GEOFF...2-GUN...FURNO...TOM...JARV...ELLIOT...PEEWEE...ROSS...MIKE(1)...JIM B(2)...HARPS...ROB...JORDIE

Last week we put up an extremely impressive performance and inflicted a heavy defeat on Lightwater, but this week we would need to play even better as we faced Staines Lammas. The outcome of this game would be critical, a victory would see us leapfrog Staines and really get amongst it at the business end of the table and defeat would almost certainly end any promotion hopes we have.

Last time out against Staines , I thought we were excellent in the first half but in the second half we folded faster than Superman on laundry day and got hammered. There could be no repeat of that today.

We got off to a better start this week, training was well attended and despite the conditions it was a good session. We also had 15 names down on the team sheet by Friday morning so there was no need for the frantic phone calls and hostage type negotiations needed to get players out of shopping trips with the WAGs.

Changes took place as per usual this week; Boz, Djimi, PeeWee and Jordy were all available this week. Goulash, Gravy, Dave, Big Steve and Jack were all unavailable this week.

The team this week; Geoff, 2-Gun, Furno, Boz, Jarv, Mike, Ross, PeeWee, Elliot, Djimi and Barry. On the bench were Jordy, Sam, Hamish, Dom and Rob.

Despite the heavy rainfall the pitch was in pretty good condition and there was the added factor that it was probably about the biggest we have played on this season, meaning we should have room to pass the ball around.

Staines kicked off and appeared to gain the upper hand almost immediately. We looked a bit nervous at the stat and our passes and reading of the game were a bit off the mark. Subsequently it was Staines who had the first meaningful attack of the day. After picking the ball up in the centre circle one of their players ran at our defence. We were guilty of backing off, rather than pressuring the carrier and he was subsequently given time and space to shoot from outside the penalty area. The shot was sweetly hit and despite his best efforts (and finally a shiny new pair of gloves) Geoff could not keep the ball out and it was 1-0 to Lammas after only 3-4 minutes.

In spite of the early setback we got the game restarted and set about getting a foothold in the game. Although our determination and effort were 100% it just wasn't happening for us when we got on the ball and we'd string 2-3 good passes together only to be defeated by a bobble on the pitch and often the result was an attempted pass that went vertical upward rather than horizontally along the floor. We kept going though, and with 10 minutes gone the game was a very even looking contest, with both sides playing some nice passing football.

From a defensive viewpoint we adapted quickly to their 3-5-2 formation as Peewee and Ross were initially getting overrun by the extra man in the centre of midfield early on in the game, however by taking steps to cover that aspect, Phil hoped that we could focus more on our own attacking threat than theirs.

Our main threat in the opening 15 minutes came from out wide, where Mike and Elliot were patrolling the wings. Although we didn't test the keeper early on, both our wide midfielders well supported by the full backs and central midfield and found space and time to put some superb crosses in.

Up front this week, we had Barry Harps and Djimi. This meant that the sort of long balls that we throw at our more pacey attacking combinations to chase down would effectively be a waste of time. Therefore we had to play to Harps and Djimi's strengths, I.e. balls into feet where it would undoubtedly be held up, and packed off out wide, giving us time to get numbers in the box and get on the end of Elliot or Mike cross.

In midfield this week it was great to see the return of PeeWee, he may be small and has a very silly haircut, but there's no question that he's one of the most important players on the team. Even with an extra player to mark he was everywhere, winning tackle after tackle in midfield allowing us to get the ball and construct an attack. For the second week in a row Ross was in the centre of midfield and this week rather than doing a lot of the leg work, he was the player with a bit more time on the ball and he used it well hardly ever looking for the killer pass, but simply moving it on to the next free OFC player and ensuring that we retained possession.

Our hard work got its reward about 20 minutes into the game. Djimi returning from injury found himself on the edge of the Lammas box, he then hit a shot that could have been going anywhere, but it took a huge deflection and looped up into the air. The keeper, who struggled for traction in the muddy penalty area scrambled across but was unable to reach it. The ball just about squeezed in and we were back on level terms.

