Saturday afternoon saw OFC’s first game of the season against familiar opposition in the form of GCW. Not so familiar was the squad OFC put out for this one. There were a total of 6 changes from the last time that we played GCW and ran out comfortable winners. Over the summer there has been much change and subsequently there were 3 debuts in the starting 11 this week and 3 potential debutants on the bench. This weeks team; Harps in goal, Dom, Fraser (debut), Ross and Sonny (debut) at the back. In midfield; Pete B (debut), Mike, Gravy and Djimi. Up front Elliot and Jack. On the bench; Rob, Sam, Andrew and Steve. Pod bought his kit, but failed to make the bench. There may have been a number of changes in the starting 11, but one thing that hasn’t changed is our inability to get off to a good start. Considering it was the first match of the season and many of the players hadn’t played together before,it was understandable and we probably would need some time to gel. We were pretty much immediately under pressure from the Weysiders and despite our eagerness we lost our shape early on and GCW quickly found some gaps and space to exploit. With 5 minutes on the clock we conceded a penalty. Harps went to clear the ball, but it seemed to catch a bobble and the only thing that Harps made contact with was a GCW striker, resulting the sort of tackle that an egg chaser would be proud of. It was not deliberate but it would have been very difficult for the referee not to give a penalty. The resulting penalty was neatly placed to Harps' right hand side and we were 1-0 down. The next 5 minutes continued in the same vain as the first 5 minutes and we struggled to retain possession or create any serious opportunities going forward. It was our backline that saw the most of the ball as they fended off the Guildford attacks. In about the 10th minute 1-0 became 2-0 to the opposition when a GCW striker squeezed between what looked like 2 OFC defenders and hit a low shot across Harps. Despite getting a hand to it, Harps couldn't prevent the goal and we were 2-0 down early on and it was a bit of a concern to be 2 down so soon. At 2-0 down we finally seemed to shake off our nerves and over eagerness and settled down well. Up front Elliot and Jack began to cause problems for the GCW defence. Elliot’s physical approach meant he was able to hold the ball up well and allow other players to get forward and Jack’s lightening pace was a constant menace for the defence. OFC’s first real sighter on goal came via Jack; using his lightning pace he robbed the defender of the ball and bored down on goal, having rounded the keeper and with a seemingly open goal to shoot at he took his shot only to see it miraculously cleared off the line by some great defending. There was controversy midway through the half. Again it was Jack causing trouble and he looked to have broken free of the defence only to be downed by the last man. “Red Card!” we screamed on the touchline, but a free kick was the only punishment given and Elliot’s vicious shot was blocked by the wall. The momentum of the game seemed to change in our favour. In the centre of midfield, debutant Pete saw plenty of the ball and used possession well, while Mike was as industrious as ever harassing the opponents whenever they were in possession. Our best work was down the wings, where Djimi and Gravy had plenty of the ball and put numerous crosses in for Jack and Elliot to get on the end of. After about 30 minutes it looked as though Elliot had been spending to much time pimping his ride and not enough time training and we made a straight swap bringing on another debutant Sam Campbell. The Oatlands pressure was beginning to mount and after a succession of corners we finally got the breakthrough we needed and probably deserved. As the game approached half time it was fairly evenly balanced. We kept getting into promising positions, but ultimately failed to get sufficient numbers in to the box to capitalise. At the back we looked solid and apart from a full stretch Harps save, Weysiders didn’t really threaten our goal. At half time Phil wanted 2 things out of the team. Numbers into the box and shots on target. We started the second half well and despite not having done any pre-season games we still looked fresh. Almost from the start of the second half Pete and Mike got hold of the game in the centre and we had the lions share of possession. Our reward came 5 minutes into the second half. More good work from the centre of midfield saw the ball moved out to the wide left channel, where Djimi cut in and beat his man before putting in a low cross that was met and finished superbly by Sam. 2-2 and game on. Having scored the second goal we looked confident and took full control of the game. At the back Ross marshalled his defence well and we looked solid. GCW looked like a deflated team following our equaliser and it looked on the pitch as if the OFC boys could sense it. We went on to create numerous chances to go into the lead but a combination of the crossbar and our poor finishing meant we were going to have to be patient. Jack had two or three opportunities but too often chose power over precision and rarely troubled the keeper. Jack’s strike partner Sam was extremely impressive in his first OFC match running tirelessly for the team, causing the opponents no end of trouble with the ball at feet and with his unselfish play. We were playing good football all over the pitch but it was clear to see that there was an element of frustration creeping in on the pitch and on the side. At times we reverted to persistently abusing the referee and nearly cost ourselves dearly when 3 or 4 players surrounded the referee to claim a penalty leaving us short at the back while GCW went on the attack. We made two substitutions late in the game; firstly Pete was swapped for Andrew after an excellent debut in centre midfield and the need to score a 3rd goal meant that after a typically consistent performance Dom was subbed from right back and Rob Hunter came on and went up top with Jack and Sam to move to 3-4-3 Our frustration came to a head with 5 minutes left. Club captain Jim Beckram made a horrible and needless late challenge just inside our half and was fairly lucky to only get away with a yellow card. The free kick gave Weysiders the opportunity to put us under pressure and get numbers in to our half. In the following passage of play Weysiders put in a cross to the edge of the area where a great strike cannoned off the underside of the bar and went in. 3-2 GCW We did hit the bar in the closing moments of the game, but it was too little too late and we had lost a game that we had more than enough chances to win. Overall it was bitterly disappointing to lose a game that we really should have won, but on the day the only real fault was our finishing and at times our attitude concerning the referees decisions. On a positive note we played some good football and all the new lads played extremely well, with 16 year old Fraser getting the deserved honour of man of the match. Looking at the squad there were a number of regular starters from last season such as Jarv, Jordy, 2-Gun, Pod and Furno who did not play in this game due to injury or availability and there are also a number of players who are new to the squad, but equally as capable as those who played, that are still waiting to make their first appearances for the club. Unfortunately there are only 16 places in each squad so failing to make training or not giving 100% is likely to result in being dropped to the bench or worse. Next week we play Abbey Rangers Reserves, who have a reputation for being very physical. With one loss in the league already we have to turn things round or promotion is going to be very much an uphill battle. Please ensure you get to training and if not please make sure that Phil or Beater are made aware so that you can be considered for selection. It is also the intention of the club to award each player “fantasy league” |