KINGS AFC 2 - 1 OAKLEY SPORTS RESERVES

Saturday 16th September 2006

Line-up: Sansom, Brodier, Wilson, Crane, Loosemore, Tomlin, Haywood (c), Evans (Barber), M Whelan, Morgan (Ali), Minty (B Whelan)

Half time score: 2-1

Goalscorers: Haywood, Tomlin

Booked: None (for us anyway!)

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Kings were confident ahead of this fixture against Oakley Sports Reserves having won three of their four matches so far this season whilst Oakley had won all three of theirs. Kings were aware it was to be a physical encounter having experienced the same opposition on two occasions last term in Blue Chip colours, one of which included a full scale riot in which a man was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

The Kings line-up had a similar look of 4-4-2 but the personnel were altered, owing to the absence of a number of squad members through injury and work commitments. Dave Sansom was in attendance as custodian, Brodier and Loosemore as full-backs and Wilson and Crane at centre-half. Stuart Minty came in for his first start on the right of midfield and Tomlin reverted to his favoured left wing position. The major change in the line-up came in the centre of midfield as wide-boy Whelan was named alongside captain Adam Haywood for his first game in that position. The forward line had a similar look with Richie Evans and Leonard Morgan.

The game started brightly for Kings who dominated the early proceedings giving little away at the back and linking well with the midfield and forwards. The pace of Whelan in the centre of midfield was a clear benefit to the side and Tomlin was already terrorising the poor right-back on the left hand side. There was little resistance from Oakley in the early encounters although they would gradually become more involved as the game ensued.

In the early stages it appeared that Haywood had other things on his mind, perhaps his upcoming marriage, but the few stray balls he played gave him the kick up the backside he needed and he began to dictate the midfield from that point on.

The first shot came early on in the game when Wilson connected well thump a volley over the bar after a Tomlin corner had squeezed through a crowd of players.

The first 25 minutes created few more clear cut chances although some good runs from Tomlin on the left could and maybe should have led to more. Morgan drifted over to the right to cross superbly for Evans but his header was saved well by the Oakley keeper.

It was on the 25 minute mark that Evans was sent through and with the linesman flagging furiously the referee commendably used his own nouse to correctly ignore the poor offside call. Evans fired low which produced another excellent save by the keeper but Tomlin was following up to ricochet the ball home for his second of the campaign to put Kings one to the good.

Other chances came, most notably a header from a corner from Haywood which was incredibly saved by the keeper. In all fairness he can’t have known much about it and it was a lucky escape for the Oakley boys.

Having had few opportunities in front of goal Oakley were soon to get on the score sheet themselves. A long ball was headed poorly up in the air by Wilson and with the attacker bearing down he had to react to beat him to the ball again. That he did but the ball did not go in the desired direction and the forward took the chance well, firing low to Sansom’s right who could do little but fish the ball out of the net.

With the score at one a piece heading into half time Oakley had their tails up. It was their biggest spell of pressure and a couple of off-side decisions against their forwards led to bellows from the side lines that threatened to boil over into violence. Not once during this spell of intimidation did the Kings boys lose their heads. They remained calm, knowing full well the referee was having a tough time given the abuse he was already being subjected to.

A dangerous cross from the right was dealt with by Brodier on the far post who headed out for a corner but in doing so was deliberately elbowed in the head by the petulant no.6. The referee had no choice but to book the player and Brodier was lucky to escape more serious injury.

With half time looming a free kick earned by the enigmatic Whelan on the edge of the area led to Haywood stepping up and firing straight into the bottom left corner of the net the to give Kings the advantage again. It was a great free kick and thoroughly deserved for a player that suffered injury at the end of the last campaign. He now joins Tomlin, Evans and Morgan on two goals for the season.

It was a good first half performance and Kings deserved their lead going into the break. Maybe it was the film crew in attendance and the support of Richardson, Milner and old University stalwart Hayden Marsh in attendance that spurred such a performance. The attendance of Marsh had an obvious effect on Minty who was yet again controlled on the ball and built up a good understanding with Brodier which meant Oakley had little joy on that side of the field.

The second half was dominated by Oakley but for a few quick breaks that could have led to a number of goals. Whilst the domination came from Oakley the cutting edge was all with the Kings. The back four remained impenetrable for much of the second half with the only threats coming from a late effort from the edge of the area that was expertly tipped over the bar by Sansom to keep his team in front.

Wilson again under pressure scuffed a header in the wrong direction to offer a morsel of hope for the forwards but recovered well to protect Sansom from peril. Other than that there was little in the way of attacking threat and credit must go to not just the defence but the whole team for that. Particular reference must be made to the efforts of Crane at the back who was magnificent, surely spurred on by the recent performances of Richardson and Farmer at the back. Mr Loosemore at left back also appeared to be back to his best with match fitness obviously improving and the entire midfield blended surprisingly well given it was a new line-up.

In between the pressure from Oakley came a great chance for Tomlin who ran in behind the back four only to see his low drive saved again by the keeper who was indeed keeping his team in the match with an incredible performance. Another chance fell to Whelan who took an unfortunate second touch when clear on goal and Evans had a chance to rifle home from close range but was stopped by the flailing centre-half.

Evans, Minstrel and Morgan were replaced by Barber, B Whelan and Ali but it was Tomlin who grabbed the headlines in the closing stages. He ran an entire half of the pitch and had drifted past the entire defence when he was callously chopped from behind by the desperate last defender. The referee had no choice but to dismiss the player for his reckless challenge and it led to yet more abuse and moaning from the Oakley players as well as their entourage on the side lines. There was no doubt about the decision but the language of one particular Oakley player, led to a further red card to take them to only nine players for the remaining ten minutes. The resulting free kick was taken early by Haywood hoping for a repeat of his first half strike but it was fired into the wall and cleared to safety.

Despite a host of nasty late challenges and verbal confrontation from the Oakley players in the final ten minutes, there was little goal mouth action and Kings held out for a fine victory in what was probably the most physical battle of the season to date. In all honesty, Oakley were not the best footballing side and were rightfully beaten by a superior Kings outfit. Bigger challenges will follow, starting with Riseley Sports Reserves next weekend but attention now turns to the big guns of Clifton, Caldecote A, Ickwell & Old Warden and Meltis Corinthians.

Kings AFC Press Team

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