SAM A ...FRASER...SONNY...FURNO...ANDY B...STEW...HARPS,,,ROSS(1)...SAM C...JIM...TOM...PETE H

This week was another vital game for Oatlands. Poor results against the teams around us mean that we are left needing to score points off the all the clubs who are above us in the remaining fixtures. First up Shepperton, a team who we had to concede points to earlier in the season due to the mass of injuries and unavailability in December.

We knew this one would be tough when Sanzy started pointing out players from their side which he'd played with before in the higher leagues. A 6-1 loss at the back end of last season also suggested the same.

We made 3 changes to last weeks Cup QF winning team, one forced with Pod being unavailable and 2 which were tactical giving us a slightly more physical starting 11 and the capacity to switch to a 3-5-2. Steve C and Pete H dropped to the bench and Furno and Sam started.

This week's team; Sam in goal. Fraser, Furno, Sonny and Bainsy across the back. Sam C, Ross, Harps and Gravy in midfield. Jim and Tom up front. Andy, Steve C, Pete and Jarv on the bench.

We started the game kicking in to the wind and playing up the gentle slope and we started well, quickly getting in amongst Shepperton and allowing them very little time on the ball. Our pressure very nearly reaped rewards early on when a good passing move down the left resulted in a ball across the edge of the 18 yard box to Stew. Despite having time and space, there was no call and Gravy let off a shot that was sliced wide.

Throughout the opening minutes of the game we continued to press Shepperton hard and it wasn't long before another good chance presented itself. This time we broke down the right hand side after Bainsy won possession. He quickly moved the ball inside to Djimi who in turn moved the ball quickly on to Sam Campbell. The ball was weighted perfectly for a left footed first time strike, but it looked like there was a slight lack of confidence from Sam having not played that much recently as he controlled it and bought it on to his right foot. He was well closed down by a defender.

We played some great stuff in the first 10 minutes and really looked a match for the league leaders, but they are not top of the league through luck and were extremely strong in all areas of the pitch.

At the back we needed to be strong and with Sonny and Furno at the heart of the defence we looked as strong as we have looked all season. Furno would often be the player coming out of the defence to back up the midfield, by winning some excellent headers and Sonny generally did the tidying up clearing away any danger resulting from loose balls.

In the wide areas of midfield Gravy and Sam worked extremely hard and were required to not only provide an attacking threat, but also provide cover for Bainsy and Fraser, both of who have preference for bring the ball out of defence rather than going for the more traditional hoof. On the right hand side of midfield it was good to see Gravy back at his best and throughout the first 20 minutes it was difficult to remember him giving the ball away and he looked extremely composed in possession.

Tom and Jim up front seem to have the spark that we have been missing in attack for much of the season and again both looked a threat whenever in possession. Tom's close ball control, movement and speed caused trouble for the back line of Shepperton and Djimi's strength on the ball allowed other Oatlands players to join our attacks as he held the ball up well.

As the game progressed you felt that we really needed to have scored in the opening 25 minutes as Shepperton came back into the game forcing us right back on to the back foot.

The wind seemed to pick up a lot and it meant that many of our clearances were failing to make it past the halfway line. Subsequently the ball simply kept coming back at us and we were under severe pressure.

For the last 15 minutes of the first half we were pretty much camped inside our own half and forced to fend off multiple Shepperton attacks. Despite being out for the past 9 months, Tim Furnival looks to be back to his best again and will almost certainly be creating increased competition in what has become a pretty much established back four. On numerous occasions the northerner was our last man and made a number of decisive, if not particularly pretty looking interceptions.

In about the 35 th minute of the game, we were guilty for the about the first time in the match of giving the Shepperton attack too much time on the ball. A Shepperton player picked up a loose ball about halfway into our half and was allowed to run at the defence, there looked like a bit of indecision as we backed off and allowed the player the time and space to shoot. The result was a shot that was pretty much unstoppable and curled towards the top corner. Net result 0-1 to Shepperton.

Our heads certainly didn't go down following the goal but Shepperton very nearly had a second minutes after opening the scoring. This time Shepperton broke down our right hand side and a cross come shot was superbly tipped onto the bar at full stretch by Sam.

The last 10 minutes of the first half were pretty much spent defending our half as we couldn't clear it far enough down the pitch. Thankfully the opposition found themselves over hitting their own passes and the result was a succession of goal kicks.

At half time Phil didn't get involved as he was refereeing the game, so Harps and Ross made the decisions. Really there wasn't that much to say as we were playing well and our only mistake in the half was to allow the opposition too much time on the ball in our half which resulted in a goal.

