OHAFC V's Crusaders

In seriously muddy conditions, Old House took to the field to avenge a 7 - 1 drubbing earlier in the season. However, after 10 minutes a superb ball whipped in from near the corner flag found a Crusaders player running in and Old House found themselves a goal behind already, despite a competitive start. Old House continued to push and after 25 minutes, their efforts paid off. Scott came running through onto a long ball to beat the offside trap and calmly slot it through a puddle and past the keeper to level the score. Within 5 minutes, Old House had pulled ahead after Nathan Roberts flicked a cross over the defence and the keeper and it just dropped into the top corner of the net. Old House should have increased their lead further, but a dodgy decicion from the linesman for a foul-throw meant that Steve Brookes headed goal didn't count. Upon reviewing the video evidence, it was indeed a very poor decision by the referee's assistant (check the video out for yourself!).

The second half continued as the first had finished. Steven Dodd had scored agin for Old House, but Crusaders had also notched another up. At 3 - 2 up, Old House were awarded a penalty that was taken and scored before the referee was ready. The resulting retake was well saved by the Crusaders keeper and gave them the emphasis they needed to push for an equaliser. Crusaders did keep pressing and managed to get an equiliser to share the points with only minutes left on the clock.

Old House now go into December with all away fixtures desperate for points on the board. The team is beginning to gel and, as the improvement in the scoreline suggests, we are a much more competitive team.