The Oak headed into this fixture on the back of 2 straight wins. . . The first time they have put Back To Back League wins together all season.

Flitwick were flying high in the league in 4th place and still with a shot at winning promotion but The Oak knew that they could be beaten. . . as they proved on the opening day of this season.

The only change from last weeks starting XI saw The Oak welcome back Top scorer Lorenzo Jordan, who replaced the injured/ retired/ knackered/ England are playing sport on the telly so I cant possibly play/ I want to watch the boat race Michael Cox .

The game got off to an electric start, with The Oak taking the lead inside the first two minutes. A Flitwick throw in deep inside there own half was cut out by Liam Boland who played a first time ball over the top of Flitwicks defence for Lorenzo Jordan to chase. The goalkeeper came rushing off his line and Jordan dinked the ball over the top of him from about 12 yards out to take his overall tally for this season to 21 goals.

The game then became a sloppy affair, with The Oak trying to hit ‘killer balls’ instead of playing the simple option. The wind was getting stronger and every pass over the top was overhit. Flitwick worked there way back into the game and started to create chances. Martin White wasn’t called upon for the first 20 minutes. . . only to collect Flitwick through balls.

More importantly, Michael Cooney was beaten for a header by a Flitwick player who was not even 5 foot tall. A picture of this Flitwick Player can be found below.

Strong winds and two defensive errors lead to Flitwick drawing level on about 25 minutes. A cross from Flitwicks left hand side hung in the air, Dave Minney and the Flitwick striker challenge for the ball but unfortunately Minney mis timed his jump and could only help the ball into the path of the Flitwick striker who headed a tame shot towards goal, Martin White then also jumped too early and could only palm the ball into the back of the net.

The scores were level when the outcome of the game was decided in the space of 5 minutes. The referee missed 4 blatant Flitwick handballs, one of which would have gifted The Oak a penalty. The Oak were furious and took there eye off the game which only made more decisions go against them. 3 incorrect offside decisions were given and you then knew that this wasn’t going to be The Oaks day.

The Oaks captain was furious and vented his anger on a couple of occasions towards the referee. The Oak went into half time with the scores level, and Boland let this anger get the better of him, raring up at his un deserving team mates. Since the game, Liam Boland has held a official press conference to apologise to his team mates for his over reaction. . . Pictures can be found below.

The second half started with The Oak now playing against the wind. This was clearly an advantage for Flitwick who basically set up camp in The Oaks half for about 15 minutes. Every clearance came straight back due to the high winds and The Oak could not put any passing moves together soaking up a lot of pressure.

Then a flurry of bookings began. . . the first saw Claudio Jordan picking up his second booking in as many weeks for a late challenge. Then Chris Birdsall was booked for a similar tackle, followed by Liam Boland and Paul Stevens both for dissent.

The Oak soaked up a lot of pressure and looked like they might claim a valuable point against all of the odds. Then, with 15 minutes to go Paul Stevens let his man step off him and a precise through ball found him on the edge of The Oaks box. Stevens claimed for offside, which wasn’t given and the Right Winger ran straight at goal and smashed the ball into the bottom corner. The Oak couldn’t believe it and introduced the returning Steve Armstrong for Lloyd Turner and Martin O Donovan for Andy Palombella to try and kick start a comeback. Stevens dropped to centre back to replace Palombella and O Donovan went to the left side of midfield.

The Oak then started getting back into the game, starting with a lovely move from left to right and back again. Lorenzo Jordan attempted to lay the ball back for Birdsall to cross but Jordans pass was about 6 inches too far to Birdsalls right and he could only watch as it trickled pass him. Flitwick recovered the ball and immediately broke to the other end but put the shot well wide. 5 minutes later another Oak attack saw them win a throw in right in Flitwicks corner flag, only for Claudio Jordan to give away his 4th foul throw of the game.

The last chance of the game saw Liam Boland run on to a through ball. His marker and goalkeeper couldn’t decide who should claim it and Boland got in between them. All 3 players collided and the goalkeeper managed to claim the ball back.

The final whistle went and The Oak felt hard done by as the referee was woeful. . . the worst that they have had all season. They left the field frustrated at the fact that they knew they could beat them.

Next weeks sees them visiting 5th place Campton, who won the first fixture 2-0. The Oak should be safe now following AFC Kempston and Elstow Abbeys loss this week and can relax a bit. . . and enjoy playing again.
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(3-5-2)

Martin White

Andy Palombella (Martin O Donovan)
Sean Boland
Dave Minney

Chris Birdsall
Claudio Jordan
Paul Stevens
Liam Boland
Michael Cooney

Lorenzo Jordan
Lloyd Turner (Steve Armstrong)

Sub Not Used: Wayne Aylott
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Dream Team Star Man: Andy Palombella . . . Solid performance, only thing I don’t understand is how can someone that doesnt stop talking off of the pitch suddenly lose his voice as soon as he steps on the pitch?!?!?! If anyone can answer that question, comments welcome on the forum