GEOFF...2-GUN...ROSS(1)...TOM...JARV...ELLIOT...PEEWEE...MIKE...FURNO...HAMISH...SAM...HARPS... STEW(2)...JIM

After another very disappointing defeat at the hands of Surrey University, we travelled to Shalford Park this week to face GCW. Last time out against GCW we were defeated at home in a match where despite their keeper being injured we only managed to hit the target once in the whole game and we were outplayed and out thought by a young but determined side.

Any chance of getting in the hat for promotion would be out the window this week if we lost, we were also taking just about our strongest squad of players so there could be no excuses for a poor performance. The only regular players not available for selection were Jordy, Jack or Dom.

There were a couple changes to the previous team that faced Guildford 3 weeks ago and Furno, Djimi both started and Hamish and Harps were on the bench. In order to try and recapture that winning formula Phil made a number of positional changes to the team with Tom in the centre with PeeWee and Djimi and Elliot swapping places.

This weeks team; Geoff in goal, Jarv, Ross, Furno and 2-Gun across the back.
Mike and Djimi out wide, Tom and PeeWee in the centre. Elliot and Stew up front. The bench consisted of Sam, Pod, Rob, Hamish and Harps.

We kicked off the game this week on a pitch that was in good condition but had a very distinct slope making the far touchline unviewable from the road side of the pitch. We should have scored from the kick off when a series of nervous clearances from GCW sent us virtually clean through, but the resulting shot flashed across the goal and we were denied a dream start.

With the defeat of a few weeks back was clearly still fresh in our minds, we started the game well, but we were probably letting our hearts rule our heads a little and while we were keen to get stuck in, we struggled a little in terms of our positioning and shape and as a result of a route one ball, their striker latched on to the ball and finished superbly after getting between our central defenders and lobbing Geoff. A poor start. 1-0 GCW

Despite going 1-0 down, there was 90% of the game left, more than an adequate amount of time to get ourselves organised, get back on terms and kick on from there. While we were immediately on top from the restart we were leaving a hole just in front of our back four which their strikers were exploiting. After some handbags throughout the team, we finally got ourselves organised and the gap was plugged.

We’d identified their no.10 as the main danger, he was a player with quite a bit of tenacity, pace and height and after kicking out at Furno off the ball, our ever reliable defender decided that it was time to try and intimidate and mark him out the game. Unlike the last 2 weeks games, we had a referee this week who was a bit more willing to let things go and as such we put our foot on the physical peddle and GCW subsequently found themselves on the receiving end of some very hard challenges.

After 10 minutes of the game we were in charge, despite the goal deficit. We looked extremely organised at the back and while Furno was on marking duty, Ross organised the rest of the back line superbly well. In the centre of midfield after taking a bit of time to get to grips with things Tom and PeeWee worked together well and when they weren’t stifling GCW, they were generally distributing the ball extremely well. This week we had Mike out wide on the right instead of in the centre and after spending the last 2 weeks fouling his way through games he looked to be back to his best and exploited the GCW left back throughout the first half.

Before the game, Gravy knew he was under a bit of pressure to score, despite never failing to give a less than 100% commited performances, goals have been a bit thin on the ground as of late and this looked like a good opportunity to get things back on track. Gravy was joined up front this week by Elliot, who despite cursing his way through another training session looked very much at home when holding the ball up and waiting for support.
On the face of it this looked like a dream pairing up front, both players had clearly spent a lot of time in makeup getting their hair right and had probably exchanged fashion tips before the game and you sensed that these two really would be on the same wavelength.

From the OFC perspective the revelation of the first half came from the left hand side where Jim Beckram was managing not only to stave off the fifth yellow card of the season but also put in a storming all round performance in which he was like a whippet down the line when in possession and his movement, passing and even heading were superb. 2-Gun also looked to be in superb form on the right hand side of defence and while there was little for him to do from a defensive perspective his distribution was excellent.

From the side we appeared to be controlling the game. Furno had their no.10 in his pocket and Weysiders offered little going forward, our current problems still seemed to be with us though, as for all our possession, corners and attacks, we were still to work the keeper despite getting into some good positions.

The breakthrough we needed and deserved came midway through the half. After an attack appeared to have been smothered, the ball broke loose in the 6 yard box, Mike tried to do a back heel that didn’t quite work and rebounded off the keeper, thankfully Gravy was on hand and bundled in his 8th of the season. 1-1.

