburn player who had shown any desire to win the ball was in close proximity. He caught Taps in possession, raced clear and finished superbly off the inside of the far post for his Hat-Trick and to grab his side a point: 4-4.

On reflection you may say that this was a disappointing result from a good side who were far too casual in the second half. However, we should just shrug it off: we're still unbeaten; we've still won the league; we've still won the league cup; we're still having a great season; we can still have a laugh about it all in the pub, and our beer still tastes a lot sweeter than anybody elses (oh, and Sharpy made it through 90 minutes!).

Eye-Ball

Next game: Sunday 15th April @ Home v Jurgens Sport: 1030 KO.

Goals and assists chart

***Oaks Athletic 7 - 2 Stanford Wanderers*** Oaks confirmed as Division 2 Champions!

As the referee's whistle confirmed another comprehensive victory for the Oaks, we awaited the result of the game between Wilburn and Jacks Lads to discover if the 40 points we had now accumulated would be enough to clinch the league title, or if we would still need one more point from the last four games. Later in the evening news filtered through that Jacks Lads had triumphed 3-2 against Wilburn which meant no one in the league could now catch us, and within five days of winning the league cup, the Oaks are now crowned as league 2 champions as well!


I think I might get this framed...

To be honest, the league has been won for some time, and we have just been crossing off the games before it would be confirmed beyond any doubt that we are champions. When the news came it was therefore unsurprising that it was greeted with muted excitement. At the end of the day, we already knew that we are by far and away the best side in this league, and when we are able to put the league and cup trophies side by side there can't be a person alive who can question that fact. Congratulations to everyone involved with the Oaks; especially to those who have warn the Oaks shirt with pride for all these years without even getting a whiff of success. Being one of these people I'd also like to give a massive thank you to the boys who have come in this year, fitted in perfectly to the Oaks family and helped take this great club to the next level.

Anyway there will be plenty of time to blow our own trumpet between now and the end of the season, so lets get on with the details of the latest victory.

This win was an impressive fifth in a row in the league for the Oaks (the best run of the season), and extends our unbeaten streak in all competitions to a monumental 18 games! Some of you will remember that, earlier in the season, Tyrone vowed to not cut his hair until the Oaks lost a league game. He soon realised that this would soon start affecting his ability to see, and obviously didn't fancy the prospect of an alice band. Just imagine if he had kept to his word!

With both Mikey B and Bunny missing, Al started in the centre of midfield, and although the rest of the team had a familiar look there were some old faces on the subs bench, with both Jordan and Gollum stepping into the gaps left by the four regulars who were unavailable.

ppppppppppppppppTy

Deano (c)ppppppRobppppNikippppEye-Ball

NathanppppppAlpppppTapsellppppppRyan

ppppppppppppNickppppHarry

subs: Sharpy, Jordan, Gollum

I thought for a change I would summarise the details of this game in MOTD 2 style with 2 Good, 2 Bad, and 2 Ugly.

2 Good.

The Oaks once again showed that they were far 2 good for their opponents, who I bet wish they had the strength of squad that the Oaks possess. They started with nine men, and the Oaks capitalised to take an early 2-0 lead before scoring a further five goals when the two Stanford ringers had arrived.

1-0: Stanford's keeper may have been big, but that boy was scared of the ball. On this occasion rather than simply catching Nathan's over hit free kick he palmed it straight out to Rob, who took one touch before firing home from 8 yards.

2-0: Harry took control of the ball and responded to the call from cup hero Tapsell, who had made an overlapping run. He raced on to Harry's through-ball and netted low past the keeper.

3-0: Tyrone gets a 1 in the assists column as his quick thinking and expert kicking from hand sets the young speedster clear of the Stanford defence. H gives the keeper no chance as he supplies the quality finish that merits his 15 goals for the season.

4-0: The ball is played across the box where Tapsell and Ryan are standing in close proximity. Ryan dutifully leaves the ball on the orders of Tapsell, who draws the defender and then plays the ball to Ryan. He takes one touch inside before curling the ball out of the keeper's reach and into the back of the net.

5-1: Harry is once again the provider as this time he spots the run into the box of Nathan from the right. Nathan races onto the ball and keeps up the high quality finishing standards set before him, as he fires an unstoppable low shot across the keeper.

