In our final match of 2008 Oatlands faced unknown FC Shepperton in the league cup. With the opposition being from the division below we would obviously be the favourites in this tie and for us this would be a good opportunity to finish 2008 on a high.

This week’s team: Sam, Ross, Fraz, Pete H, Sonny, Clarky, Butler, Gravy, Baynezy, Jim and James. On the bench. Andy, Harps, Tom, Joe and Pod.

The build up to kick off was a bit subdued and this seemed to manifest itself in our start to the game which was awful. Shepperton were by far the better team and they won nearly every challenge, header and made far better use of possession than us. In fact any neutrals watching the game probably would have thought the team in the Barcelona kit were from the higher division

We lacked tempo, shape and a bit of grit and after 5 minutes we were playing so badly that we started to argue with each other and pass the buck around as Shepperton played their way round us and created a string of chances from which they should have done better.

Normally I would comment on the positives but there really weren’t any from the first half. Sam made some great saves to keep the score at 0-0 which was good on an individual level, but when your keeper is having a blinder and keeping you in the game against a team who are mid-table in the league below, it’s obviously not a good day.

Again I would normally comment on the chances we created, but I can’t honestly remember us having a shot on target as we floundered around all over the pitch. Down near our goal Shepperton looked bright and industrious and were unlucky not to be in a comfortable lead.

Our luck ran out in the 44 th minute when justice was served and Shepperton took the lead. 0-1

At half time Phil used the “F” word about 44 times and even threw in the “C” word a couple of times, but once he got all that out of his system he got down to giving his instructions on what we needed to do differently in the second half, which was pretty much everything.

We seemed to have taken on board what Phil said at half time and we started the second half brightly. In all areas of the pitch we were more competitive in our challenges and we finally managed to get the ball down and play a few passes which successfully found their intended targets.

We also finally discovered Sheppertons biggest weakness as a few speculative shots on target caused their keeper no end of difficulty and it appeared that if someone was willing to take a gamble on him spilling the ball again, chances might present themselves.

Something that really helped was the arrival on the pitch of Pod who wasn’t available last week because he was out buying a kitten. Up front we needed the ball to stick so that other OFC players could get into the game. Pod’s close control was exactly what we needed and it allowed the likes of Baynezy, Clarky and the other central midfield players the opportunity to get into decent positions to receive an attacking pass.

It was from a corner that we drew level. Pete delivered it and there was carnage in the box as they tried to clear and we tried to force the ball in. The result was Jim Beckram thrashing it home from about 3 yards. A truly ugly goal, but a valuable one. 1-1.

Having grabbed an equaliser we played our best spell of the game and it wasn’t long before we were 2-1 up via a curling Pete Butler shot from distance.

Despite generally playing quite well for about 20 minutes, Shepperton still had quite a few counter attacks that were very often only broken up by some awesome last ditch defending from Sonny Henderson. Sam Ahern also made a string of good saves to keep the opposition at bay, the pick of which was a great reaction save from close range which was spectacularly tipped over.

While Sam was having a storming game in his goal, the same could not be said for the Shepperton keeper. In an act of frustration Shepperton conceded a free kick near the touchline after a blatant push on Stevie Clarke. Butler stepped up and whipped in a nasty inswinging ball that evaded everyone and looked destined for the keeper’s gloves. Sadly for Shepperton the keeper spilled the ball onto the bar and like a vulture, Jim Beckram was there to score. It was a classic Beckram finish from his favourite distance – 6 inches out. It was an important goal in the game and also Jim’s 50 th for the club and was greeted by celebrations that were not too dissimilar to those of Marco Tardelli in the 1982 World Cup Final. 3-1 Oatlands.

Really we should have cruised to victory from this point, but it wasn’t to be. Our main problems weren’t really caused by Shepperton, but from our own lack of concentration and decision making. On too many occasions we held on to the ball too long in the wrong areas of the pitch resulting in us getting robbed of possession and having to rely on Sam to bail us out. We also put a number of passes straight to the opposition when under little pressure and we subsequently found ourselves under attack.

10 minutes from the end Shepperton grabbed a deserved second goal and set us up for an uncomfortable finale to the game.

We finally put an end to the contest with about 2 minutes left. Steve Sweeting describes the goal;

“I went on a 50 yard run from inside our half and took it past 6 of their players, then gave it to Dockers, who squared it to Pete Butler. Pete then curled it into the top right hand corner with his right foot.” 4-2 Oatlands

Overall it was a good result, but not a great performance. We were outplayed for long periods in the first half by Shepperton who passed it round nicely and with a bit more luck in front of goal they might have taken a more healthy lead into the second half. For the umpteenth time this season we had to come from behind, but we rallied well, had a good spell for 20 minutes and grabbed the goals needed to win. Shepperton will probably feel that they deserved to at least take it into extra time, especially given the amount of chances they created, but a man of the match performance from Sam is probably the reason why we are going through. We are now into the next round of the cup where there are a number of strong teams waiting from both our league and the league below as well.

The result rounds off a good year for OFC and I believe that the stats for the year read something like; Played 24, Won 14, Drawn 5, Lost 5.

Got to mention the Blue Hawaii. It was another storming night out with plenty of carnage, Oatlands FC songs, log challenges and a massive 27 man “pants only.” I don’t think anyone else at the Blue Hawaii was quite prepared for our brand of humour, but we certainly had a good time. I understand Steve will upload pictures on the site in the next few days.

inally, massive thanks to all those that come out rain or shine, home or away and every week to cheer on the lads. The club and players really appreciate the support and hopefully we’ll see everyone again throughout 2009