With the scores now level our confidence increased and as well as matching Staines physically, we moved up another gear and started to pass the ball around them nicely as well.

There was a lot of tension on the sideline. As well as there being the manager and the chairman present it was also another superb turn out of supporters and the game was very tightly poised. As per usual it was our very colourful captain who got everyone going. He made a run at the defence but was tripped near the box. However being a Chelsea fan, he took a leaf out of the Drogba book and theatrically went down, arms flailing and letting out a howl as if someone had chopped his leg off with a blunt knife. Their keeper made a good save from the resulting free kick.

Moments later we saw a better side of Djimi's game, he picked the ball up on the centre circle and ran at the Staines defence taking on and beating 2 players. He was forced out wide by the back line and looked to be heading out of the park gate but had the presence of mind to turn and knock it back to Barry on the corner of the penalty area. Harps squared it clinically across the box and I don't know where he came from but Mike beat Elliot to the ball and finished well. A great team goal and 2-1 OFC.

We have been in this situation before against Staines and last time we completely threw it away in the second half, therefore you felt that it would be absolutely critical to get a third goal.

At 2-1 down, Staines put the pressure back on us as they went in search of an equalizer but under pressure we looked comfortable at the back, Boz and Furno dealing with the aerial threat and out wide 2-Gun and Jarv had to work hard to quell the chances from out wide.

We went into half time 2-1 up, but Staines weren't without their chances especially when our possession broke down and they hit us on the counter. Staines created a couple of glorious chances to level things up, but Geoff made a couple of superb saves and Staines were guilty of missing the target from close range. You sensed this would be a very tough 2 nd half.

At half time Phil emphasized the need to play the ball to feet, rather than playing it to where we thought a player should be, we also needed to make sure that we continued to play to Harps and Djimi's strengths. Phil also suggested anyone wanting to bend over and take up the backside like last time could find the Vaseline in the medical bag. We were forced to take off Elliot who was clearly in no fit state to carry on and replaced him with Jordy on the left. We then battened down the hatches and prepared for a second half onslaught.

We started well and continued to play in the same vain in which the first half ended. We allowed Staines no time on the ball whatsoever and made sure that when we got the ball we kept possession by opening our mouths, making the simple pass and adopted a safety first approach at the back.

The referee for the game was a young lad who has reffed for us before and he had an excellent first half to the game, adopting a text book approach to the match. However Staines began to grow frustrated at the way the game was going and contested just about every decision that the referee made, often arguing long after a decision was made and questioning the referee's ability. Inevitably the more they argued the more the 50/50's seemed to go in our favour.

For much of the first 15 minutes in the second half, it was a stop start affair, as both teams pressed the physical button in order to gain an advantage. All over the pitch there was back chat, bickering and banter. Unfortunately, Phil and Beater were very disappointed at the way we allowed ourselves to get drawn in and subsequently we received 2 cheap bookings; one for Jordy putting in a terrible tackle from behind on their chirpy centre midfielder and a totally unnecessary yellow card for Djimi for foul and abusive language right in front of the referee. All very funny in the bar after the game, but ultimately that's 3 yellow cards for Djimi this year with 10 matches left, 2 more and that is potentially a spell on the sidelines during the most critical part of the season. With FA and club fines it was turning out to be a pretty expensive afternoon for our captain.

The game seemed to be locked down into a midfield battle, with both sets of teams fighting tooth and nail for anything loose, as a result there were few opportunities at either end and both keepers were reduced to picking up the occasional wayward shot.

The location of the Staines pitch means they probably have to invest more in match balls than any other team in the league. First of all Jarv put one into the houses near the entrance to the park and then almost immediately after someone cleared the other match ball into the houses on the other side of the pitch and we were reduced to playing the game with the ball that Al Sanz got free with Four Four Two magazine. A ball their keeper amusingly described as “heavy as f*ck” to the referee.

