RAF Odiham Football News

Odiham go into the final weeks of the season in a much more modest position than they entered the winter. Having won their opening four games of the London League and cruising to top spot, a couple of defeats have left them in a position where they can’t really afford to drop any points in their final five fixtures. Add to that a cruel RAF Cup exit, they must ensure they finish the task they started so brightly.

With nine points from nine going into November and having negotiated the preliminary round of the RAF Cup, Odiham brushed aside Brize B with three bits of quality.

The first defeat of the campaign, however, came at one of the serious title contenders Benson. A soft early goal from a throw-in and a counterattack in injury time saw Benson run out 2-0 winners. A hard-fought Cup win against Wittering courtesy of a brilliant solo effort led Odiham into another comfortable, if not as emphatic, league victory against High Wycombe.

Without a game then for two months until the start of February, Odiham gave it everything at Digby in the RAF Cup quarter-final, but were eliminated after two hours of football, six goals between them and a deep penalty shootout.

A limp defeat to their other title rivals Brize A meant that Odiham fall to fourth in the table, with three of the remaining five fixtures against the teams above them. All five remaining fixtures are now at home, so its vital they make Odiham (Hartley Wintney or North Warnborough, or wherever else they are forced to play) a fortress.

A pitch very typical of November hosted this RAF Cup 1st Round tie between two talented sides, which was decided by a stunner very typical of Max Brans. Football was valiantly attempted by both teams, and neither could help the game descending into a scrap, but Wittering will feel this was a great opportunity for progression spurned.

Odiham are a footballing side that can be physical. Wittering are a physical side that can play football, and to their credit, they did. A narrow bog of a surface, however, set the game up to be no more than two-touch for anyone that valued possession. Within minutes, Wittering’s bullet of a long throw was utilised, hiding in the low sun on their left-hand side in the first half and turning the penalty area into a complete guessing game. On a couple of occasions, a Wittering head whizzed the ball just wide when it could have gone anywhere, but for the most part Odiham managed them with conviction.

Odiham possess an abundance of talent in their attacking ranks, but the pitch and the intensity of their opposition gave them little chance to exhibit it, often choosing to play into corners with a deliberately compact diamond formation.

Connor Read at Right Back, eventual Man of the Match, careered into the corner on the overlap and fizzed a ball across goal but Wittering’s covering Full Back did enough to put off Brans.

Wittering’s best chance came after some lovely link-up play on the left, with a couple of onetwos between the Left Winger and Centre Forward, ending with former stabbing straight at Lofthouse.

Midway through the period, Ikhlaq went steaming into a 50-50 and was met by a probably unintentional, albeit nasty, challenge from his opposite Central Midfielder. The referee was keen to let things slide on this afternoon but made a controversial call in only booking the offender, whose challenge forced Ikhlaq off.

Jones and Naylor also departed with knocks, leaving Odiham without the opportunity for a substitution for the final hour of the game, with a midfield very different from how it started.

Owain Gwilliams, first at Left Back replacing Naylor and then in front of the back four upon Ikhlaq’s departure, was phenomenal.

Seldom did he lose a first or second contact, and his efficiency with the ball was superb. The third Odiham Left-Back of the day, Callum Stewart, was nigh-on faultless too.

Houston raced through for Odiham and finished with aplomb but had long been called offside before Brans also found himself with just the keeper to beat. He did, receiving a clip on the ankles in the process, but he chose to stay on his feet and roll towards goal and the shot was cut out for a corner.

Half-time came around and Odiham manager Evans went to a flat 4-4-2, with substitute Pitson and Tait tasked with the doggies of the wide players.

Wittering’s use of the long throw, this time most dangerous from their right, continued but was similarly fruitless. At the other end, their two Centre Backs defied any misgivings that they were simply big lumps who lived to cut out long balls, and often started the attacks. A risky tactic given the conditions, Odiham’s quality up front, and their biggest threat being the direct runs of their Left Winger. He was frequently thwarted by Dickie and Read, and even Lofthouse on two occasions where he was otherwise clean through.

The winning goal characterised this cup tie perfectly. A loose ball on the halfway line was aggressively contested, with Houston coming out on top and leaving his opponent on the floor claiming a foul – perhaps any other day, not with this referee. Houston advanced and slipped in Brans on the right, but he still had to make space on the edge of the box to get a shot away. That he did with the help of a very welltimed bobble, taking the net off with his right foot with the keeper somehow miles away despite it hitting the middle of the goal.

Twice in the Odiham box, the ball fell dangerously close to a Wittering man, but the hosts stayed on their feet and managed to clear their lines. They were, however, fortunate to see a twenty-yard effort whistle a yard wide.

Brans was unlucky not to double his tally, picking up Houston’s cutback eight yards out and firing at goal on the turn, the keeper getting down very well to deflect it onto the post.

Tait found himself in a good position on the inside left under enough pressure to be forced into a shot, which spun quite comfortably wide. Brans made room on the left and cut onto his right foot to curl much closer to goal, but with ultimately the same result.

A late attempt by Wittering to force a mistake by going with four up top probably came five or ten minutes too late, and in truth Odiham didn’t look any more like conceding at this point, if anything they were more likely to get a second than at any time since the goal.

Odiham held on for an ugly and satisfying victory and await the draw to see their next round opponents.

