The Oak went into this game knowing that they could beat Westoning, following last weeks hard fought victory.

Michael Cox and Steve Armstrong were both still injured and Andy Palombella and Martin O Donovan were away on a romantic weekend together, so for the second week running Chris Birdsall was forced into 2 making changes to the starting XI. Danny Murphy played his second consecutive game, with new boy Duncan (Ben) coming in on the left side of midfield and the Gaffer himself starting in the centre of Midfield replacing the missing O Donovan.

The Royal Oak never seemed to get started and with the wind whipping across the pitch, The Oak found it very hard to play any football. Westoning came out to unsettle the Oak, closing them down as soon as an Oak player had the ball. The tables had turned and this week was the Oaks turn to chase the ball continuously.

Westoning went ahead early on again this week. A mistake at the back by Murphy gifted the ball to the Westoning striker. He ran through one-on-one with Martin White and slotted the ball underneath him. It was no more than Westoning deserved. The Oak couldn’t seem to create any chances… or even seem to hold onto the ball. The Oak were under constant pressure at the back and every time it was cleared from the Oaks half, it seemed to come straight back. Westoning went 2-0 up midway through the first half when a poor clearance following a Westoning corner landed at Westonings number 10’s feet. He wasn’t closed down quickly enough and he hit a shot at goal from outside the box. The ball bounced awkwardly in front of White and he could only parry it into the path of the two Westoning strikers. The ball was blasted into the net and it was effectively game over.

The Oaks midfield were chasing shadows and with Liam Boland suffering from a chest infection, it basically left the Oak with only two in the centre of midfield as Boland could not find any energy to make anything happen. The Westoning keeper was forced into making his only save of the half right on the half time whistle when a free-kick from Boland was taken out of the air with ease.

The Oak went into half time completely down beat, a complete reverse of the same time last week. The team talk didn’t seem to get any of the players up and the second half started as the first one finished.
The game became a bit more open in the second half as Westoning started to push more men forward. Another Oak free kick, this time from Duncan barely troubled the Westoning keeper. Lloyd Turner had the best chance of the game when a hopeful ball from Lorenzo Jordan dropped onto Turners head. Unfortunately, Turner saw the on-rushing Westoning goalkeeper and pulled out of the header, allowing the ball to trickle out for a goal kick. The Oak had seemed to run out of ideas and as the final whistle blew, the Oak trudged off the pitch knowing that they hadnt performed.

All of the teams around the Oak also lost this week. This week sees Sandy Reserves visit pitch 1, and if the Oak win they will go level on points with Sandy and move 3 points closer to safety.
_______________________________________________________________________
Team: (3-5-2) Martin White, Danny Murphy, Sean Boland, Dave Minney, Duncan (Ben), Claudio Jordan, Chris Birdsall, Liam Boland, Michael Cooney, Lorenzo Jordan, Lloyd Turner (Wayne Aylott)
________________________________________________________________________
Man Of The Match: Dave Minney … Coped well with the continuous pressure. Was a strong presence and helped to keep the score respectable.
Winner of Fig's Vest: Liam Boland … Had been ill all week and it showed on Saturday. Completely lacking energy and seemed to lose his ability to pass. Disappointing game.