We started the second half nervously and for the first couple of minutes it looked like we would have to ride out another sustained period of pressure from the opposition, but 5 minutes in and the game had taken a much more even keel.

In the centre of midfield Ross and Harps began to get a much stronger foothold. While the Harps / Ross combination in midfield doesn't offer the same sort of pace and energy that we see when Mike and Ted play in the centre it does offer a great deal of experience and two very good football brains. As the second half progressed Chris Harper began to win an increasing amount of headers and Ross was picking up a lot more second balls. Both players were excellent in possession, rarely wasting an opportunity to find another OFC player.

Our defence held up superbly against the Shepperton front line and the combination of Shepperton throwing numbers forward and us breaking down their attacks meant that there was a bit of space developing in behind their midfield for us to exploit.

As you would expect, it was Bainsy who was initially the most positive of our full backs and he went on several charging runs from right back leaving players in his wake and setting up numerous opportunities for us to attack and it was a Bainsy charge forward that gave us our first opportunity in the second half. Sadly with numbers over at the back post we chose to shoot from a tight angle rather than cross and a good opportunity was gone.

On the other side of our back four, 16 year old Fraser Goodrich was having an absolute stormer. Despite playing out of position, Fraser was superb in defence giving very little away and having seen Bainsy charging forward on the other side of the pitch, he decided to get involved himself and made numerous positive runs out of defence to link up with Sam and the forwards.

On the side Beater and others said that he felt that there was a point to be taken out of this game and we managed to get a foothold halfway through the second half. Another Bainsy run down the right hand side resulted in him gaining a crossing position. His ball across the box took a deflection on the way and completely deceived the Shepperton keeper and Oatlands were back in the game. 1-1.

Following the goal, we were by far the better team. We won more tackles, passed the ball better and on the face of it we simply looked like we wanted it more. Everyone on the pitch played as well as they have done all season and with just over 10 minutes left on the clock we took the lead our efforts deserved.

Our second goal came as a result of some good build up on the left hand side which again came as a result of Fraser breaking from the left back position. Sam Campbell received the ball on the edge of the box and kept his composure well before putting in a low cross to Ross Elliot who had broken from central midfield. His first touch was good and he swivelled on the ball before striking a shot that seemed to take an age to go in and was a whisker away from the keeper's outstretched glove. 2-1 Oatlands.

On the side it seemed to be even more tense than on the pitch. Our boys continued to play brilliantly and continued to frustrate Shepperton in all areas, particularly in defence where we were superb, giving very little away.

With about a minute on the clock, a victory looked assured. Despite Shepperton putting us under a lot of pressure in search of an equaliser we were very composed in defence and our central midfield partnership of Ross and Harps continued to shield our back four superbly.

Unfortunately for us, a Shepperton player had a speculative shot from just outside the penalty area which Sam probably would have comfortably saved, but in an effort to block the shot, the ball clipped off an OFC head changing the trajectory of the shot and giving Sam very little time to react. Sam did manage to get a hand to the ball but could only divert it on to the underside of the crossbar and the ball just sneaked over the line. 2-2

Phil who let the game flow throughout and refereed the game with more authority and common sense than just about every other referee the league have provided, drew the game to a close just seconds after the restart. Final score 2-2.

Overall it was an excellent OFC performance in which everyone played their part. We came off the pitch gutted not to have taken all three points, but as Steve Gilliver pointed out, if we were given a point before the game we gladly would have taken it and it was a performance upon which we need to build in our remaining games.

We wish Shepperton all the best in their quest for the league title, despite us frustrating them and them probably not quite being at the top of their game, they were very sporting and I can't really remember there being many fouls by either side in the game.

From our perspective, the man of the match goes to Fraser playing at left back. Despite being only 16, he played with the sort of composure and competitiveness you'd expect out of someone 10 years older. Donkey should go to Jack for not turning up, but that needs to be ratified by the manager.

Next week we take on Godalming away. We need to get something out of this one, but a 5-0 mauling at Abbeylands would suggest we need to maintain the same high standards that we set ourselves on Saturday.

A big thanks to all the substitutes and players that either didn't play or make the squad, there will be more opportunities as the season goes on and your efforts do not go unnoticed. A big thanks to everyone that came down to watch again it was another good turnout and we're such a big draw that even the cows from the local farm burst through the fencing to come and watch. For anyone that's interested there will be some pictures of Saturday's game on Facebook in the group “the mighty OFC.” Feel free to join the group and add your amusing comments.

One last thing, our striker Tom has a band and they've just released a single. They are called “the Frantic” and their song is called “killing time.” Apparently it's available on Itunes or by following this link www.tunetribe.com/Album?album_id=1132187 and it costs 79p to download.