Massive game this week for Oatlands against Surrey Athletic who always beat us 3-2, despite us always carrying a 2 goal advantage. The pre-match banter and talk of us getting whipped by Surrey who won 11-0 last week certainly did the job of firing us up and we were also boosted by the return of Nigel, Standards, Peewee and 2-Gun. Those who did the taunting either didn't play, or in the case of one of Surrey 's players was busy keeping the bench warm for Woking Phoenix reserves.

Massive changes from the team that last lost to Surrey with only, 5 players from the previous encounter starting.

The team T-Bone, Nigel, Harps, 2-Gun and Furno at the back. Sus, Ozzy, Psycho and inspector Ludo in midfield. Jarv and Rob up front. No Standards, PeeWee and Djimi on the bench.

We managed to scrape the kick off time of 2pm because the French lads strayed from our fleet and unfortunately they had the kit. This meant the warm up consisted of a long trudge from the changing rooms to the pitch followed by 20 seconds of running before the whistle.

We started the game kicking into the sun on decent and flat pitch and right from the start the match looked as if it would be a highly competitive affair. The first 10 minutes were fairly even with Surrey probably edging the possession. Our back four looked very composed and the only real threat came from a goal that was disallowed for offside after a shout of “get yer bloody flag up” from Nigel. With nerves seemingly settled and a hefty beating from the opposition looking unlikely we got a foothold in the game and created some chances of our own. Surrey were not a particularly physical side and soon found themselves on the wrong end of some crunching OFC challenges all over the pitch. In particular the young lad on the right looked like he'd been hit by a train after colliding with T-Bone following a rare breach of our back line.

Oatlands were given quite a bit of time on the ball by the opposition and at times we passed the ball round well and subsequently created a few half chances. Jarv, who has recently moved from left back to striker opened the scoring for us and shortly after Ozzy smashed in a volley from a tight angle for our second at the near post. Suddenly the scene was looking all too familiar. Oatlands 2-0 up against a Surrey Side that always beat us and it wasn't even half time. Surrey 's best chance came from their tricky midfielder who turned a half chance into a good left footed volley. T-Bone athletically saved it to keep Surrey Athletic at arms length.

Heading toward half time we didn't dazzle the small crowd with glorious sweeping football but we certainly proved effective at keeping the home side at bay and made sure that we won the majority of first and second balls and worked hard as a team to close down the opposition.

Coming in at half time we heard a few remarks from the sideline to the effect that we would crumble and that Surrey would prevail. Those comments weren't just heard by Phil, but most of the team and served to make us more determined than ever to keep the momentum going into the second half.

The game was as good as won 10 minutes into the second half. Our third goal came from an absolutely crunching 2-Gun tackle the ball broke free down the left and it was Ozzy who was again there to finish it off, much to the dismay of the BNP representative from Goldsworth Park who got himself sent off in our last encounter. Surrey's angry supporter was soon on his way home from Goldsworth Park when Oatlands cruised into a 4-0 lead and effectively won the game.

Oatlands were guilty of getting cocky midway through the half and despite relaxing and playing some of our best football we were occasionally careless on the ball and didn't make the most of a couple of chances up front. We also got a bit lippy to the opposition which could have really been embarrassing in the event of an Oatlands collapse. However we defended stoutly and did not look like conceding.

Injury forced 2-Gun off the pitch despite his protests because he wanted to shake the right wingers hand at the end of the match, but it was obvious that he would not be able to continue and was withdrawn in favour of Jon Stannard at left back. Daisy Ewan was also withdrawn to give Peewee a run-out down the right wing.

At 4-0 it was really up to us to keep our composure and do the sensible things when needed to ensure that it would be Surrey crying into their pints that night. As usual Surrey simply never seem to give up and Oatlands found themselves pinned back on the edge of the 18 yard box. Surrey began to pass the ball round nicely in midfield, the lanky no.15 having the most influence on their play. It looked for a long while like they might not score, as most of their attacks culminated in a Tim Furnival or Nigel tackle before becoming a genuine threat. Sadly, we did concede with about 10 left on the clock, as with most goals at this level it was a mistake that allowed Surrey to score. We failed to clear the ball properly when the chance was there and the result was that the no.5 sneaked through and finished well to give Surrey a glimmer of hope and left the Oatlands finger dangerously poised for action over the self destruct button.

Surrey soon bagged another, again it was there no.5 that broke free from a ball over the top and despite the presence of T-Bone and Dom it was another good finish. 4-2. Beater began to pace the sideline, hands firmly gripped to that famous black file.

Djimi came on to the pitch for the last minutes of the game after a lay off with a hamstring injury picked up against Hersham. Djimi was involved in a move that should have seen OFC extend the lead, but despite some glorious build up play Oatlands were unable to round it off with the goal it deserved. I think Djimi was also booked for unsportsmanlike behaviour after continuously taunting the no.15 about the score line and saying he looked like a parrot.

Despite Surrey throwing everything at Oatlands in the dying minutes we held on well for a comprehensive victory against a very determined Surrey Athletic side.

All said it was a great performance by the lads, they fought hard all through the match and showed a bit of quality that has really been lacking throughout much of the season. Despite not winning 3-2 as usual Surrey were extremely sporting in defeat and after the game presented OFC with a “we always win 3-2 certificate”. It was also Ozzy's last game for the club possibly forever as he goes back to France indefinitely and it was nice for him to bag 2 goals against a team which gave him such a hard time last time out.

Big thanks to the ref as well, I don't think anyone realized he was actually one of their players. Probably the best display of refereeing we have seen this year.

Oatlands rounded the day off with total carnage up in town and it was a nice way to round off an utterly shite start to the season.