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

This week OFC were in action for the final time in 2006. A win would take us on to 25 points, and depending on other results there was the opportunity to go 3 rd in the table. An OFC win would almost certainly make all those Big Kahuna's taste that much sweeter at the Blue Hawaii Christmas Party after the game.

The preparation for this week's game wasn't perfect and with the Border and Heath End game being cancelled last week we lost a bit of momentum and probably a bit of sharpness.

Unavailability and illness meant there were a few changes from the team that beat Staines last time out. Gravy replaced Barry up front. Ross went into central defence replacing Boz and Jordy started which meant a slight shuffle in midfield.

This weeks team; Geoff, 2-Gun, Ross, Furno, Jarv, Jordy, PeeWee, Mike, Elliot, Djimi and Gravy. On the bench Rob, Dom, Dave and Hamish.

Last time out against Merrow we ran out very comfortable winners and all said they were one of the weakest teams in the division, therefore you would hope that Saturday's game should have been a foregone conclusion, but it never really works out that way when OFC are involved.

We got the game going and were kicking into both the sun and the slight incline in the first half. Unfortunately, we obviously turned up thinking that opposition were simply here to hand us 3 gift wrapped points for Christmas. Not surprisingly were rocked back when Merrow, fielding a much changed side from the previous game looked much the better side in the opening exchanges of the game.

The first 5 minutes were played at a high tempo (mainly by the opposition) and Merrow looked like a vastly improved side from our previous encounter. We looked nervous all over the pitch and our passing, movement and reading of the game were poor, and we were second best in all areas of the pitch.

Again, on the sideline we had plenty of supporters to cheer the team on, but it looked like it could be one of those horrible days where for all the will and encouragement on the side, we were probably going to beat ourselves. As you can imagine Beater began to angrily pace the touchline, cursing to himself with his folder firmly tucked under his arm.

The inevitable happened just 10 minutes into the game and we conceded a relatively soft goal to a team that has managed just 7 goals all season. 1-0 to Merrow.

From the re-start it was all Merrow again, they were bright, hungry and passed the ball around nicely and we found ourselves camped in our own half for long periods. We really were having an erratic game and although the pitch was clearly suffering following the recent weather we were clearly frustrated with ourselves and lost our heads. Subsequently we were guilty of diving into challenges rather than standing our ground and jockeying our opponents. The result; we gave away a lot of unnecessary free kicks and gave Merrow the opportunity to pump a number of long free kicks into our penalty area which resulted in too many uncomfortable goal mouth scrambles.

From an attacking perspective we didn't really offer much going forward. Far too often we gained possession made 4-5 good passes and then inexplicably gave the ball away. Up front Gravy did a lot of leg work, chasing down defenders and trying to force a mistake. Djimi was also up top but far too often he was getting dragged into midfield. Despite being the lone target up front, Gravy's efforts were rewarded 20 minutes in; when against the run of play we nicked an equalizer. We played the ball across our back four and out wide to Jarv, Jarv then hit one over the top which dropped between the keeper and the Merrow back four. Their keeper called it but was beaten to the ball by Gravy who simply flicked it into the net. 1-1.

Having gained a foothold in the game we were still not able to turn things round and remained second best in virtually every department. I don't know why but we were simply not at the races. On the pitch the only chat that came from us was either aimed at the referee or at each other and as soon as we were in possession we fell silent. Again as our frustration mounted we continued to give away free kicks and it was only a matter of time before we would get punished again.

10 minutes from half time we were punished, we needlessly gave away a foul on the edge of our own box resulting in a direct free kick. The free kick was no Beckham special and it was probably going wide, but fortunately for Merrow and unfortunately for us, it struck Jim Beckram and the ball was diverted past Geoff for an own goal. 2-1.

On the sideline it wasn't a pretty sight and you could sense from his crossed arms, silence and generally very disappointed look that Phil would be using the “C” word alot at half time.

With 45 minutes gone the ref blew up for half time with Merrow deservedly 2-1 up. During the break Phil emphasized the fact that we were second best in every department and that we were silent in possession. He also talked about our relative positions in the league and despite the fact that Merrow were a vastly improved outfit we should still comfortably be able to deal with it. With no injuries to deal with we went back out for the second half fired up and determined to win.

We started the second half in a much more determined fashion and although the ball didn't really run for us at first, we were definitely up for the fight. We were also much more vocal and competitive than in the first half.

Five minutes into the second half we had finally found a gear and began to look like a threat in front of goal, something we didn't really achieve in the first half. It was PeeWee who had the first chance and despite rising like a kipper from a corner, his header just cleared the bar.

Merrow had looked dangerous up front in the first half and they had a couple quick and tricky strikers who caused quite a bit of havoc, but with 10 minutes gone in the second half the threat was minimal as they were well marshaled by Furno and Ross and the majority of the game was now being fought out in midfield. With the majority of action occurring in the midfield PeeWee really came into his own and he won a succession of headers from their goal kicks and clearances and we slowly started to push Merrow onto the back foot.