6-2: Sharpy directs the ball into Tapsell's path, and the cup hero again supplies the finish to notch up his fourth goal in 2 games.

7-2: Tapsell returns the compliment, and Sharpy accepts as he heads the pin-point cross into the roof of the net.

2 bad

They say all good things come in pairs, but in this game we had a pair of 2 bad winners. 2 bad (this being an understatement) misses, and 2 bad bits of defending that stopped the winning margin being as big as it should have been.

Bad miss 1: Harry is clean through on goal, lifts the ball over the keeper and from two yards out, with only net in his field of vision, missing is surely impossible. Not for a player of H's quality. He side foots the ball towards goal with his left, but from nowhere his right foot appears and performs the mother of all last ditch tackles to re-direct the ball to safety. I can safely say I have never seen a miss more extraordinary than this one: hats off you to H.

Bad miss 2: Eye-Ball's cross-come-shot is met on the volley by Jordan on the right hand side of the goal. Perhaps Nathan wasn't expecting Jordan to catch it so sweetly, because he didn't seem ready when the ball bounced into his path no more than two yards from goal. He got under the ball a little too much and managed to lift it over the crossbar.

Bad defending 1: The Stanford player is left unmarked in the box, and when the ball falls to him he has all the time in the world to find a way past Ty to make the score 4-1.

Bad defending 2: The lone Stanford striker, who had run himself into the ground could probably think of nowhere he wanted to be more than the meat in a Rob and Ty sandwich. Well he got his wish, with a penalty served up for afters. Despite an excellent save by Ty from the initial kick, the follow up fell perfectly for the Stanford player to score with his second attempt.

2 ugly: Much like the small child, whose sulking and whining is met with the unhelpful conclusion that "someone must be tired", it seemed that the Oaks were suffering from the mid week cup exertions in the second half of this game. The quality of the football decreased, and unfortunately we weren't as patient with each other as we should be. We'll put it down fatigue, but I do hope success doesn't ever stop us supporting each other, and that we remember the two most important things about Sunday football: 1. if we weren't meant to cock up someone would be paying us, and 2. it's our own choice to get up on a Sunday morning so it's our responsibility to make sure we, and everyone around us, enjoys it.

Rather than be content with the league and cup double, the new challenge has been set to go the rest of the season unbeaten. Four games to go, so lets give it our best shot.

Eye-Ball

Next game: Sunday 8th April @ home v Wilburn Wanderers: 10:30 K.O

Goals and assists chart

Oaks Athletic 2 - 0 Wilburn Wanderers (aet) TASL Division Two Cup Final

Books, Films and mythology are littered with stories of unlikely escapes and triumphs of the underdog against all the odds: David slayed Goliath; George killed the Dragon; Bond escaped the laser beam; and Ron Burgundy plus co-workers out boxed a pack of grizzly bears. However, as the players of the Oaks Athletic entered through the turnstile at Tilbury FC there was never going to be a fairy-tale ending, and the reality was that we would be leaving with the cup we deserved to win.


The programme team photo

The only thing Wilburn did win on this day was the race to the changing rooms, as they bagged the Home room. However, the Away dressing room was still more spacious and luxurious than the Oaks are accustomed to, and with an hour until kick-off we set about preparing for the game. As we got changed some chose to tap their feet in a nervous fashion, others read about themselves in the match day programme, two discreetly shared a can of Dutch courage and the natural leaders in the squad looked to rouse the troops with war cries and general noise designed to encourage our squad whilst striking fear into the opposition. Steve also named the starting eleven, which included the tough decision to leave out Mikey despite the midfielder declaring himself fit on Tuesday.

ppppppppppppppppTy

Deano (c)ppppppRobppppNikippppEye-Ball

NathanppppppBunnypppppTapsellppppppRyan

ppppppppppppNickppppHarry

subs: Sharpy, Mikey B, Luke, Al

As we headed out to the pitch for our usual pre-match warm up, a few things quickly became apparent. The first was that a kit clash meant one of us would have to change, and with Milesy living nearby the decision was taken that we would have to change from our trusty purple to the old school Red and Black. Secondly, the time it took to complete our usual 4 times across the pitch warm up brought home the fact that this pitch was massive compared to the park pitches we rule each week. The sweat now dripping off a few of the players also made it clear that, on this warm evening, staying hydrated was going to be vital.

