Chawton Athletic 2 - Royal Oak 6

A day of mixed emotions for a Chawton Athletic side, who rightly can be hold their heads high after tasting agonising defeat in the final of the Runwick Cup at Hartley Wintney FC.

The day had started magnificently and the team were in relaxed and buoyant mood as Bob the coach driver transported squad and supporters over to Hartley Wintney in comfort.  The new CAFC hoodies were handed out and a very smart looking squad watched on as the presentation for the Veterans Cup final took place, Villagereal pipping Cherry Tree 1-0 in a closely fought tussle.

Half an hour later and the dressing rooms were free and, having been given a choice, Athletic chose the larger "home" dressing room.  The whiteboard added a real sense of occasion to the announcement of the team and the "Arsenal" formation, adopted for the first time, set the team out as a 4-2-3-1.  Athletic had a steely and determined look in their eyes and were not here to make up the numbers.

Matt and Bob had not recovered from their respective injuries and could only watch on with pride as the two teams lined up in the "tunnel" and were lead out by the referee and his two officials.

The regulation hand shake for the teams came and went and the game was under way.  Athletic, lead by skipper Skilts, were kicking up the slight Hartley Wintney slope and into the wind and were quickly into their stride.

The narrow three midfielders of George, Pat and Scott squeezed the available space for the Royal Oak midfield four and with the added protection of Si E and Si H sat behind them, Athletic were mopping up Oak attacks and countering themselves.  It was going to be the ding-dong final the hundred or so spectators were craving!

Sam, marauding up front on his own, was causing the high sitting Oak back four mountains of problems, running, chasing and harrying mistakes as Athletic slowly edged into the ascendancy and it was not long before Athletic deservedly took the lead:

George's tireless effort down the left hand side of the three midfielders led to him taking a forceful blow from the ball in the face and left him slightly dazed for a few moments.  But, to his credit, he was back into the fray as he linked well with Sam and Si H with a neat interchange of passes.

A through-ball for Scott, and a terrible decision by the Oak skipper to attempt to shepherd the ball back to the keeper, saw Scott steal in and win the ball.  He got back to his feet and made it to the loose ball, managing to jab the ball into the empty net from fifteen yards.  A fantastic start for Athletic, who had clearly rattled their Bordon based rivals.

The game plan was working like an absolute charm, the closely positioned overlapping defence was competing for everything and suddenly Athletic were turning 50/50s into 55/45s in their favour.  Time and time again, Pat, Si E and Si H emerged with the ball and were attacking the halfway-line-sitting Oak back four.  Athletic had the opposition exactly where they wanted them:  high up the pitch with acres of open space for striker Sam to race into.

It was no real surprise when Athletic added to their tally, as a poor challenge gave the Yellows a free kick on the corner of the eighteen yard box.  Si H stepped up to magnificently curl a whipped ball into the bottom corner past a desperately diving Oak keeper.  2-0 and Athletic were worth every penny of that lead.

Oak tried to fight their way back into the game, sometimes a little too forcefully, but generally the game was flowing well.  Another break opportunity was only halted by the linesman's flag with Pat's slightly delayed pass to Sam.

One concern was creeping in to Athletic's game as Oak won a series of corners: a lack of aerial challenge saw the Oak right back win three in a row, one of which Skilts did well to tip over.

Oak thought they had finally managed to pull one back as a fiercely struck low shot, which was already being cheered by the meagre Oak support, was brilliantly turned round round the post by Skilts when it seemed a certain goal.  Buoyed by that Athletic were immediately back on the attack and forced a corner themselves, Pat forcing the Oak keeper into a class save of his own.

Half time came and George was very much now feeling the effects of the ball in the face; even Archie was concerned for him and visited him in the dressing room during the break.  His vision blurred in the eye forced him to step aside and he was replaced by Marc.

No back-slapping in the Athletic dressing room as the job was only half done, but the Yellows knew they had the Oak well and truly rattled and all they needed to do was put in another forty-five minutes like that and the cup would be theirs.

Oak must have been on the end of an Alex Ferguson style "hairdryer" at half time because they were waiting for Athletic as the yellows emerged from the dressing room, and it was Oak that immediately started the second half the better.  Their neat footballing triangles that had totally deserted them in the first half were now back, Athletic lost some shape and suddenly it was backs to the walls for the Yellows.

Finally, after forcing several more corners, the pressure showed and Athletic were breached by a twenty-five yard effort that took deflections off of both Wonka and Rich P to leave Skilts with no chance.  An unfortunate start to the first five minutes of the second half, but Athletic still led and were not going to go quietly.