Oatlands were now in the ascendancy and it was now Merrow who were the team frustrated by the referee. Where the referee had been quite keen to use the whistle in the first half, in the second half he let things go a bit more and Merrow felt that they should have got a bit more protection from the referee, especially when the OFC tackles were flying in. Eventually the referee was forced to take action and it wouldn't take a genius to work out which OFC player got the first yellow card. It was a recklessly late challenge and another totally unnecessary yellow card for Djimi. That now puts him on four for the season, one card off a 30 day ban.

20 minutes into the second half and we were now on top of the game. All around the pitch our players seemed to have more time on the ball and we finally started to use possession well. With the attacking threat of Merrow subdued, our back line crept further forward and our full backs were now playing more of an attacking/possession role than defending the OFC goal. From the centre our skillful centre back Ross also got into positions where he could bring the ball out of defence rather than the more direct option of a clearance. Our main attacking threat came from down the wings, Elliot and Jordy worked very well with the respective full backs and we were able to get a few decent balls across the Merrow box. In midfield Mike and PeeWee were now winning just about everything and surely it would only be a matter of time before a genuine goal scoring opportunity presented itself.

Having turned the game in our favour we finally got the equalizing goal our efforts deserved. Having gained control of the ball at the back we passed it through midfield and then out wide to Jordy. Jordy put the ball across the box and their keeper dropped the catch which fell very fortuitously to Djimi who was in the right place at the right time. From 6 yards out he hammered the ball home, there was a large cheer from the 20 odd OFC supporters and we were finally level. 2-2.

At 2-2 the game was delicately balanced and we needed a 3 rd goal.

Elliot was next in to the referees book, after skipping a couple of challenges he just put the ball too far in front of himself and had to lunge in to try and keep it, unfortunately for him (and even more so for the defender) he was late and it looked like a very bad tackle. Out came the card and despite shouts of “tell him your name is James Beckram” from some of the supporters, Elliot went into the book.

Shortly after drawing level we went ahead. Mike picked the ball up in midfield and ran at the Merrow back line before releasing Gravy who had run into a gap. With just the keeper to beat Gravy made no mistake and stabbed the ball home to put us 3-2 up. There was another big cheer from the sideline and we all knew that we would be celebrating 25 points at Christmas.

At 3-2 down and with 10 minutes left Merrow were beaten and from the restart we bossed the game. Merrow went with 3 up front but that simply served to leave them short at the back when we attacked. Despite having four subs to choose from we made our one and only change immediately after the goal and Phil took Djimi off and replaced him with Rob Hunter.

Our last 10 minutes were probably our best of the game, with Merrow having an extra man up top there was more space in which to pass the ball in their half and we used our possession well and for the first time in the game we looked like we were enjoying it and even laughing at ourselves. Jordy and Furno then scrapped it out for the donkey t-shirt with a couple of the most rubbish attempts you have ever seen at kicking a football and it seemed that the tension on the pitch and on the sideline had finally been released.

Stew had a half chance to complete his hatrick with 5 minutes left after he was put clean through, but despite a superbly executed chip with the keeper in close proximity, the ball just about cleared the bar and it wasn't to be. The referee bought the game to a close and we were over the moon, having secured another 3 precious points

Overall it was a difficult one to assess. Last time we played Merrow they were extremely poor and I have no doubt that on Saturday we expected to simply walk over them, but when the game started and Merrow started to boss things we were clearly rocked and it took us a long time to get over it. In the end though, we picked ourselves up as a team and showed great character to come from behind to win for a second successive match. The result puts us into third place in the table and with the opportunity to take points from those around us, it also gives us a very realistic chance of promotion at the end of the season. Merrow were unlucky not to get anything out the game, based on Saturdays performance they certainly don't look like a team that have only picked up a point this year. I am sure things will pick up for them in 2007 as it looks like they have now played the majority of the more difficult fixtures in the division. We wish them well.

For us, the first half of the season has been good, its done us good to come down a league, because despite the fact that the top teams are at least as good as those at the top of the 1 st division, we have moved into a league where we play quite a few 3 rd and 4 th teams which have given us the opportunity to win more games. While the first part of the season has been good there have been some poor results, we bossed and were winning against Staines and Border and Heath End in the first half only to capitulate in the second half. We also lost to Shottermill in a very poor display. Promotion is now a distinct possibility but its not going to happen if we don't want it enough. We now have a strong squad and people are now finding it difficult to break into the starting 11, but as we all know there are very strong and capable players not getting a regular game, that includes last years “players player” and there are some players who are injured who would also be very difficult for Phil to leave out when fit. We have to keep pushing ourselves if we want to move the club forward, that means getting down to and giving 100% at training every week and making Phil's Thursday night a complete nightmare because there 20 players each week who all deserve to start on a Saturday.

We now have a break until January 13th when we play Milford and Witley at their place, despite the break, it is vital that we get fit for this one because their pitch is about the worst I have played on in the league and is incredibly soft underfoot when it rains. This makes it 90 of the most energy sapping minutes you will play and last time we went there we were all dropping like flies with cramp.

A massive thanks and a very Merry Christmas to all those that continue to come down and support, while we don't have a 100,000 capacity stadium, its fantastic to know that the are 20 people each week who care enough about the club and the players to come down and lend their support, it really does help the team. Another big thanks to Dom, Sam, Dave and Hamish who didn't get a game this week, there will be other opportunities.