From the restart we again continued to play quite well. We were desperate to get ahead though, and at times we seemed to eager to get the ball from back to front. Subsequently, too often we launched the ball from back to front, hoping that our strikers might win the ball ahead of the experienced GCW centre half, but unfortunately it was a tactic that was too obvious and easily dealt with. We were at times also guilty of giving the ball away a little too easily as some of our passes went astray and missed their intended targets, especially when we tried some gay flicks.

We looked far the more likely to score as the half drew to its conclusion and after coming close on a series of occasions from Elliot’s precision corners, it was Ross who put us in the lead as we again bundled the ball into the net from no more than 3 yards out. 1-2 OFC.

At half time, Phil emphasised that while it was a good half it wasn’t a great half and that there were areas for improvement, such as making passes over 12 yards rather than 40 yards and to get the ball out wide when possible. Phil also emphasised that while we were controlling the game, the lead was still slender and that we had been in the same situation 3 weeks ago and blown it. A good start to the second half and a third goal would be essential.

The second half got going and it was probably GCW who started it better, putting us more on the back foot than we had been for the rest of the game, that said although the Weysiders came close, they never really threatened the target seriously enough to force a save out of Geoff.

Having rode some early pressure we found our feet again 10 minutes into the half, wrestled back the majority of possession and set about finding a third goal. It was essential to get some shots reigning down on their goal because as with the last time out, they had a stand in keeper who dropped just about everything that came to him. We could have got a third 15 minutes in when the keeper dropped a relatively tame shot and Gravy was straight on top of him to try and bury the fumbled ball. A combination of alert defending and a good block by the keeper kept the score at just 1-2.

This weeks change up front looked to be working well, Elliot held the ball up extremely well, often with some sublime control and some great passes out wide to bring Djimi and Mike into play. Elliot and Gravy were told at half time to put the centre back under pressure and this was something both players did like men possessed, very often resulting in us winning the ball back, forcing them to clear it hastily or forcing them to pass it to us, all of which made the job of our midfield and defence easier.

While the score remained at 1-2 we knew our days work was far from finished and Weysiders clearly aren’t the sort of side who just give and accept defeat, we also knew from our last game that while Ross and Furno appeared to have their strikers well marshalled, one slip up and we’d find probably be relying on Geoff to bail us out. Again it was getting a bit tense on the side and despite being a few supporters down this week there was plenty of encouragement to keep the momentum going.

I thought that Guildford stepped things up a gear in the second half and it was very encouraging to see that we were also able to do the same and retain control of the game. Our work rate was the best since prior to the Christmas break and this was something that was epitomised by Mike, who after losing the ball near their area, chased all the way back to deep in our own half where he won the ball back - a real crowd pleasing moment.

We made our first change with about 20 minutes left, Jarv came off after another very strong performance and was replaced by Barry Harps at left back.

In pushing for that third and vital goal, we did at times play some majestic sweeping football, in which our passing was excellent and it was only the resilience of the GCW back line that kept us at bay. We finally began to look as though we were enjoying our football and all across the pitch there was plenty of communication and as such our passes rarely went astray. Our second change of the match was to take Mike off from down the right hand side and replace him with Hamish. Overall it was an excellent display from Mike who looked to be back to his best. We also bought on Sam for a much deserved run out with 10 minutes to go, giving him an opportunity to possibly cover himself in glory by putting the game beyond doubt.

It was with 5 minutes on the clock that we finally put the game beyond doubt. More good passing and a move down the left hand side culminated in a ball across the box. Again there was a bit of mayhem in the box and Sam’s presence and pressure meant the ball popped loose. Again it was Gravy in the right place at the right time and he swivelled and roofed it from 6 yards.
There was a huge cheer and a sense of relief from everyone associated with Oatlands and the game was finally beyond doubt. 1-3 OFC.

Shortly after the ref bought the game to a close and it was 3 more valuable points for OFC.

Overall it was a strong performance from Oatlands in which everyone played their part. Despite the early setback against the run of play we were resilient and never gave up in our pursuit of getting back on terms and then chasing the goal to put the game beyond doubt. At times it was an absolute pleasure to watch some of our play and as we constantly talked to each other (especially in the second half) we were able to anticipate each others movement and passes much more fluidly than in other recent games. Weysiders to their credit never gave up and always looked like they might have a goal in them if given any freedom up front.

Next week we play Shepperton FB, I don’t know whether they are a reincarnation of Shepperton Bishop but if they are, we should expect this one to be an extremely physical encounter, they’ve only lost once this season as well, so also expect this one to be a very difficult game.

Well done to all those involved on Saturday and a massive thanks to the Pod and to Rob who didn’t get a game this week. Also a massive thanks to all the supporters that made the journey as well, your support is massively appreciated.