Match Reports
28/02/09
Oxted 1-9 Men's 2nd XI
Brighton and Hove 9 - Oxted 1
With the 2s squad being decimated for various reasons late in the day, the team were down to 10 men with only a couple of hours to go before the game. All other potential avenues had been furiously exhausted and I eventually had to face the fact that it was time; time for the most dangerous of danger calls. With a mixture of trepidation and fear coursing through my veins I picked up the phone and dialled a long undialled number. With a sense of the inevitable the voice on the other end of the phone confirmed he could play and it was done... there was no looking back now... yes people, Phil 'Footspa' Gardner was only hours away from squeezing back into a 2s top!
Unfortunately from this point on the day becomes somewhat blurry which I can only attribute to Cat's raucous birthday party that night in which so much booze was drank that Mooney decided to help Hardwick break his drought (beggars can't be choosers eh Ross) and everyone realised that cameras, booze and Hore don't mix (photographic evidence at the bottom of the page!)!
Here's what I can remember from the game though: Despite initial fears, Footspa played like he'd never left, not one pass went astray (I took care of that side of things!) and each tackle was precise. However, despite a 3-1 lead at half-time Brighton were less than happy with their performance and reacted correspondingly in the second half slotting 6 past a deflated Oxted team. Oli P. was on top goal-scoring form again with a fine hat-trick and our ever-wandering back-line gave extra width and penetration when required producing 2 more goals from Sweeper Luke Williams.
All in all a well deserved and enjoyable victory!
Written by:
Alan McGuinness