SAM A ..JOHN...SONNY...MIKE...DOM...ELLIOT(1)...POD...TED...PETE B,,,SAM C...JORDIE...STEW...ANDREW...JACK

Last week OFC bagged their first 3 points of the season against old foes Lightwater. This week's fixture would undoubtedly be another opportunity to get more points as we faced familiar opposition from last year in the form of Mytchett Rangers. Last year we put 8 goals past Mytchett without reply and with a strong squad we were hoping that this would be a relatively straightforward game.

Those on the team who played or watched last year's away fixture will remember this team well. That match was memorable for a number of reasons firstly it nearly didn't happen as Mytchett couldn't provide a ref and didn't even have the equipment for a referee to use. Secondly, it was the game where Dave Ewan pulled out the squad just before the game and then subsequently supported from his car because it was too cold.

There were more changes to the OFC squad this week as we continue to adopt a rotation policy that probably means we have never actually played the same team in consecutive games. This week 2-Gun, Fraser, Steve C, Jarv and Harps were all out and Sonny, Mike, Pete B, Jack, Gravy and Sam C were all back in the squad.

This week's team; Sam Ahern in goal. John, Mike, Sonny and Dom at the back. Pete B, Elliot, Pod and Ted in the midfield. Jordy and Sam up front. Gravy, Jack, Andy and Ian made up another strong bench.

Like the away fixture last year there was no ref, so OFC's northern hard man Furno reffed the game.

We kicked off the game and were immediately on the front foot and it was only 2 minutes in when we took the lead. We won a throw on the right and tossed it into the penalty area. Jordy flicked it on and Els arriving at the back post hammered it in with a nice finish. 1-0 OFC.

From the side we certainly looked capable of kicking on from there and adding more goals, we had a very strong side out and strong options on the bench. The next 10 minutes were all OFC with Mytchett rarely breaking out of their own half. Although we seemed to be dominating the game it was more in terms of sheer effort and winning the midfield battle rather than pressure on the opposing penalty area

We had another good chance to increase the lead after about 10 minutes. On this occasion we won a free kick about 25 yards out. We do have a number of players who are strong from set pieces, but on the occasion the captain stepped up and hit a beauty that was tipped on to the bar by the keeper. Mike provided the afternoons comedy moment with an overhead fresh air shot.

Despite having a very strong team of players, we began to let Mytchett back into the game and as a result we began to feel a bit of pressure at the back. Unfortunately availability has meant that we have had to radically change the back four in every game we have played this year. This week it was the turn of Sonny who has mainly been deployed out wide and Mike who is definitely more of a centre midfield player to fill the roles of centre back. Despite the changes and the added pressure we generally coped well and the only real major scare was a crazy moment from Sam. In attempting to intercept a cross, Sam dropped the ball straight at the feet of Mytchett striker who really should have scored from six yards out and with an open net to shoot at.

The 20 minutes leading into half time were a pretty dull affair. We clearly looked the more capable of the 2 teams, but we only played nice football in very short spells and it was rarely in front of goal. Although Mytchett were getting more of the ball, it was very often the long ball over the top that caused us a few problems, but thankfully their own efforts at goal were few and far between.

With the rest of the team seemingly stuck in first gear, there was one shining light in the team. Steve Sweeting, who captained the team for the first time last week was given the arm band again was magnificent to watch in the centre of midfield. He may not be the quickest lad in the team but his vision, touch and composure were all exceptional and he was a role model for those around him.

As half time drew near it was a frustrating match to watch. Although we were in the lead, we were desperate for another goal to hopefully kill off Mytchett and allow us to kick on, but you sensed that the longer the game went on at 1-0 the more likely it was that Mytchett would finally get a decent opportunity of their own.

Just before half time we produced another chance and despite Pete's clever idea of putting top spin onto the shot with a classic shin roll, the keeper saved and kept it at 1-0 going into half time.