Athletic poured forward as Oak had not learnt their lesson from the first half and were high up the pitch.  Sam controlled one through ball, turned, and ran at the Oak Skipper... with forty yards to goal Sam slipped into top gear, as he touched the ball past the defender and into the space behind, setting off after the ball like a greyhound after the hare!

The Oak skipper was in serious trouble, he knew we was about to be outstripped and totally embarrassed, so while the ball was not within his playing reach, he obstructed the Athletic striker - eventually bringing him down just inside the box.  Quite unbelievably, both the referee and linesman saw nothing wrong with the foul and the game played on.  A clear penalty and red card, Athletic would surely have re-opened a two goal lead and against ten men it could well have been game over...

...but alas that refereeing mistake soon bit the Athletic in the hardest possible way, as Oak levelled through a spot kick.  A dangerously crossed ball in struck Rich P's hand, and nobody would have disagreed with it being penalty until we heard that the referee thought it was accidental!  Another strange decision that could have gone in the Yellow's favour, but didn't.  The penalty was buried past Skilts, the scores were level and Oak suddenly had their tails up.

They took the lead from a close range header and Athletic knew they were up against it now.  Dave P picked up an injury and was replace by Gilly, with Si E slotting into right back.  The shape that had served Athletic so well in the first half had dissolved as they were starting to be run ragged by a well organised Oak team who had finally woken up.

Gilly and Si H were still holding strong and were breaking the play up and setting Athletic back on the attack, but Oak held firm and Athletic were left to rue some slightly mis-placed final balls.  Unfortunately, Oak added a fourth as a push on Skilts went unpunished and the resulting corner saw both the Athletic keeper and Wonka on the line fouled and the ball found the net direct, it seemed that everything was going against the Yellows.

Si E, struggling with injury, was replaced by Carl.  Pat had now become the third right back of the day for the Chawton.

The referee came back to the forefront of the game once again, having decided he was not involved enough, and gave Oak another penalty.  Gilly nicked the ball away from the sliding Oak player expertly and set off off up the park after the ball, only for play to be bought back and a penalty given.  The Oak player, lying prostrate on the ground as if he'd been shot in the head, disappointingly found his feet amazingly quickly once the decision had been given, justifying the Yellows' and their supporters' opinion of no actual contact in the tackle - even though it was clearly not a foul anyway.

The third inexplicable and unbelievable refereeing decision of the afternoon was ably punished by the Royal Oak skipper.  Astonishing stuff and so disheartening for an Athletic side who were being refereed out of a game they were still managing to be competing in - just.

Skilts' push for man of the match was clinched as a rasping, rising twenty-five yard screamer, seemed destined for the top corner, was clawed away and round the post magnificently by the Athletic keeper, save of the season - absolutely brilliant!

Athletic fought their way back on to the ball with Marc linking well with Sam and Scott down the left hand side, Marc's shot eventually blocked by a desperate lunge.

Oak had time to add a totally undeserved sixth and it left a bitter taste to the scoreline, as a corner floated to the edge of the box was volleyed in past the impeded Skilts.  It was obvious that the referee was not a goalkeeper in his playing days!

And so the final whistle: joy for the Royal Oak, this their ninth appearance in a cup final and only their first victory and disappointment and more than a little frustration for an Athletic side who, although may not have deserved victory, ultimately felt hard done by in the way the cup was lost.

A very well deserved and impromptu round of applause for Skilts as he joined the team for a private and informal gathering on the pitch, a proud day in the short history of Chawton Athletic Football Club.

Skilts lead the team up to receive their runners-up medals from Chairman of the League, Dave Parsells, and one of the original founders of the Farnham and District Sunday League, Andy Hobdell, but it was Oak's cup and the celebrations and Champagne started as the it was held aloft, ironically by the man who should have seen red not more than forty minutes earlier!

A subdued dressing room did not stay that way for long as the players soon realised what an incredible achievement it had been to fight their way, against all the odds, into the cup final and they retired to the bar to discuss the game.

Chawton Athletic would like to again thank Pat C for arranging the coach, George for arranging the hoodie printing and of course all the many supporters to turned up to shout, scream, clap, cheer and boo the referee.  I along with everyone was pleased to have been involved in such an amazing day!

And so the journey back to Alton, a couple or three beers at the Swan, where Athletic discovered that Lindford had been 4-0 too strong for Royal Exchange, and that meant Athletic had secured seventh spot with Exchange propping up the table.  The three league wins and one 3-3 draw away at Morley Road Academicals proving enough for the Yellows to improve on their league position from last year.

A fantastic curry and then a few more celebratory beverages in the Wheatsheaf and home.

Many thanks to everyone who has helped this year in whatever capacity, but especially to Carl for correcting my grammar and spelling on the blog, generally tarting it up and for adding the photos, some more of the final will be added separately!