With warm up complete we reassembled in the dressing room before being led out to the tunnel (or cage) to await the officials and get the game underway. Apparently some 260 people had turned up to watch the final and we were grateful that a good number of them had come to support the Oaks. With the signal given, we followed Captain Deano onto the battle field and got ready for battle to commence.

The Oaks didn't start the best in this game; pre-match nerves hadn't been completely eradicated, and a hard, uneven pitch meant first touches were an issue and possession was often given away cheaply. Wilburn had also set up to defend and as a result the midfield was over-crowded. Defences dominated in the opening exchanges as the Oaks were more than comfortable dealing with any long balls up to the lone strike man, and the Wilburn pack four showed they had the pace to deal with the threat of the ball in behind, much to the frustration of Ryan and Harry.

Still, although you could argue Wilburn were the better side in the opening exchanges, the only time Ty had to touch the ball was to deal with a few back passes, collect over-hit through balls and gather a couple of speculative long range efforts. It wasn't much better for the Oaks as frustration lead to some rash long range shots that only troubled the netting behind the goal.

It seemed that Wilburn foolishly thought they could kick us off the park, as they dived in with a few horrendous challenges in the opening 20 minutes. However, there are few teams that can win the physical battle against the Oaks, as was epitomised when Nick went toe to toe with the Wilburn captain (the chunky one with the ludicrous 99 shirt) and promptly left him flat on his back. To see their champion flatten in this way knocked some wind out of the Wilburn sails and also confirmed that this was a game where men were playing against boys. Nick had also warned us of their one midfielder who made them tick; but that threat was quickly nullified by strong challenges from Tapsell and Eye-Ball. From this point, Wilburn started to tire and the Oaks slowly began to excerpt their authority on the game.

The chances now started to come, with the best of the first half falling to Bunny and Nathan. Bunny hit what is becoming a trademark right foot shot from outside the area that was moving away from the keeper and heading for the corner. However, the keeper miraculously got across his goal and made a fine save. Nathan then headed over from close range, but we now felt it was only a matter of time before we scored.

The 15 minute half time interval felt agonisingly long and when we went back out the sun had gone and it felt noticeably colder. However, the Oaks were warmed up now and as the referee's watch ticked on the Oaks took more and more of a strangle hold on the game. In particular Ryan and Nathan started to find more time and space on the flanks, and as they got to the byeline on more occasions the Oaks had more opportunity to take advantage of the aerial threat they posed from corners, crosses and throw-ins.

Gaps were also beginning to appear behind the defence, and from virtually the first move of the half Harry got in on goal following a ball over the top but his effort was well saved. Sharpy - now on for Nick - was also proving a handful for the defence and Tapsell had a headed chance that was tipped over by the keeper. Two more good chances fell to Mikey (on for Bunny) but his first time dipping hit from outside the box was tipped over, and a close range header went straight to the keeper. This was basically how it continued for the remainder of the half; with the Oaks peppering the Wilburn goal and their outstanding young goalkeeper keeping them in the game.

With Wilburn seemingly trying to hold out for penalties we were pretty untroubled at the back. The speedy winger Deano had been dealing with had lost interest and the tank up front was getting no change out of Rob and Niki. The most trouble Ty got into was thanks to a couple of dodgy back passes from Eye-Ball, but these were all dealt with without too much difficulty. There was one worrying moment when a free-kick was conceded on the edge of the area, but Wilburn weren't able to trouble Ty's goal. The minutes ticked on and the referee blew up to signal that 30 minutes more would be played to try and find a winner and avoid the dreaded penalty shoot-out.

The Oaks had looked so comfortable up to this point that the thought that this game could go to a penalty shoot-out now made the unthinkable situation where the Oaks could lose this cup seem less of a probabilistic uncertainty. However, I shouldn't have worried, and instead should have put more faith in the lord's reasoning for creating Gingers: to win the Oaks the TASL Division two cup final!

