Following last weeks rather disappointing exit from the League Cup we were back in league action this week against local rivals Weybridge Town. We played Weybridge about a month ago at their ground and on the day it was an extremely closely fought game in which Weybridge left it to the very last minute of the game to equalise.

This week we had a strong squad to choose from and there were some tough decisions to be made for Jim and Phil, particularly in the midfield.

This weeks team; Will, Moo, Sonny, Furno, Ryan, Bayno, Butler, Cheva, Tom L, Jiz and Pod. On the bench were Joe, Ross and Mike Taylor.

We had a very strong team out this week and when the game got underway you sensed that Weybridge might find us tougher than when we faced each other a few weeks back. Indeed, we definitely started the better of the two teams; our passing was crisper, we were winning our individual battles and Weybridge seemed rattled by us.

A lot of the good work for us came from the fact that we were able to dominate the central midfield area. This week we tried out a new pairing with Chris “Cheva” Chevalier joining Pete Butler in the centre of midfield and it was a combination that worked well right from the beginning. Cheva won numerous challenges, tracked up and down the pitch and was a constant menace for Weybridge. Pete also made life extremely difficult for the opponents and was outstanding with his range of trickery and movement.

We should have scored, or at the very least hit the target with 10 minutes on the clock. The chance arose when a Weybridge defender made a mistake while under pressure from Steve Sweeting. It was like watching Thierry Henry in his pomp as Steve burst into the box and outpaced the defender. Using his pace, he was left with just the keeper to beat, but unfortunately although the ball was struck true, it went wide and Weybridge were let off the hook.

For the first 20 minutes we continued to dominate the game. At the back we defended superbly and Weybridge had very little joy in getting past ex players Ryan and Moo who were out wide. In the centre Sonny and Furno proved very difficult to break down. Furno won a bucket load of headers and only ever looked in danger when he had the ball at his feet and was left with too much time to think about what to do with it. Sonny cleared up anything that was loose with his usual gritty and uncompromising style.

The OFC midfield also played well early on and looked like a balanced unit. The combination of Bayno, Butters, Cheva and Lloydy created a lot of promising opportunities for us to put Weybridge under pressure and up front Jiz and Pod both worked extremely hard to get themselves in good positions and put the defence under pressure.

It was about 20 minutes in when we went ahead from the penalty spot. It was an incident that was absolutely identical in almost every way to the penalty we were awarded last time out against Weybridge. The temptation is to simply paste in the details from our last game here, but essentially the ball went into the box, was mis-controlled by the defender and accidentally handled. There was a massive shout from the 30 or so supporters we had at the game and Kris Kamara pointed to the spot. Despite the spot being a bit scuffed and boggy, Pete stepped up and slotted it in. 1-0 OFC

Having scored we really should have got another couple. We played some great football and at times we easily carved our way through our opposition to create a string of opportunities. For the first time in a while it looked like everyone was relaxed on the ball and enjoying their football. Down at our end of the pitch the chances for Weybridge were few and far between as we snuffed out most of their attacks before Will’s intervention was required.

As the half continued the chances for us came and the chances for us went and although the build up play was great, you began to suspect that against a team with the sort of finishing power available up front for Weybridge, that we might come to regret not burying our chances later in the game. On the other hand, it seemed that if continued to play this way it would only be a matter of time before we went further ahead.

At half time there wasn’t really much to say. We were playing well, so Jim just asked for more of the same and described what he thought were Weybridge’s weaknesses.

The second half got underway and we immediately found ourselves back on the front foot and creating more opportunities. For us, Pete was probably our best player and probably the best player on the entire pitch as he ran Weybridge ragged with his ability to teleport around the pitch and make things happen.

It wasn’t long before OFC were wasting more great chances in front of goal and not long into the second half both Jiz and Tom L had great opportunities to score when put clean through, and left with just the keeper to beat. Sadly Jiz could only force a save out of the Weybridge keeper and Tom Lloyd’s shot was taken early but blazed miles over the bar.

Inevitably we paid the price for our impotence in front of goal with about 60 minutes on the clock. It was a rare stray pass from the middle of the OFC midfield that resulted in a dangerous Weybridge attack down our right hand side. It was about the only chance that Weybridge created in the first hour, but they do have a striker that is particularly lethal in front of goal and as soon as the ball came across our six yard box there was only going to be one result. It was a calm finish and we had paid the price for not taking our chances. 1-1.

I thought that this would probably signal a turning point in the game, that our heads would drop and that furthermore that Weybridge would make one of their typical second half never say die resurgences, but it didn’t really work out that way.

It was down the left hand side that we looked most dangerous and most likely to open Weybridge up again. Generally speaking it was started by classy left back Ryan Kent who would collect the ball, move it into midfield by beating a player or via a good pass and then look to overlap and join up with Pete Butler in a more advanced position and get the ball into the centre. On several occasions the ball was whipped in but Weybridge were resolute and defended well.

Our break through came courtesy of Pete Butler. After drawing a string of fouls off the opposition on the edge of the box, he finally delivered a free kick that did some serious damage. The box was loaded up and the ball was played into the back post. There was a bit of head tennis in which Jiz headed it back across the six yard box and Moo was there to spin and volley it home from close range. 2-1 OFC.

It seemed like only moments later that we were again pegged back. This time it was a ball into the Oatlands penalty area doing the damage. We should have cleared it but failed to do so and the ball bounced up in the six yard box. As the last OFC man back, Cheva went to volley it away acrobatically, but in doing so the referee judged that his high foot merited dangerous play and therefore a penalty. In a game that was more than a little reminiscent of our last encounter, big no5 stepped up from the back to take responsibility again. We hoped that in a similar manner to his last effort, he would scuff it again but just a little wider of the outside of the post this time. Sadly it wasn’t to be and this time he smashed it down the middle to even the scores. 2-2.

With the game approaching the last 5 minutes things were much more even, particularly as we began to tire. That said we had the easiest chance of the entire game to make it 3-2. We broke through the Weybridge back line and Baynezy could have taken on the keeper himself from the corner of the six yard box. Instead he squared it to Joe Spooner who was left with task of tapping it in from about a foot. Unbelievably “crazy legs” had a bit of a moment and somehow failed to make a decent connection, leaving the grateful keeper to scramble across and lap up the ball.

In the dying moments Weybridge might well have snatched the points. We gave away a silly free kick on the edge of the box and it was only thanks to a full stretch stop from keeper Will that we didn’t lose.

Overall it was a top performance, but not the result we deserved. For most of the game we dominated a very good side that have secured a place in the County Cup Final and were desperately unlucky not to have taken all 3 points.

There were lots of great individual performances across the pitch for us. We were outstanding across the back, strong in midfield and despite a few misses; our strikers created numerous chances to score that would have almost certainly been taken on another day. However the man of the match went to Butler who played in three different positions and was outstanding throughout. He narrowly pipped Cheva who looks like a superb addition to the team.

It’s a real shame that we didn’t get through to the next round of the cup because we would have faced Weybridge again, but it wasn’t to be. Good luck to them for the rest of the season, particularly in the County Cup final.

Next up for us is Cobham away. Our last game against them was probably the turning point in our season due to the season long bans some important players received as a a result of our inability to control our tempers. It’s an away game in Leatherhead and if you like nice hillside views and slopey pitches, this is definitely a must see game.

Thanks to all the supporters that came on Saturday – it was a superb turnout.