The mighty Dinks travelled to Essex for the fifth time this season and completed the ‘Essex full house’ as they overcame very boggy conditions to win 3-0 thanks to goals from Tom James, Robin Mounsey and Richard Remington. The result leaves the Dinks top of the pile with a 10 point gap over third placed Brentwood and a goal difference of +44.
The Brentwood ‘manager’ so impressed with the OMs performance in the home leg of the fixture admitted to going into the game with a 3-5-2 formation in a bid to man mark the enigmatic Dom Hutt out the game. Within five minutes their plan was in tatters as Benji Elston robbed the Brentwood centre back of ball and slipped in Tom James for the opener. This set the tone for the remainder of the first half as the OMs set up camp in the Brentwood half dominating possession without quite managing to find the final pass.
The start of the second half proved a much tougher examination as Brentwood used the cut up pitch to their advantage and the OMs lost their discipline and composure when confronted with some cowardly Brentwood behaviour. The OMs picked up three cautions (more than the team has totted up in total over the last five years) for reacting with needless ‘handbags’ to over the top challenges and various guises of Brentwood assault.....James and Rogers showed the bond a best man and groom have as they felt the need to come to each others aid at every opportunity...they were definitely missing the calming influence of housemate Madden! The situation worsened 10 minutes into the second half when James Bath the only recognised centre back limped off injured, leaving two strikers (Rogers and Mounsey) in the full back positions and the versatile Al Lewis filling the centre back berth.
In the past few seasons a Dinks side would have crumbled in such circumstances but not the 12/13 version who re-grouped and decided to knuckle down and show their class rather than engage in child’s play. With Remington and James stretching the game and Elston and Hutt seemingly afforded the freedom of Essex in the centre of the park; the OMs started to find the much feted Wood and Shahid strike combination. The pressure eventually told as Hutt and Wood combined from a short corner to leave the Brentwood right back with twisted blood and Robin Mounsey with the simplest of finishes from all of two yards!
By this stage the football on display would not have looked out of place in the Bernabau with Remington and Hutt playing piggy in the middle, with 10 Brentwood players, as they exchanged 40 yard passes across the width of the pitch. The gap in class obviously hit a nerve with the Brentwood left back who launched himself wildly at flying winger James and earned himself a straight red for his troubles....readers will be pleased to hear that James walked away from the incident unharmed, however, as one member of the side commented if he hadn’t picked the ball up the OMs might have come away with another goal! As it turned out the OMs did not have to wait long for the third as another raking ball found Remington in space and he duly slotted / scuffed the ball into the net to ice the cake and allow Wood to ponder some creative ideas for this week’s bakingas he continues to expand his repertoire as he looks to get entry to Great British Bake Off.
The result and performance meant a great start to 2013 and the biggest compliment came on Sunday evening when a Brentwood acquaintance was heard cursing the fact the OM team was ‘filled with first teamers’. In reality all of the 2nd XI featured in the home leg when the OM first team was plying its trade on the adjacent pitch. The comment can be taken as a testament to the Clubs strength in depth this season after some successful summer recruitment from the YTS.