Benson goals at either end of the game ended Odiham’s run of four consecutive league wins. An early lapse in concentration from a throw-in led to a tap-in for ex-Odiham man Brodie Gray, and a desperate push forward in injury time to equalise left the visitors exposed at the back and they were punished on the counter attack from a corner.

Benson’s opener, although disappointing from Odiham’s point of view, was nonetheless well worked. A throw-in on the right landed at the Centre Forward’s feet, and after holding off his man he slipped his Right Midfielder in to square for Gray to bundle home from six yards. That was about as close as Benson got for a while. Odiham’s midfield three controlled proceedings as per, using the width to bypass the monstrous Central Defensive partnership, but often being denied by resilient lastthird defending.

Max Brans’ curling effort from the left had to be dealt with by the keeper, before first half substitute Sullivan-Jones on the right of the front three was unlucky not to put Odiham ahead. Brans’ deep cross flew over the Left Back and Sullivan-Jones only had to plant a head on it, but he was denied by a superb reflex save. From the resulting corner, Scott Naylor headed against the bar.

Benson, although not in control, were never out of it. Gray’s position behind the striker would often leave Odiham thinking they had everything under control only for him to pop up next to a wide man to double up on the Full Backs. At one point he ran at McMenamin in the right channel but blazed off target.

Things continued in much the same vein in the second half and for much of it, it looked like a matter of time until the game was levelled. Charlie Nicholas got a flick on a long Doggett throw and it trickled against the post, before Odiham were denied a penalty when the ball rolled up a Benson arm.

At the other end, an in-swinging Benson corner bounced straight off the bar and down, but nobody was on hand to convert.

With minutes remaining, McMenamin’s clearance was poorly judged by the hitherto faultless Benson Man of the Match in Central Defence, leaving substitute Cartwright to hare towards goal, where he opted to square to Sullivan-Jones but overhit the pass, resulting in a goal kick.

Having missed that golden chance, Odiham committed men forward for a free kick and after some pinball in the middle after it was cleared, Benson’s Left Winger off the bench raced through on goal. Takin- g the shot early from way outside the box, the ball floated agonisingly into the top corner to seal three points for Benson.

Odiham moved up to 2nd in the London League with a routine victory at High Wycombe. Owain Gwilliams volleyed the visitors ahead early on but the hosts quickly replied, before Billy Eade tapped home at the end of the first half and Archie Cartwright sealed it with his third goal off the bench this season.

The last few games have seen conditions, at every given venue, predictably worsen. Defenders would be well-advised to not put their midfielders under pressure on the undulating deck, and instead go long, which both sides were often forced to do.

The first goal came via yet another Charlie Nicholas setpiece. Although it came in from deep on the left, High Wycombe inexplicably allowed Gwilliams to run onto it ten yards out and side foot the ball into the corner on the full.

High Wycombe’s captain in the middle of the park lashed a free kick over the bar prior to Gwilliams’ goal, and it was barely two minutes after opener that he volleyed in the equaliser from the edge of Odiham’s box after they failed to clear a throw in.

The game had quickly descended into a battle, which Odiham were quite comfortable competing in, even if their abundance of creativity was hampered.

Sullivan-Jones, in his first start for Odiham, won the ball on the right-hand side and fed Houston in the box, the striker beating his man to the byline and squaring to Eade for a tap-in.

Houston was almost on the scoresheet himself, picking up ten yards into High Wycombe’s half on the left and charging well into the box before rolling straight at the keeper.

The home skipper was at the centre of most of what his side created, on one occasion skipping past two challenges on the left before squaring to his midfield partner on the edge of the box, but Lofthouse was equal to the volley at goal.

High Wycombe’s right winger robbed Naylor when he received the ball under pressure, but he fired straight at Lofthouse.

In the second half, a high line by Odiham allowed High Wycombe’s striker into the box, where he couldn’t get decent contact on it and Lofthouse saved easily.

From the resulting phase of play, Dickie lofted into the right channel for Cartwright to run onto and his early shot flew right through the keeper.

Odiham are now two points behind leaders Brize Norton B with three games in hand, however, Brize A and Benson are hot on their tails.

A very evenly matched game saw chances at both ends, however Brize Norton took an early foothold with numerous set pieces. The pacey left winger was causing Odiham serious problems and, after 20 minutes having charged down the flank, a corner was conceded. Poor marking from Odiham allowed Brize Norton’s centre-half to score with a towering header, leaving Lofthouse helpless in the goal.

With Brize’s wings causing constant issues and Nash isolated up front for Odiham, a change of formation was required. Moving from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2 nullified Brize Norton’s attack and offered more support to Odiham’s strike force. On the stroke of half time Odiham’s pressure was starting to pay dividends, and a late run in the box by Bill Eade saw him draw a foul. Up stepped Jones to take the penalty, but it was saved and it remained 1-0 at the break.

The second half saw numerous chances with Brize’s keeper forced into several saves. With Odiham committing players forward in search of an equaliser, similarly to the defeat at Benson in November, they were vulnerable to a counter attack. A mix up between Lofthouse and Cunniffe saw a scrappy goal conceded against the run of play. What should’ve been an Odiham victory, or at worst a score draw, saw them leave empty-handed.

Lofthouse, Naylor, Dickie, Cunniffe, Emery, Riley, Jones, Nicholas, Houston, Nash, Eade.

Subs: Hayward, Finlan, Ikhlaq, McLeod, Pitson