In the first half of added time, Eye-Ball took a throw on the left that was collected by Mikey B. Mikey then went to glide round the advancing Wilburn player and was duly tripped with a free kick being awarded. The Oaks packed the box and awaited the delivery from Ryan. The delivery to the back post was a good as we would have expected it to be, and Tapsell rose highest to nod the ball back across the goal. We all held our breath, but there was no way the keeper was getting this one, and as the ball nestled in the back of the net the crowd erupted and Tapsell was buried under a mass of Oaks players. If we could hold onto our lead for just 20 more minutes the cup would be ours! 1-0.

We would have to hold on without Mikey though, as his hamstring went again and Al came on to help Tapsell anchor the midfield.

Wilburn had been so heavily set up to defend and hold out for penalties that they had no attacking gears to move into, and as it was there was only one team who were going to score again. Now in the second half of extra time a corner was won that was swung in perfectly by Ryan. Rob got a touch and the ball landed invitingly at the feet of our Ginger saviour Tapsell, who smashed the ball into the roof of the net: 2-0.

This sealed the win, and the last ten minutes were a formality as the Oaks cruised to their first cup victory, and what would more than likely be the first half of an unprecedented league, cup double.

With the game finished families and friends gathered to first clap the beaten finalists, who despite being out of their depth on this occasion showed that they are a young side with much potential. Each member of the Oaks squad was then applauded as they collected their medals, and we huddled to await the lifting of the cup by Captain Deano and the crowning of the Oaks as Thurrock Association Sunday League Division Two Cup Champions!

It's worth making it clear that winning this cup has been about a lot more than winning just this one game, and there have been many people who unfortunately couldn't play a part tonight, but still deserve equal credit for the achievement. Who could forgot the fantastic performance in goal from Luke in the first round despite the mother of all hang-overs; or the cross from Jordan that led to the converted penalty in the same game. Even Parker, who ran the line with little Molly in toe in the semi-final and Steve Browne who has been there to support us in virtually every game - this is as much their win as the 14 blokes who got on the pitch, and I hope they realise that.



Well done also to Milesy, Trev and Kellie; this means more to them than anyone, and I know how proud they are of us all for what we are achieving this year. Also thanks for Mark, Cheryl, the patrons of the Ship and past players who have shown their support this season.

Anyway, with the sentimentality's out of the way and post match changing room beers demolished we headed off to the Ship to celebrate, and Deano attempted to pick up another trophy to take home with him...

Eye-Ball



Goals and assists chart

Socketts Heath 0 - 6 Oaks Athletic

Each week I am left with the task of thinking of new superlatives to describe the Oaks performances, but this week I'm really struggling to come up with anything that will do this display justice. Fortunately Captain Marvel Deano wasn't quite so lost for words, and described the performance as "so good that it left him nursing a semi". Although this statement concisely sums up the feat of winning 6-0 whilst playing with ten men for 80 minutes, it does leave two burning questions in my mind: firstly how well would we need to play to take Deano all the way to Pleasure Zone? And secondly, am I right in assuming that my Nan won't have any idea what we're talking about? The challenge to the squad has to be to attempt to answer the first question on Wednesday in the Cup Final, and I'm sure the colour of my ears following the next time I see Nan will answer the second.

The Oaks are in the middle of a very rich vein of form at the moment: that's now four straight wins and 35 goals scored in the last six games. Despite the fact that we have been winning games all season, the sloppiness in front of goal that kept the scorelines looking respectable early in the season has now been replaced by a ruthlessness that is seeing us annihilate teams week in week out - as this graph showing goals scored in each of the 15 league games clearly shows.


2.5 goals per game in the first 10 games has increased to 6.2 per game in the last 5.

The situation in the league now looks even rosier for the Oaks, with only 4 points now required from the last 5 games to put us mathematically beyond the reach of Thameside and Wilburn, who are now the only teams whose end of season points tally could exceed the 37 the Oaks currently possess. Thameside won today, and recent form would suggest that three wins from three in their remaining fixtures against Beauchamps and Tilbury (twice) isn't out of the question. This would give them 38 points, but one more point should be enough to take them out of the equation given our vastly superior goal difference.

