SAM...POD(1)...HARPS...JARV(1)...ROB H(1)...MIKE...2-GUN...DJIMI...DOM...JACK(2)...SUS...STEWART(2)...STEVEN

After last weeks morale boosting victory against Premier League outfit Hambledon, Oatlands were back in league action and looking to get something out of what has been a pretty crap year so far. This week Oatlands were boosted by the return of Sus in the midfield and welcomed back 2-Gun for his first game since we crushed a team called Surrey Athletic just before Christmas. There was also a return for Goulash who has now served his 110 day ban.

No Beater or Phil this week, so it was up to Djimi and long term casualty Alex Sanz to pick and manage the team, with T-Bone taking control of Beaters black file of love.

This week's starting line up. Sam in goal. Dom, Harps, Jarv and 2-Gun across the back. Djimi and Jack out-wide. Sus and Goulash in the middle and Stu and Rob up front. Pod and Mike were on the bench.

Superb conditions for playing football, but not for watching it, meaning was critical that the OFC team gave the supporters a good reason to come down to the ground. Shere kicked off the match and kicked with the wind. Shere made the brighter start to the game and pressed us deep into our half for the opening exchanges. As suspected the strong breeze made it difficult to clear the ball any great distance and subsequently until we had a chance to get the ball down and pass it we were reduced to simply dealing with a ball that kept coming back to our defence. Despite the early pressure it was OFC who created the first genuine chance of the game, a through ball from the centre of our midfield was fluffed from just inside the Shere penalty area.

After 10 minutes Oatlands were in the ascendancy. Shere were a physically bigger side than Oatlands but it was our boys who were the more physical and match was overseen by a referee who was comfortable letting the game flow a bit more than others might. Subsequently Shere were rattled and were knocked off the ball or conceded possession on several occasions early in the match.

Goulash, playing for Oatlands for the first time since November was outstanding on the ball in midfield. It was Steve who created the first opportunity for Oatlands and after gliding out of defence with the ball, he was uprooted 25 yards out from the Shere goal. Jarv took the free kick and forced a save out of the keeper. Stu was first on the scene and gave the freezing supporters on the side something to smile and cheer about. 1-0 OFC.

Almost from the restart OFC carved Shere apart with five or six passes, culminating in a perfectly squared cross to Djimi who had made great run from left wing to the centre forwards position. Djimi struck the ball sweetly but it went inches wide. Oatlands were now in control.

Rob Hunter made it 2-0 shortly afterwards. His run was rewarded with a perfectly weighted pass from midfield, without breaking stride Rob set himself up to curl it round the on rushing keeper and a text book finish meant Rob was already celebrating before the ball hit the net. 2-0 OFC.

Shere found it very difficult to deal with our physical and aggressive approach and after Djimi steamrollered their right back who held on to the ball for too long to he superbly set up Rob again wjho missed by a few feet, Shere began to lose their rag complaining bitterly to the referee about our approach. Jordy goaded the opposition further from the sideline.

Sus playing with an injury in centre midfield had one of the best halves of his season. He was industrious and kept possession superbly for Oatlands. Our back four were also excellent. Jarv and Harps were both very solid and on a number of occasions created opportunities for Oatlands by bringing the ball out of defence. Dom and 2-Gun also offered more to the team than just hard tackling and made a number of overlapping runs down the wings when OFC went forward.

Oatlands pressed home their advantage before half time. Another from Stu made it 3-0 and Jack Hillier got his second ever OFC goal to make it 4-0.

Our eagerness to win the ball back from Shere was at times a bit too aggressive and the referee awarded Shere a number of free kicks throughout the first half. We were nearly punished for this when Sam had to make a very difficult save from a central direct free kick from 25 yards. As Jordy said the wall was rubbish and as a result Sam was forced to get down quickly and prevented any chance of a rebound by keeping hold of the ball. Sadly we were eventually punished when a great delivery from our left was well executed with a header from 12 yards. 4-1

As half time approached, we continued to look assured but the closest we came was via a Jack Hillier bicycle kick which although looking quite spectacular didn't really trouble the goal or the surrounding area. We went in at half time deserving the lead.