There wasn't much to say at half time, we needed to turn some of our effort into a bit more quality and that would be enough to probably ensure victory. We were forced to change out John for Andy in the left back spot after John picked up a foot injury.

The second half started and pretty much set the pattern for the rest of the game. We again failed to come out of the blocks and the game settled into an intense battle all over the pitch. At the back we continued to look fairly solid and Dom and Andy adopted a safety first approach from the full back positions. Unfortunately the disjointed way in which we were playing meant that opportunities to contribute in a forward going capacity were extremely few and far between for our full backs.

Across the midfield the work rate and effort could not be questioned. Out wide Pete and Els were constantly involved, but the nature of the match resulted in their contribution being mainly winning tackles and only occasionally attacking the flanks.

As the second half wore on we had to endure increasing pressure from the opposition and we were looking increasingly unlikely to score and it all made for a rather nervous watch. Up front it simply wasn't happening as we had hoped and far too often our strikers were on opposite sides of the pitch meaning that any flicks that were won fell harmlessly to the opposing defence and we were failing to create any serious threat on goal.

With no official referee provided by the league, Tim Furnival had kindly volunteered to take charge of the match and had taken a policy of where possible letting the game go. The match was a bit physical but certainly not violent, but as time went on the Mytchett team began to lose their heads and were guilty of beginning to incite a number of off the ball altercations resulting in Furno having to calm things down.

With 20 minutes left we made our second change of the day and this time we decided to make a change up front, Sam who had run tirelessly all afternoon was replaced by Gravy.

Despite the change we were still playing well below par and causing more problems for ourselves than the opposition. The game should have been killed off much earlier but as the minutes ticked by it was becoming more and more tense.

Shortly after changing Gravy for Sam, we made our third and final change of the day. This time, Jim Beckram who is operating in more of a caretaker manager's capacity while Phil is currently engaged in teaching rugby decided to opt for pace over guile on the right hand side, and Pete was swapped for Jack who couldn't start after having a late night at an under 18's night at the Works Nightclub.

The final 10 minutes of the game were not pretty to watch. We have played a few rough teams in the past such as Pantiles and we've had some good dust ups with Surrey Athletic, but the behaviour of the Mytchett strikers was shocking and in any other game there would have been red cards produced. In one off the ball altercation, Ted was punched in the face by a Mytchett player and while we did everything we could to stop our lads getting involved, there were no such efforts from Mytchett. Unfortunately Chairman Steve Gilliver was involved in a rather ugly exchange with a Mytchett supporter who continually berated Tim Furnival's refereeing. Thankfully Steve is above that sort of thing and was kind enough not to mention that last time we played Mytchett, they couldn't provide a referee, linesman, referees equipment or even a match ball.

After a couple more unsavoury incidents Tim bought the game to a close and it was another 3 hard fought points for the mighty OFC.

Overall it was the result that counted, but in footballing terms it was a very poor performance from us. We struggled to put together any nice flowing football, but the effort was unquestionable and we got the result we deserved. Pod was undoubtedly the shining star in the game and not only showed some brilliant skills, but led the team well and did an excellent job as captain.

Next up we play Milford and Witley away, Milford and Witley beat Shepperton FB this weekend so it looks like this one may be one of the toughest games we have faced this season. None the less we are now in 5th spot in the league and therefore this one will need to be another must win game if we are to have any hope of achieving promotion at the end of the season. Please ensure that you are at training this week, again there will be players who will be eager and ready to play next week and at present we are spoiled for choice all over the pitch.

A big thanks to all those that came down to support this week and a big thanks to Jim, who again took the rains of running things in Phil's absence and to Ian who came along but did not get on this week.

On a separate note the Blue Hawaii is now booked for the 15 th December and we need money by October 21st . Steve has also mentioned that there is a lot of money outstanding at the moment, which not only includes match fees but also sign on fees. To avoid naming and shaming, please ensure that you settle up ASAP.