Yes the holidays are upon us but the oak road still had one last hurdle before they could go off and enjoy numerous nights of partying, mince pies & Gonorrhea.
What stood between the oak and 3 points this week? The return fixture of Hull City Supporters. The venue, Gower Park. The referee, yehmet mildaraz (John). Team news.. Christmas had come early to match day coach Lewis Espinito Shears who had these things called 'subs' to play with. It is said a lot of the oak road regulars where unsure what these where. Some say it was a Christmas miracle. Others say people wanted to compensate for that extra bit of turkey over the festive period! In other news the ghost of Joe Wilson past arrived as he turned up late for the meeting time and the only net hes touched is his fishing net in the last few weeks.
10:55am. Wheres Gary? Stalwart sex pest Gaz Atkinson was nowhere to be seen. 'he will be surrounded by a load of hookers' where the cries of the crowd. Gary Atkinson is the new Gavin Harris according to inside sources. Adam McFadyen due to return to the fat three at the back wasnt quite match fit due to a spout of man flu. You know he's poorly when he's not eaten for 3 days... The game kicked off with a new look to back 3. Geordie lad Shaun Taylor was put into the RCB position. The returning Andy Knappett was on the right hand side of the midfield and wheelo moved into the middle of the park alongside fabinho Tong. Versatility key to the oak. The game started and it was same old story! The oak dominating the ball and not taking their chances in front of goal! Chances falling the way of Wilson and Whitfield just couldn't get the ball in the back of the net! The oak were moving the ball around fluently with some really good build up play from the back at times. 'Jordan pick Ford' in the opposite goal yet to make a save. The first goal came midway through the first half and it came in the surprise of Andy Knappett or Juan knappa as he is better known. He needed a little helping hand (quite literally) to control the ball and put it in the back of the net! A long deep cross into the area found its way to knappett at the back post. A free header got to finish it. But knappett thought otherwise. He decided to head it onto his hand, trap the ball fantastically in the process and slot the ball into the net! 1-0 to the oak courtesy of Santa's elf! The first half wasn't truly entertaining for the spectators. City supporters causing no problems for the oak and they were resilient in defence at times to deny the oak. A few shots from range was all we was able to conjure up in the dying moments of the first half. 1-0 at the break.
'all I want for christmassssssss, is 3 points' shouted Wallis as he ran off the pitch. Half time team talk was positive. Espinto Shears was wanting to make 12745 tactical changes cos we had subs for the first time.
'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'
Only changes to the second half was Reed who had come on for an injured wheelo midway through the first half.
If we go out second half and don't concede then we win the game. Simple.
Football truly is a simple game when you think about it like that. However all the Liverpool fans could think is fuck me man utd in 3 hours hurry the fuck up ref. 'Wilson looks on in disgust'.
Second half begins and the oak are continuing to dictate the play. Much to the increasing frustration of the opposition. The frustration which you could see begin to build as the bald cunt for City supporters decided to keep hacking down Shaun Key. A moment of calamity was to come next. Apparently when you get tackled in the penalty area its no longer considered a penalty but a free kick on the edge of the box. Don't fucking ask. Chances were flowing just unable to get the breakthrough. A tactical change was needed and dwayno came on at the back for Reed pushing the versatile Aaron 'milner' Tong in the middle to try and carve up a chance and put the game to bed. The goal came from the most likeliest scorer but in the most unusual circumstance. For all the fantastic build up play it was again a deep cross to the back post which somehow found the head of Joe Wilson who gracefully nodded home the oaks second to settle the nerves of the supporters. Christmas miracle you've got that fucking right! 2-0 the oak. Game over? Well not to the city supporters team who were still flying into tackles. A few crunching tackles from Moran at the back (still fucking hurts now) and a bit of late tackle from Fabinho Tong flared up a few handbags from the tongy brothers resulting in yellow cards for the pair. Towards the end of the game Espinto shears gave his performers a few standing ovations as knappett and Spencer madeway for Adam and josh. Adam up top was a dream come true. Who said Jon parkin was about to retire? Never seen a slower cruyff turn in my time. I get the feeling he is going to be a regular starter in coming weeks in that role as we don't know if Atkinson is alive.
The oak never came under any real pressure and saw the game out 2-0. A professional performance.
To summarise the defence was solid all game, Taylor Moran and Tong set the platform for a win. Wallis never had to make a save but still shit us up with his inept passing ability at times. The midfield worked hard in tough conditions. Fabinho Tong and knappett were stand out performers winning the ball and setting up counters. The front 3 of Spencer Wilson and Whitfield ran hard up top (yes Joe as well) creating the counter press Espinto shears was after. Great win. Great 2018 onto 2019 where we push for promotion again!
Ratings
Wallis - 7 - untroubled, 8 out of 10 for distribution, improving Taylor - 8 - comfortable in possession, hard in a tackle, dominant in the air. Moran - 8.75 - standard, thanks Joe Tong - 8 - versatility becoming a key for the oak, discipline needs to be looked at, 2 yellows and 1 red so far. Knappett - 8.5 - took his goal 'well'. Worked hard on the flank, debut goal. Wheelo - 7 - was comfortable for the time played Fabinho Tong - 8 - loves a tackle, passing ability is getting better, discipline (must be a Tong thing) Shaun - 8 - solid up and down again. Relentless running and aggression. Spencer - 8 - great running in the midfield and up top, tough role to do but performed well Wilson - 8.5 - majestic header, the playmaker of the team. Whitfield - 7.5 - not the performance of recent weeks but the greats have off days.
Subs
Reed - 7 - solid, still recovering from injury Dwayne - 7 - kept it solid at the back when coming on, comfortable on the ball. McFadyen - 9 - MOTM for the cruyff turn. Want to see more up top in 2019. Its your year. Josh - 7 - not on long enough
Have a good Christmas. Drink loads. Eat loads. Shag loads (if you can).
