Little Oakley 2 Enfield 2 (aet)

Buildbase FA Vase 1^st Round

Saturday 13^th October

Little Oakley had a big day on Saturday as they played welcomed Enfield to the Memorial Ground in the 1^st Round of the Buildbase FA Vase. It was the furthest the Eastern Senior League Division One South had ever reached in the competition, and both they, plus Enfield from the Essex Senior League go into the 2^nd Round draw on Monday; with this affair due to be sorted out on Tuesday evening in a replay that has to be decided on the night. There is every chance that this one could go right down to the wire as Saturday’s encounter was an intriguing FA Vase tie, something which this competition has a reputation for dishing up.

There was little of note in the opening twenty minutes as both teams took a while to settle. The Acorns had had a couple of sniffs at Enfield’s goal; a break way from an Enfield corner ended up with Frankie Selwyn charging down on the E’s goal but Steve French was wise to it and was off his line to claim the ball. And Ben Gallifant nearly made good with a loose ball but Jacob Dixon put a stop to that and cleared Enfield’s lines. Alex Cruickshank was also putting in a good solid shift in the Enfield defence, with Little Oakley’s defence also being locked tight.

Everything changed in the 22^nd minute when the first real shot of the game was rifled off, and it was Enfield’s Reece Barrett who supplied it; picking the ball up, going on a long run and then picking his spot as he placed his shot into the bottom right hand corner.

Little Oakley picked themselves up and in the 28^th minute managed to get a ball over Enfield’s defence but Selwyn, despite having time and space, was unable to get the ball under control, giving Cruickshank enough time to nip in and steal the ball away.

Jayden Hocking-Rising had a long range effort crash into the net; this was chalked off for an offside. A shame as it had been a wonderful strike, but the Enfield striker wasn’t afraid to let fly when he was fed; he blazed one effort over after Ayo Odukoya had laid him off, and two other shots just missed the frame. It was not one-way traffic though with Dixon having to clear a couple of decent crosses that were aimed towards Selwyn.

Enfield opened the second half with some momentum with a John Flynn cross being punched clear by Tyman, and then a corner was headed away by Harry Windred.

But Little Oakley always looked capable of grabbing a goal, and duly did so in the 54^th minute as Stephen Polley sneaked into the box and headed home the equaliser. That woke the Little Oakley crowd up and they now started to offer their side vocal backing.

However that didn’t deter Enfield’s Hocking-Rising who put a good cross into the six-yard box which Tyman had to cut out; then an Odukoya cross was met with a powerful header by Hocking-Rising which the Acorns ‘keeper caught on the line. But the game was now end-to-end so French had to punch clear a cross aimed at Polley, then Lewis Woods placed a header narrowly wide. Enfield then went up the other end, won a free kick, and up stepped Barrett who chiselled his effort into the side-netting.

It looked like the game had more goals in it and that proved to be the case as Little Oakley took the lead in the 71^st minute. Polley, having been passed the ball in midfield, then put on a burst of speed before peeling off a shot that sailed past French.

And the Acorns turned up an opportunity to extend their lead when Selwyn could only drag his shot wide, after Rob Pratt had picked him out at the back post. That miss was to be costly as in the 79^th minute Enfield were back on terms. Barrett’s dinked over a free kick, Odukoya chipped the ball into the six-yard box from the right by-line, Windred unfortunately couldn’t get out of the way and the ball hit his torso and trickled over the line. A get out of jail card that silenced the home supporters no end.

There were chances for either side to have won it in normal time too. Tyman pulled off two fantastic saves to deny Stavri and Bradbury, then at the other end Woods placed a header wide. Enfield were to carve out the final opportunity in normal time, a shot from Odukoya that Tyman tipped around the post.

The first period of extra time saw Enfield on the front foot, but Little Oakley dug in and blocked, deflected, tackled and held on. By the second period they were looking the more tired of the two teams. Tyman had to save a Johnson effort midway through, but a counter-attack was launched from this which ended with Mark Palmer having a crack from distance that almost dipped under the cross bar.

With only minutes left the game still had enough time to dish up yet more Vase drama. The hosts thankful that the cross bar came to their aid after Odukoya’s shot-on-the-turn hit the underside; then the rebound by Bradbury blocked by Woods. Then in the final minue E’s substitute Kevin Bondjanga was hauled down in the box, for this writer a sure fire penalty, but some of the home fans disagreed; the referee ultimately turning down the appeals. In any case there was no time to dwell on any of what had just happened because Little Oakley launched one final attack; a long ball over the top allowing French to get one final header on target but Cruickshank somehow managed to hook it away just before it crossed the line. That intervention kept Enfield in the Vase and the two teams now lock horns again on Tuesday evening.

Little Oakley: Luke Tyman, Rory Harman, Jamie Dobkin, Mark Palmer, Lewis Woods (Capt), Harry Windred, Stephen Polley (Tyler Sullivan 94’), Ash Wood, Frankie Selwyn, Ben Gallifant (Rob Pratt 63’), Greg Rodger.

Scorers – Stephen Polley (54’, 71’)

Clapton: Steve French, Josh Flynn, Billy Haspineall, Joe Johnson, Alex Cruickshank, Jacob Dixon, Reece Barrett, Sharn Quinn (Kevin Bondjanga 72’), Ayo Odukoya, Jayden Hocking-Rising (Jay Stavri 60’), Ben Bradbury (Capt).

Scorers – Reece Quinn (22’), Own Goal (79’).