The Oak went into this game on the back of a dissapointing 2-0 loss last week against Westoning, knowing that this was a golden opportunity to erase last weeks performance and take a step closer to safety.

Chris Birdsall was again forced into making changes to his starting XI, but this week it was for the better with Chris arguably playing his strongest XI of the season.

The Oak welcomed back Paul Stevens from his holiday and Danny Murphy played his 3rd GAME IN A ROW! Martin O Donovan also returned, but had to be content with a place on the bench. Another change saw Andy Palombella move into centre midfield alongside Liam Boland and Michael Cooney.

The Oak started this game very strongly and took the game to Sandy straight away. The Oak saw a lot of possession in the first 10-15 minutes with the centre midfielders seeing most of the ball. The hard work paid off and Lorenzo Jordan broke the deadlock after about 15 minutes. Liam Boland attempted to flick on a Paul Stevens throw-in but missed the ball, Lorenzo Jordan read it and smashed the ball past the Sandy keeper from just inside the penalty box.

Sandy then started to work there way back into the game. A scrappy 15 minutes followed and Sandy created a number of chances that didnt really trouble Martin White in The Oaks goal. Claudio Jordan pulled up whilst stretching to cut out a Sandy through ball and had to be replaced by Chris Birdsall after just 30 minutes. Shortly after this change a Sandy midfielder stepped forward and struck the ball on the half volley from about 25 yards out. The ball went straight over Whites head and the scores were now level.

As half time drew closer, the game became wide open with action at both ends. Arguably against the run of play The Oak won a corner. Paul Stevens swung the corner in and it was met by the head of Liam Boland from the penalty spot. The ball was heading straight into the Sandy keepers arms until Lorenzo Jordan stepped in front and flicked the ball over the keepers head to make it 2-1.

Sandy went straight up the other end of the pitch and swung a cross into the Oak box. Dave Minney and the Sandy striker both jumped for the ball and Minney won the header cleanly but Sandy appealed for a penalty. The referee blew his whistle, but it was to signal the end of the first half. The Sandy players were furious and surrounded the Referee but to no avail.

The second half started as the first half ended, with action at both ends. Michael Cooney was having a storming game in the centre and was getting a lot of the ball. It was Cooney who delivered a through ball for Jordan to chase. The Sandy linesman put his flag up, but was over-ruled by the referee. Jordan ran clean through but could only find the keepers chest with his shot.

Birdsall then took off the tiring Lloyd Turner to replace him with another midfielder, Martin O Donovan. The Oak were now playing a 3-6-1 formation, trying to hit Sandy on the counter attack. With 10 minutes to go, Jordan ran onto another through ball. Jordan took it wide and Cooney wandered into the box un-marked. Jordan found Cooneys feet with a perfect pass and Cooney capped off his performance by slotting the ball underneath the on-rushing Sandy keeper.

The Oak were now 3-1 up and Birdsall made the decision to defend the lead. The Oaks defence threw everything in front of the ball and played the last 5 minutes with 7 in defence. With about 45 seconds to go, Sandy managed to win a throw in deep in the Oaks half. The ball was launched towards the Sandy striker but Liam Boland won the header, only to see his clearance fall straight at the feet of a Sandy player, who smashed the ball into the net from just inside the box. White could only watch as it sailed past him.

The Oak took the kick off and passed the ball back to Cooney, who smashed the ball straight into the corner. The clock ticked down and the Sandy keeper cleared the ball and Sandy won another corner. Sandy pushed everyone into the Oaks box, even the keeper was on the half way line. The Oak cleared the corner and Jordan challenged the goalkeeper for the ball on the half way line. The keeper won the challenge, but the ball fell straight to the feet of Palombella. The referee blew his whistle just as Palombella released a fierce shot. . . which only just trickled into Sandys penalty box!

It didnt matter, as The Oak claimed another valuable 3 points at home and took another step towards safety.

A win at Kempston next weekend could see them leap frog Sandy and possibly secure there safety.
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Team: (3-5-2) Martin White, Danny Murphy, Sean Boland, Dave Minney, Andy Palombella, Claudio Jordan (Chris Birdsall), Paul Stevens, Liam Boland, Michael Cooney, Lorenzo Jordan, Lloyd Turner (Martin O Donovan)

Sub Not Used: Wayne Aylott
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Man Of The Match: Difference of Opinion this week:

The Captains Choice is Michael Cooney. . . The ball seemed to be glued to his feet most of the game. Also hit a lot of tackles in the middle and held up the ball well. Played a very mature game.

The Managers Choice is Lorenzo Jordan. . . Chased down everything and proved that he can play un-selfishly providing Cooney with a goal, even though he was on a hat-trick.

Winner of Fig's Vest. . . We couldnt choose anyone this week. Everyone had a good game.