Wilburn still have five games to play (including two against the Oaks), and could reach 41 points. However, even if they do achieve the unlikely feat of beating the Oaks twice this still leaves us with games against Stanford, Belhus and Jurgens to pick up the four points we need to clinch the title (note that I'm assuming a 35 goal swing in goal difference is out of the question).



The side that Milesy selected to start this game looked like this:

ppppppppppppppppTy

Deano (c)ppppppRobppppNikippppEye-Ball

NathanppppppBunnypppppTapsellppppppRyan

ppppppppppppNickppppSharpy

subs: Harry, Luke, Al

The recent dry weather had turned an already uneven and patchy Palmer's pitch into a rock solid death trap, and whilst not ideal for playing football on at any time with the cup final only four days away I for one had my fingers crossed that no one picked up a serious injury.

I have already mentioned that we played for 80 minutes with ten men, and it is from 10 minutes into the game that I will start this report. I have also already mentioned that Wilburn Wanderers are really the only team that we still need to watch in the league; and they are also our opponents for this Wednesday's cup final. Their game was postponed today, and as we are yet to meet in the league this year, a few of their players and manager came over to see what we were all about. I suspect that they now wish they had stayed in bed to claw back the lost hour's sleep, as if the Oaks recent form and position in the league isn't intimidating enough the performance of the Oaks midfielders and strikers will surely see them losing more sleep over the next couple of days. The back five also deserve credit for keeping their fifth league clean sheet, but to be honest the lack of threat posed by the opposition made this an easy day at the office, and we had the luxury of sitting back and admiring the fantastic performance of the men in front of us (oh, and we already know what Deano was doing).

Tapsell quickly recognised that the Oaks would need him to suppress his attacking urges and took to the role of holding midfielder superbly. Along with Bunny, who seemed to be everywhere, the two central midfielders were winning everything in the air and on the deck and completely controlling the game. Nathan was a constant threat on the right and Nick was battling away up top. However, for me the star of the first half was Ryan. His constant running, and ability to spot where we most needed the extra cover meant that he more than made up for the numerical disadvantage. He also made himself available whenever the Oaks had the ball and was a constant threat as time and again he embarrassed his inferior opponents down the left.

It didn't take long for the opening goal for the Oaks to arrive. A free kick was won near the half way line, and before taking the kick Nathan encourage Deano to get in the box. He duly obliged, and was rewarded by having the ball planted directly onto his swede, with which he then directed the ball past the stranded keeper and into the net: 0-1.

Ryan's hard work in the first half was reward with his first, and the Oaks second goal of the game. Nick collected the ball outside the box with his back to goal and fended of the challenging defender to give himself time to turn and play the ball out to Ryan on the left. Ryan then advanced into the box and hit the ball firmly into the bottom corner: 0-2.

The Oaks continued to dominate, with Nick looking certain to make it three nil when the ball broke to him in the box with half the goal empty. However, a last minute push in the back meant his off balanced shot came of more shin than foot and rebounded out off the post. Tapsell hit the follow up firmly and maybe should have won a penalty as the defender seemed to stop the ball with his arm. Still, a two nil lead at half time was a fantastic return and just reward to the pride and team spirit displayed by the away side.

It should be mentioned that this was a weaker Socketts Heath side than the one beaten 3-1 two weeks ago, and in particular they were missing a proper goal keeper. They also only had eleven men and one of them got injured in the first half and was now pretty much a spectator in a forward role. Still, the fact that Heath may as well have not been on the pitch in the second half given the Oaks total dominance can mainly be attributed to the fact that we completely broke them in the first half. Now with Harry on to run them ragged the Oaks Show was in full swing.

The third goal was claimed by Nathan as he cut in from the right to collect a through ball from H before finishing in style across the keeper into the far corner of the net, to confirm that he has found his goal scoring touch just at the right time: 0-3.

The move for the next goal started with a throw-in in the left corner when Ryan and Eye-Ball took advantage of Heath's lack of interest in defending. A short throw from Ryan was returned to him by Eye-Ball. His ball into the box was then collect by Tapsell who played it back to H, and his first time shot into the bottom corner was much too good for the stand in keeper and resulted in a rare goal from outside the box for young H: 0-4.

