SAM A ...FRASER...SONNY...FURNO...PETE H...PETE B ...ROSS...HARPS...MIKE...JIM...STEW...JARV...JACK(1)

Saturday was Oatlands last game in the league this season and for us a good opportunity to put one over local rivals Abbey Rangers.

Yet again we had a strong team too choose from and the only players missing from the cup semi final squad were Baynezy, Pod and Ted. Jack Hillier and Andy Ellis came back into the squad to replace them.

It was a horrible day for football, the wind was blowing a gale from one end of the pitch to the other and it was almost certainly going to be a game of 2 halves. A small number of brave spectators came to watch, but it was going to be just about the longest 90 minutes ever for those watching.

Our team: Sam, Pete H, Fraser, Sonny, Furno, Mike, Ross, Harps, Pete B, Jim and Gravy. Jarv, Steve C, Andy and Jack on the bench.

We started the game kicking with the gale force wind behind us and it would be imperative to make the most of the advantage.

We started well and immediately dominated the possession. We were given an early indicator of the sort of game that we were in for as one of our early shots that failed to trouble the goal went about 150 yards past the goal, forcing the keeper to make a marathon trek to get the ball.

Abbey made it fairly easy for us by allowing us time and space on the ball and with time and space available we were able to pass the ball round very nicely in little triangles across the pitch.

It was from a superb passing manoeuvre that our first genuine opportunity arose and Ross Elliot just missed the target with a superb dipping volley from the edge of the area.

Across the park we looked solid. Across the back, despite making a change to the back four we looked very comfortable on the back foot and in possession. Abbey gave us the time and space to pass it around at the back, giving us a good platform to build our attacks from.

In central midfield it was a close battle and Ross and Harps were forced to fight hard for the ball in the air and on the ground, but when they did get possession it was going wide to Mike and Pete who had plenty of time and space in which to hurt Abbey and link up with Jim and Gravy up front. Unfortunately we were forced to make an early change out wide and Mike Taylor, one of our most reliable and an important player was forced to come off and we bought on Jack Hillier. Jack has only played a handful of games this season due to injury but he's already bagged 3 goals in his 8 appearances and has an overall strike rate of a goal every other game.

The wind was so severe that Abbey were really struggling to get out of their own half from goal kicks and clearances and were forced to defend for long periods of time as we sought to take advantage of the conditions.

The first really good opportunity of the game fell to us and Gravy worked the space well and was sent clean through leaving just the keeper to beat. Despite an assured looking finish the ball drifted just wide of the post and the match remained poised at 0-0.

We had all the pressure but as half time drew closer on the side we began to suspect that if we did not get the breakthrough soon, this was not going to be our day.

Abbey, should have had the opportunity to open the scoring after about 30 minutes. A ball came across our area and an Abbey player controlled ball on his chest, while trying to turn, he was clearly hauled down by an overzealous Sonny Henderson and we all braced ourselves for the inevitable as the whistle was raised to the refs lips. We got a let off as he miraculously allowed play to continue, causing the Abbey coach to have a mini breakdown on the sidelines. The game was stopped for about 2 minutes while the referee went over to trying and calm down the raging opposition coach and the bemused players were left to chat among themselves on the pitch.

When the game got going again, we continued to dominate the play but in truth we simply didn't cause a sufficient threat in their penalty area. Furthermore we very nearly conceded after conceding the most bizarre corner this season. After Sonny made a tackle and clearly got the last touch Tim Furnival calmly shepherded the ball out so Abbey could have a corner.

It was from another corner that the game had it's most amusing moment. Our corner was semi-cleared by an Abbey defender but was held up in the wind near the edge of the box. With his back to goal and clearly with visions of Trevor Sinclair's goal for QPR many years ago, Chris Harper's ego was writing cheques his body couldn't cash and attempted the impossible, an overhead kick. The inevitable followed, and after making contact only with fresh air, Harps was left to wallow in pain on the edge of the box while Abbey went on the attack.

At half time we knew we were going to be on the back foot throughout the second half but we knew that if we could keep the ball on the floor, we would have half a chance.

The second half kicked off with Abbey having a shot from the kick off and Sam was sent on the first of many missions behind the goal.

As expected we had to endure long spells of pressure from Abbey, but our defence which has been so resolute in recent months was extremely solid allowing Abbey very few opportunities in front of goal. Fraser, Furno, Sonny and Pete didn't always look comfortable, but they made the right choices, clearing when required and passing when the opportunities were there.

While Abbey enjoyed the advantage of the wind and were the more dominant team at the start of the second half, we still looked very dangerous on the counter attack and with Jack's pace we were able to send the ball into the corners knowing that he would comfortably out pace their full backs. That said, opportunities in the opening 10-15 minutes of the second half were rare and a rasping left footed shot from Jim was the closest that we came to troubling their keeper.

It was against the run of play that Oatlands took the lead. A counter attack down the left led by Pete Butler, resulted in Jim Beckram being sent clean through, his shot was well saved by the keeper and ran loose to Jack who was following up on the attack and racing to get there ahead of Ross. Jack hit the ball first time and probably not as sweetly as he would have hoped, but the result was what we were looking for and the ball somehow found its way into the back of the net. 1-0 Oatlands.

Having gained the lead, it was almost certain that we were going to have to work very hard to protect it and it wasn't long after we scored that the pressure really began to mount. Abbey's football wasn't that pretty, but they forced us completely on to the back foot and we conceded a series of corners and throw ins. We dealt well with the corners but the throw ins were a different matter as Abbey had a lad on their team who had the same sort of range with his throws as an intercontinental ballistic missile and it caused mayhem at the back for us.

We were eventually undone by some route one football. A long clearance from the back caused trouble for our defence and a striker got between 2 OFC defenders and had the opportunity to shoot from the edge of the six yard box. The shot was low and hard and despite getting something on it, Sam was unable to prevent the ball crossing the line and levelling the scores. 1-1.

Following the restart we again came under more pressure as Abbey looked to take advantage of the conditions and take all the points. We played good football in patches but again never really looked like threatening the opposition keeper. Ross had a shot from distance that the keeper made a huge fumble on, but recovered in time to smother the ball from the approaching Jack Hillier.

I suspect it wasn't the case but from the side, it looked like we might be clinging on for the point rather than pushing for all three and on a number of occasions we appeared to be looking to slow the game as we took time over free kicks and goal kicks.

With 5 minutes left we were eventually undone. Yet another long throw into the 6 yard box caused problems and we scrambled to try and get the ball away, unfortunately for us the ball broke loose just outside the 6 yard box and an Abbey Rangers player rifled the ball home from close range to the delight of the small band of Abbey supporters. 1-2 Abbey.

Abbey saw out the game in a reasonably comfortable manner and condemned us to only our second defeat in 12 games.

Overall it was very much a game of 2 halves. In the first half it was all OFC, we were given time and space and passed Abbey off the pitch, but in front of goal we didn't create enough opportunities and didn't make the most of the opportunities that we had. In the second half it was all Abbey with us putting together the occasional counter attack, but Abbey took the few chances they had and subsequently ran out as the winners.

For us the loss was inconsequential, but Abbey will finish in the top three irrespective of other results. Watching from the side, our team is more than capable of matching a team like Abbey, but we are simply not making enough of the chances that we create and we subsequently find our “goals for” tally a long way off the top three in the league.

We need to focus our efforts on the cup final on April 23 rd . Details of training sessions will follow from Steve and the committee and full details of the event are on the main page of the website for those that want to come and support.

A big thanks to all those that braved the conditions and supported on Saturday.