Report

The Saints were at home on a bitterly cold afternoon to local rivals, Oakfield, this week in a 4th vs. 5th battle.

Having beaten Oakfield convincingly earlier in the season, the Saints were keen to do the double and produce a win over our local rivals as we had done the week before against Binstead.

Some changes were made to the 3-5-2 starting line up â€" Carl Younie making a return against his former club and Steve Quarmby returning to the defence.

Oakfield won the toss and started the match going up hill. The match started at a frantic pace with some very strong tackles being made by both sides as the teams looked to stamp their authority on the game. It was Oakfield who got the first break with a move down their left flank. Their winger putting in a decent cross for the striker to make a good connection that looped over Matt in goal (0-1). The Saints didn’t sit back and were making some great moves of their own. Some fantastic forward play from Shane, Kane and Damien was allowing us to find space down the wings. A number of attempts on the Oakfield goal followed but it was Oakfield who benefited when an unfortunate mix up at the back saw the ball cross our line for a soft second (0-2). Again, this didn’t deter the Saints who were now in the ascendancy. So often the Saints heads have dropped when we have gone behind but this game was different and it seemed to spur on the Saints who were winning the first ball and the second. Carl Younie battling as you would expect and Chris Murray working hard in midfield. Carl Austin was also proving inspirational and had a -never say die- attitude to winning the ball and getting it up field. The defence was working well to stop the Oakfield attack and for the last 20mins or so was relatively untroubled. We got our break when a good through ball found Damien Martin who hit a fine shot to beat the Oakfield keeper. The [Oakfiled] linesman had flagged for offside but the referee adjudged the goal to stand and we finished the half 1-2.

The second halves started well for the Saints and we were competing well in the physical battle that we knew we would face with Oakfield. It was the Saints who were playing the better football and were finding players with short passes on the ground. The defence was coping well with the Oakfield attack that was now resorting to long balls over the top. Both sides were looking to get the next goal and it was the Saints who had the better chances. A shot blocked off the line by Chad (complete with ball imprint on the stomach) and a great save by Matt to his right proved to be the troublesome moments in the half. We continued to push for the second goal but just couldn’t penetrate the Oakfield defence who managed to keep our forwards at bay despite some good chances.

A very good game of committed, battling football from both sides but the Saints just couldn’t get that elusive second goal which would have got the game to 2-2. Well played the Saints and lets hope for a return to winning ways next week...