The Oaks were rampant by now, and any thoughts of playing the holding role had been well and truly forgotten by Tapsell and the rest of the midfield. However, it wasn't as if this role was required as Heath had completely given up and we had virtually all of the ball and as much time as we wanted to make the possession count. The fifth goal quickly followed when a well struck shot from Tapsell was fumbled by the keeper, and Ryan was on hand to slot home from 8 yards: 0-5.

Milesy now took the opportunity to bring on the two remaining substitutes with Luke and Al replacing Eye-Ball and Nathan. There was still time for plenty of action including a trademark mazy run from Luke, a rarer box to box charge from Deano (complete with commentary) and a few long range efforts from Ryan which unfortunately didn't deliver the Hat-trick his performance deserved.

The sixth and final nail in the Oaks coffin was hammered home by Bunny as, in quite comical fashion, he smashed two close range efforts against keeper and defender before they finally submitted and Bunny emerging victorious on the third attempt: 0-6.

We really couldn't ask for a better performance in preparation for the cup final on Wednesday, and everyone routing for the Oaks can be sure that we will be giving 100%, which will hopefully be enough to add the first half of a league and cup double that this exceptional squad of young (in most cases) men deserve.

Eye-Ball

Next game: Division 2 Cup final @ Tilbury FC v Wilburn Wanderers: Wed 28th March - 1930 KO.

We even got a mention on the league website:



Goals and assists chart

Stanford Wanderers 3 - 7 Oaks Athletic

The Oaks recorded their 10th win of the season, and in doing so moved another big step closer to securing their first league title since 1996/97. This win also means that the Oaks unbeaten run in the league now stretches over 14 games, or an even more monumental 19 if you include the end of last season; they haven’t lost in any competition since 16 October. The realists amongst us now that all good things must come to an end sooner or later, but it was evident in this victory against Stanford that the men in purple are still as hungry to win as ever, and long may it continue.




With Socketts Heath and Wilburn winning, our three points mean we now need just 7 from the remaining 6 games to guarantee no other team can catch us. The graph suggests that if we win our next three games the league will be wrapped up with 3 games remaining. However, this is based on any other team winning all their games. Even simply a win against Socketts next week could leave us needing just one point if Wilburn slip up against Tilbury.




This game started with a team photo in glorious sunshine, that was a contrast to the heavy fog that had greeted us on our previous trip to the Billet. The shot was for the match day cup final programme that is now just over a week ago, but rather than publish it here I’ll give you the treat of seeing it first hand on the day. With the photo out of the way Milesy assembled a familiar looking team for battle, with just one change with Ash replacing the injured Mikey in the centre of midfield. Browne wasn't available having broken his ankle in comical fashion at Palmer's on the previous Monday, but must be given credit for still hopping over to watch.

ppppppppppppppppTy

Deano (c)ppppppRobppppNikippppEye-Ball

NathanppppppBunnypppppTapsellppppppRyan

ppppppppppNickppppHarry

subs: Sharpy, Luke, Al

After last week we thought the Oaks might have shaken of their tag of being slow starters, but old habits die hard and the first 35 minutes of this game were pretty awful by our own high standards. A few of the lads were still recovering from the previous evening, but it’s not as if this is anything unusual. It definitely doesn’t explain why Stanford were being allowed to dictate the pace of the game and why we seemed to be totally disorganised and disinterested. Our cause wasn’t helped by a whistle happy referee, who was determined to blow up for the slightest bit of physical contact. Given the size of the pitch, every one of the many free kicks we conceded in the first half was a goal scoring opportunity and the ball was regularly flying into the Oaks box. I suppose it is a measure of our expectations that tempers were beginning to get a little frayed, but as long as we accept collective criticism, frustration borne from knowing that we can, and should be doing better can not be a bad thing.

It was therefore not a total shock that Stanford took the lead in the first half through a well delivered corner that was nodded home at the back door: 1-0.

Although the first half was one to forget overall, there were still plenty of positives; not least Bunny’s distribution, of which Nathan was one of the key beneficiaries as he looked to exploit the bags of room Stanford’s attacking formation (they played 3 up top) allowed down the right. However, Nathan was one of those still a bit jaded from the night before and didn’t look at his lethal best when these chances came his way in the opening 45.

One man who was able to capitalise on yet another excellent ball from Bunny was Tapsell. Who raced clear of the defence and finished expertly to get the Oaks back level: 1-1.

