Oak House had demolished History FC 5-2 the week before, but as Maths Captain John Battersby said before the match, "Upsets can happen."
During the early stages an upset didn't look likely. Oak House, despite missing four players, started brightly, and were awarded a penalty with thirty seconds on the clock. Neil Creasey looked confident as he strode up to take the spot-kick, but couldn’t force the Maths goalkeeper into a save, his fierce shot flying past the right hand post.
Undeterred, Oak House carried on in the same vein, and after five minutes had already struck three shots on goal. Maths, who lost 2-1 in week one, looked off the pace, and set pieces seemed like the only real chance of a goal for the physical Maths team, as Oak House's strikers continued to threaten. The "Greens" lacked a cutting edge though, and were nearly made to pay when Maths' Tom Webber latched onto a good flick on, but couldn't finish as he charged into the box.
After a quarter of an hour, Oak House could have had another penalty, but their striker commendably kept his footing in a crowded penalty area and forced a save. The table-toppers were the better team at this point, with some good passing football, although Webber, a semi-professional at Hyde United in Blue Square North, provided an effective outlet on the left flank for Maths. Maths' solid defence, well marshalled by Battersby, continued to hold firm, and an ineffectual high ball into the area by Creasey on the half hour mark summed up Oak House's frustration. Maths were growing in confidence, and starting to gain the upper hand.
The whistle brought a fairly even first half to a close, but after changing ends, Maths took control, with Craig Aidie outgunning Creasy in a keenly contested midfield battle, while both wingers caused problems. Jake Gilbert's cross provided the first real chance of the half, with Webber again on the end with a firm header just wide.
Fifty minutes in, Maths made a crucial change up front with Oli Quaye coming on. The physical forward proved a real handful for the Oak House defence, although it was Webber who made the breakthrough on the hour, cutting in from the left to unleash a sweetly struck shot past the unfortunate keeper.
Maths weren't going to settle for one goal, and as they pressed on it didn't take long for them to add a second. On sixty-eight minutes, a good long-range effort from Fresher Dan Hall forced a save, and Quaye pounced on the rebound to make it 2-0. It could have been three just minutes later, but Webber's run and shot only found the side netting.
Oak House offered little reply, and with the ninety minutes up, Oak House could have no complaints. They showed snapshots of the football that earned them their win the week before, but once Maths scored there was only going to be one winner. A disciplined and determined display was matched by some neat team moves and a notable individual display by man-of-the-match Tom Webber. After the match, disappointed Oak House captain, Rob Webster, admitted that his opponents had been well worth their win. "We were outplayed second half," he said. "They were the better side."
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