Match Report - Oakwood (A)

Sunday morning’s setting was Oakhill Park: somewhere that, despite being an away fixture, felt very much at home for AFC Roza. We had trained there during pre-season for the last couple of years, and many of us had experience there on matchdays as well; and you could see that the boys were comfortable in their surroundings from the moment we arrived.

In terms of the league table, this was an extremely valuable fixture. Roza started the day in second, with Oakwood trailing us by just two points - meaning that a win for the home side would see them rise into second, behind league champions Inter Manresa. With a month since our last fixture, there was a chance that we could have elements of rust in our game - but thankfully this wasn’t the case.

Starting XI: Nick Christou; Deano Spyrou, Terry Savva, Chris Johnson, Rees Colgan; Michael Georgiades, Saj Rajaratnam, Ben Reynolds; Cal Cook, Danny Smith, Alex Andreou

Last time against this opposition, we were undeservedly beaten 2-3 at home, so there was plenty of motivation for the boys to put this result right. In addition, it was a game which implied we could beat Oakwood on the return fixture (chances were aplenty for Roza in that game), so the boys were relaxed and confident - knowing that if we keep our focus, we are more than capable of taking 3 points.

This confidence was personified when Roza dominated the game from the off. Alex Andreou was having plenty of joy down the left side, beating his marker for fun and having a couple of early attempts at goal. He turned provider for the opener though, pulling it across to Danny Smith - captain for this week’s fixture - to expertly side-foot it into the top-right corner. A tough finish, made look easy by the Roza #39.

Roza’s lead was doubled on the 20-minute mark, when Deano Spyrou got his first goal of the season. Ben Reynolds fed it over to the right back who drove into the box, lashing the ball high into the Oakwood net and continuing the strong start that the whole team had worked for.

As expected with Sunday’s physical opponents, tackles were flying in, elbows were being swung and derogatory names were heard at a noticeably quick rate - and this certainly wasn’t calmed down when Saj Rajaratnam nodded in at the back post, making the score 0-3. Cal Cook, dangerous all game, put in a sumptuous cross which Rajaratnam rose to meet, once again displaying his unbelievable aerial prowess. At 3-0, Roza were in control going into the break, but the result was far from decided.

The second half saw a determined Oakwood side start to cause some problems. They pulled the score back to 2-3, scoring from a set piece and high ball over the top of the defence. Roza were now holding onto their slender lead as Oakwood started to put the pressure on: a Nick Christou saved, tipped onto the bar, kept our lead in tact, before an effort from a direct free-kick hit the post for Oakwood. Roza had to weather the storm, with our backs against the wall against a vocally confident opposition.

Steph Savva then scored a crucial goal off the bench, arguably against the run of play in that moment, to put us 2-4 up. Savva latched onto a loose ball, striking with clarity and power in his typically confident fashion. We really needed this goal - but with around 25 minutes still to play, we knew that the 3 points were not home and dry just yet.

Oakwood once again started to attack, and in the next 10 minutes, they found two goals to even up the scoreline at 4-4. Two long balls had caused Roza bother, and some clinical finishing left the game in the balance. It also felt like, at this point, the home side had the momentum having scored four of the last five goals in the match.

Despite the pendulum seemingly swinging in Oakwood’s direction though, Roza showed some incredible mentality to brush themselves off, react and start attacking once again. An attacking set piece was clipped in by Rees Colgan with around 20 minutes to go - and Danny Smith got the first meaningful contact. Time seemed to stop as Smith’s looping volley started dropping towards the back post, and Rajaratnam was the man to finish once again, getting his second of the game. He wanted it more than the Oakwood defenders, bundling the ball home to put us 4-5 up.

In a game of ups and downs, the one goal deficit was a delicate one. We needed another to confirm that the three points would be ours. Then stepped up Adam Shaw - who had looked very dangerous since he came on - to tuck away his only real chance of the game, rolling the ball accurately into the bottom corner on his weaker right foot. 4-6 was the scoreline and with around 5 minutes left, Shaw’s astute finish seemed like the decisive moment in the fixture.

This 10 goal thriller perhaps wasn’t as straightforward as we thought it would be when we were 3-0 up at half-time, but nonetheless it was a result to be proud of. When defending our lead, an Oakwood red card (surprise!) gave us the man advantage to make things slightly more comfortable, but it was still another example of the Roza boys digging in, staying together and battling for a crucial 3 points.

At the heart of this resolute performance was Terry Savva, a rock at the heart of the Roza defence, who deservedly took the man of the match award; albeit in a team where there were a number of players who would have deserved the feat. Well played Terry!

We now have one more game this season and, after two great wins in a row, we are hoping to end it on a high. It looks like Roza will finish in the top half of the table this campaign and a win in our final game may even confirm a finish as high as 2nd - so there is plenty to play for.

UP THE ROZA!