This goal didn’t seem to settle the early jitters, and Stanford were soon back on top when their coughing and spluttering centre forward got clear of the Oaks defence and lifted over the advancing Ty – who dealt the striker a kick in the ribs for his troubles: 2-1.

It’s a measure of how far this team has come that, personally at least, even though I was disappointed that we conceded again, I was never worried about us not getting back into the game, and I knew for certain that (despite having much of the same team) Stanford wouldn’t be capable of repeating either of the 7-2 thrashings they had dealt out to the Oaks in 2009. In fact in the last ten minutes of the half we started to find our rhythm, and could easily have gone into half time in the lead. The stand out chances being a Bunny Blaster from 30 yards that shook the crossbar and a great move that ended with Harry shooting wide after Deano, Eye-Ball, Ryan and Harry combined in a 7 pass move that saw the ball travel from right back, to left back, up the left wing and almost into the back of the net.

The half time team talk was pretty straightforward – get your heads back on it and go out there and win this game. The ten minute break, plus the fact that Stanford looked to be suffering due to their first half exertions, seemed to do the trick as the Oaks came out for the second half all guns blazing.

The one goal deficit was wiped out when Tapsell found Harry in space on the left, and he finished neatly past the keeper with his left foot for his 13th goal of the season: 2-2.

There was some uncertainty after the game as to whether Harry's goal had been the second or third. However, Nick assured us that is must have been second as he distinctly remembers feeling slightly nauseous at the thought of Harry pulling away from him in the goal scoring chart. If such concerns are what it takes to spring the BFJ into life then that is fine by me, as he was soon reducing the chart deficit to one (with a big hand from Harry), and giving the Oaks the lead for the first time in the game. H collected the ball on the right and crossed perfectly to meet the BFJ's run, who side footed neatly into the net from six yards: 2-3.

The Oaks were noticeably more relaxed now, and there was even time for a bit of crowd pleasing from Eye-Ball who, when trying to keep the ball in up the line, only succeeded in tripping himself up and diving head first into one of the footballs on the sideline - obviously Eye-Ball was overwhelmed from the resulting sympathy. Fortunately I've found an artist's impression of the incident:




Milesy also took the third goal as a cue to make his first change as Sharpy replaced H.

Despite their total dominance (and the fact that injuries meant Stanford played some of the second half with ten men before putting one of the injured players in goal), the Oaks still need to be wary of the fact the Stanford are a goal scoring machine, and they scored their third good goal of the game when the striker shot from outside of the area into the bottom corner: 3-3.

This goal didn't deter the Oaks who continued to pepper the Stanford goal, with the best chances falling to Nathan - who was denied from six yards out by an amazing save by the proper goal keeper - and Tapsell, who fluffed his lines when through one on one, and scooped his shot wide of the target. Deano also claims his driven effort was destined for the top corner if it hadn't been well saved by the keeper (who was now playing on pitch and throwing himself in front of Deano at the time the ball connected with his hands).

It didn't take long for the Stanford spirit to be broken, and it was Nick who, for the second time in the game, restored the lead for the Oaks. This time it was Nathan who crossed the ball, and Nick did well whilst falling backwards to glance the ball into the net for his 13th of the season, and a rare headed goal: 3-4

The Oaks capitalised on Stanford's dejection thanks to two great corners from Ryan. The first falling straight onto Rob's head, who made no mistake to make the score 3-5, and second being a carbon copy that this time fell on the flame coloured head of Tapsell: 3-6.

With the game now won Milesy put on two more sets of fresh legs with Al replacing Nick - who came close to grabbing his hat-trick with a stinging drive from outside the box - and Luke coming on for Bunny.

There was still time for Sharpy to grab some headlines, as he scored his sixth goal in five games when he just beat the limping replacement keeper to a through ball from Nathan, and bundled the ball over the line via various parts of his anatomy: 3-7.

That's now 29 goals scored by the Oaks in just five games, which means things are really hotting up in the goals and assists chart. If we just remember to keep helping each other put the ball in the net and we can't go wrong.

Eye-Ball

Next game: Sunday 25th March Away v Socketts Heath @ Palmers

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Goals and assist