Chris Harper treated the traveling supporters to a moment of sheer magic midway through the second half. He met a cross around the penalty spot with his back to goal and was forced to knock the ball about 3 feet in to the air. With the ball in the air, his back to goal and probably having seen the Ronaldinho goal last week Harps did the right thing and went for the overhead kick. It could have been great, but unfortunately the ball went more upwards and sideways than toward goal bringing a roar of appreciation from the side.

Going into the last 15 minutes the game was now in a critical phase for us and conceding would put us on knife edge for the last minutes of the game. Staines , clearly looking for promotion appeared to push a 3 rd player into attack and subsequently the game opened up as they lacked numbers at the back.

Late in the game Barry Harps again wooed the supporters with another piece of magic. This time, despite almost being reduced to walking pace through exhaustion our balding striker marvelously out sprinted his much younger opponent to get the ball near the corner flag. PeeWee described him as looking like David Hasselhoff in the running scene of the opening credits for Baywatch. Very amusing, but it epitomized the efforts he put in.

Having defended brilliantly for 75 minutes we had a huge scare when a Staines player burst through and was clearly fouled in the box by Ross who had chased back from midfield. We held our breath expecting a penalty, but the referee saw it differently and gave a corner.

As a team we like to make sure that those who come down to support are treated to a rollercoaster ride and we never like to do things the easy way, especially when a game is on a knife edge. Very often we seem to make crazy decisions like dribbling the ball out of defence and getting caught in possession or trying to slice open our own back four with a wayward pass. Either way we always make it difficult for ourselves and continued to do so today.

With 5 minutes left we finally got the breakthrough we deserved and needed. A ball was played diagonally across from right to left, Staines stopped, raised their hands and called for offside against Harps who was in the middle but clearly nowhere near the ball and not interfering with the play. Their lino put his flag up and Staines stopped to protest. The long ball was found by Jordy who made and continued his late run. He squared the ball and Djimi hammered home the winner from close range. 3-1 OFC.

With minutes left, Phil took Harps off and replaced him with Rob Hunter. Staines went close in the closing minutes but we ran out 3-1 winners in the end.

Overall it was an outstanding OFC performance. It was a big game and we rose to the occasion, as a result we leapfrogged Staines to go fourth. Last week we inflicted a big defeat on Lightwater which was good, but if we want to get promoted these are the types of teams we need to beat. Staines were probably as good as anyone we played last year in D1, but as we keep saying the team who wants it more at this level will usually win and this week we wanted it more than they did. Everyone on the team did their bit and won their individual battles and while it was difficult to choose a man of the match PeeWee was absolutely outstanding in the centre of midfield and although he may not have ability to rip a team apart by running from box to box with the ball like Goulash, there's no question that if we had ten other players with the attitude of PeeWee we would be winning this league.

Next week we play undefeated Border and Heath End Sports in an even more important game. Last time out our performance was terrible and prompted some very harsh words, none the less we still accounted for nearly two thirds of their goals conceded this season. This is another must win game and with Shepperton and Staines playing each other next week a combination of a Staines and OFC victory will see us go 3 rd in the table.

The preparation for Saturday starts on Thursday at training. As was demonstrated this week there are not enough places on the team for all those in the squad that want to play, therefore those who cant make it to training because they have had a long day at work and don't really fancy it will be the ones that miss out on a Saturday. There are those who go down to training such as Phil who might not finish till 8pm, but none the less still make it. If you are available on Saturday please let Phil or Jim know ASAP.

A massive thanks to all those that came down to support, considering it was an away game it was another superb turnout and as a club it is makes us extremely proud to know that we are easily the best supported team in the league. Next week is an away game near Farnham, so please meet at the Flint at midday to guarantee a lift.

Finally there were some players who sat patiently on the bench this Saturday and did not get a game so a massive thanks to those guys.