With no Phil Barr it was Djimi and Harps who gave the chat. Not much really needing to be said except for the fact that we needed to keep our work rate up and make sure we didn't have a wobble immediately after the restart. With Mike and Pod on the bench we could afford to bring off anyone who was tired or injured later in the game.

Oatlands started the second half positively and again the whole team were industrious and worked hard for each in all areas the pitch. Again OFC were the more threatening team and Stu nearly got himself clean through on a couple of occasions and Rob Hunter coming close with an attempted lob.

Oatlands then settled down and played some of the best football we have played all season. We passed the ball round with confidence making Shere do the chasing. We also consistently made good use of the ball either by simply retaining possession or shifting the play from one side of the pitch to the other.

Goulash should have scored 10 minutes into the second half. He won the ball on the edge of our 18 yard box and then just ran at Shere. I personally don't think I have seen any in the league as good as Goulash is at running at players. On his last appearance he ran through the whole of the Chilworth team before squaring to Ozzy who missed from 6 yards. This time he ran from our 18 yard line right through the Shere team, he then rounded the keeper as well, before having his shot miraculously cleared off the line by a Shere defender.

Jack made the score 5-1 20 minutes in to the second and we looked good for our lead, but a lapse in concentration shortly after the fifth goal left us exposed down right and Shere made the score 5-2 with a low shot at the near post. Halfway through the second half Sus was replaced by Mike due to injury, but not before he had an opportunity to do an Ossie Ardiles “Escape to Victory” style flick over his head to beat 3 defenders by the corner flag. Rob Hunter was also replaced shortly after Sus. Rob worked tirelessly up front, got the goal his performance deserved and was rewarded with a rest after great contribution to the team. On in Rob's place came Pod, who despite playing nearly ever game last season has not played in a league game this year.

The Shere keeper kept the score at 5-2 with an excellent save from a Jarv free kick, but it looked like more goals might be inevitable as Shere made a number of mistakes at the back when under pressure and at times gave the ball away far too easily, unfortunately Oatlands were unable to capitalize.

Pod and Mike both made a good impact when coming on and both players bought something different to our team. Mike as you might expect got stuck into the action straight away, putting tackles in all over the pitch and Pod, who was playing slightly out of position up front made a lot of intelligent flicks and first time passes to Oatlands players ensuring that we kept possession.

With 10 minutes left on the clock, Pod jumped up and flicked on the ball midway in the Shere half from a Jarv goal kick.The ball appeared to be going harmlessly toward the keeper, but the spin on the ball and the hard pitch deceived the keeper who could only helplessly watch as the ball bounced over him and in to the unguarded net. 6-2 OFC.

Oatlands capped off a great performance shortly before the end, this time some smart play near the corner of the Shere penalty box resulted in 2-Gun laying the ball off to Jarv who smashed the ball in from distance. 7-2 OFC.

Before the final whistle Shere might have got a third goal, but Sam Ahern reacted quickly to a vicious shot and tipped it on to the bar in spectacular fashion and the referee bought the game to an end following the resulting clearance. Final score 7-2 Oatlands.

Overall it was a great team performance from us and everybody played their part. It was a tremendous first half performance in which we fought tooth and nail for every single ball and took the majority of our chances. Making the score 5-1 in the second half certainly seemed to relax the team and as a result we played some superb football, looked confident and clearly enjoyed playing. It was also good to see the return of Pod and Goulash to the team after such a long time out. We get to play Guildford Shere again before the end of the season which is on the face of it, a good opportunity to get another 3 points. But we have to remember that the results like this are a result of hard work and a team effort rather than individual ability. You can also guarantee that Shere will want their revenge after a very poor scoreline for them.

Next week we play Hersham, who look like they might win the league. They will no doubt be well up for the game as they push for the title, but more importantly for us we need to avoid relegation so a win is an absolute must. Also in our run in to the end of the season we will have to play GROB, Emmanuel and a very beatable Chilworth team in the Premier Cup on the 25 th , with the prospect of Milford and Witley or Bedfont Green (both beaten by us last year) in the semi final.

A big thanks to those that came to watch, please make every effort to come down and cheer on the team next week.