The first half saw both sides playing good open attacking football, but this didn’t result in much in the way of clear cut chances. Louis Bouwers in the Faringdon defence was immense restricting Crowmarsh to long range efforts or making excellent last ditch tackles to prevent them from shooting when they did break through. And Bouwers came closest to opening the scoring in the early exchanges when on five minutes he headed a Stuart Sears corner over the bar from 10 yards.

Faringdon came even closer a minute later when Darren Quegan saw his corner kick float over everybody in the box and bounce away off the top of the crossbar. Crowmarsh gradually started to come into the game and were beginning to edge possession and opportunities created with Liam Strudwick seeing a powerful shot deflect wide, Scott Gesner see his low drive well saved by Ryan Curtis and James Lee see his well delivered cross just grabbed by Curtis under pressure. But it was Faringdon who broke the deadlock with five minutes of the half remaining as Matt Pill delivered a cross from the right that Derren Harrington collected on the left of the box. Harrington’s low drive was deflected into the net by an unlucky defender to give Faringdon the lead at half time.

A slow opening to the second half soon speeded up and eight minutes in Crowmarsh were level. Andy Allum sprang the off-side trap and ran clear through at Curtis. He slid the ball to the right and was then brought down by the keeper. The ball went wide of the right hand post, the referee awarded a penalty and Curtis was yellow carded. Allum took the spot kick himself and fired it low into the bottom right hand side of the net.

Again both sides played with a good intent to attack, but for long periods there was little in the way of actual goalmouth action. But all that changed with 15 minutes to go. Faringdon produced a good attack down the right and the resultant shot rebounded to Gary Sutton 25 yards from goal. Sutton fired a pile driver over the keeper and against the underside of the bar from where it bounced down and up against the bar again before crossing the line. Faringdon were back in front and it looked like the title race would go down to the last round of matches.

But Currell had other ideas. Crowmarsh were awarded a free kick just outside the left hand side of the box. James Lee delivered a floating ball to the far post where Liam Currell met it with aplomb and despite a well placed defender on the line getting his head to the ball he could do nothing to prevent it from crossing the line. Cue wild celebrations from the Crowmarsh side, who then maintained their discipline and composure to see out the remaining minutes, and be crowned Division One Champions.

Yet again the squad was ravaged due to a lack of availability of players throughout the club. Eight of the previous week’s squad were either unavailable or called up to the senior teams. Chris Webb and Too tall had switched teams due to work commitments and Will Oglesby had a late call up to the first team. Skipper Nick Wojcik was on a cruise in the med, no doubt enjoying the abundance of food and drink available, mostly the food! James Kane, Liam Farmer and Andy Capper were all in Berlin learning how to drink properly. Rupert Collett was at a wedding and Tim Smith was trying to lower his handicap on the golf course, although some may say his handicap is on the football pitch!!

The ever dependable pair of Trevor Sears and John Lovegrove came in at right back and left back respectively, adding some youth to the ageing squad!! Both Robert Lovegrove and Kenny Clements played their first games since before Christmas, Rob in the centre of midfield and Kenny on the right in a balanced 4-4-2 system. With no substitutes available, you could sense there would be some heavy legs in the bar after the game.

The first half was a fairly even affair, with Grove edging possession but both teams creating good chances. Rob Lovegrove struck the post with a fierce free kick, Martin Key pulled a shot just wide of the same upright and Matty Curtis forced two last ditch tackles form the visiting defenders. At the other end, Too Tall in goal had already made one good save before bravely claiming the ball at the feet of the onrushing striker. All the home defenders had made timely blocks from shots at goal, but it took a goal line clearance from Kenny Clements to keep the score at 0-0. Kenny hooking the ball away from under his own crossbar and stopping the visitors celebrating before they had began. However their celebrations did come soon after when they took the lead with a fine strike. A smart turn and hit from the edge of the box from the striker saw the ball sailing into the top corner. Too Tall went full length across the goal and got a fingertip to the ball, but the strength on the shot forced it into the back of the net. Despite going in at half time a goal down, there was a belief running through the team that we could easily get back into the game.

So with no changes made at half time!!! The lads went about their business with a real purpose and it came as no surprise when we bagged an equaliser. A free kick just outside the box gave Rob Lovegrove a chance to better his first half effort. Rob made no mistake this time, giving the keeper no chance with a strike that was curled into the far corner, after a dummy by Martin Key at the front post. The game carried on in good spirit with both teams battling well and without the referee having to get involved at all. Grove regained the lead with another good finish, a ball from the left found the striker in a yard of space who guided the ball past Too Tall. In other games this season, our team has folded at this point, but there was a real passion not to lose today and we were back on level terms with 15 minutes remaining. Stuart Finnigan clipped a peach of a ball over the defence for Martin Key to run onto. As the keeper closed Martin down, he took a touch, looked up and fired the ball past him into the far corner.

Too Tall was again called into action when for a second time he had to be brave and claim the ball at the strikers feet, this time getting accidentally injured in the process. With no subs available and with at least four outfield players visibly starting to tire, the last ten minutes were a real test of character. Thankfully for The A’s, all the lads were more than up to it. Everybody dug deep as neither team wanted to lose this game so late on. Our strikers had been causing problems for the visiting defence all day and when Martin Key robbed the left back on the edge of the box, we had the chance to go ahead for the first time. The ball ran a little wide but Martin controlled it and fired his shot across the keeper into the far corner. This sent the home crowd into raptures, all 6 of them!! The goal capped a fine display from Martin, earning the team three points and himself a man of the match award.

A great performance from front to back saw the lads finish the season on a high and unfortunately for Grove, put a real dent in their title hopes.

J.Yates, T.Sears(c), M.Belcher, L.Murby, J.Lovegrove, A.Munns, S.Finnigan, R.Lovegrove, K.Clements, M.Key, M.Curtis.

The ‘Don’ came away with a 4-1 victory on their last meeting back in January and the same result again would be a huge help towards a top five finish. Harwell are also in need of the victory as they sit seven points adrift at the bottom of the division, and with games running out, their chances of survival will be minimal without victory.

Squad to meet at Travis Perkins 13.00 – Ryan Curtis, Glenn Townsend, Stuart Sears, Chris Benson, Louis Bouwers, Rob Cooper, Paul Hulme, Darren Quegan, Derren Harrington, Matthew Pill, Dave Cole, Daniel Courtney, Gary Sutton and Chris Kershaw.

The penultimate game of the season saw local rivals Stanford in the Vale Reserves make the short journey north to Tuckers Park. Only a last minute drop out saw the squad reduced to 13, so manager John Lovegrove only had to name himself as third sub. Too Tall’s promotion to the reserves saw a gap created in goal for the A’s, thankfully Chris Webb done his mate (and now manager!) a massive favour and agreed to see out the season for us. Nick Wojcik made the switch to centre half, the ageing captain looking for ways to extend his playing career! Rupert Collett and Mike Belcher made their returns to the squad and joined Lugsy on the bench.

The first twenty minutes of the game were pretty evenly matched, both teams created chances but saw both goalkeepers doing their jobs and keeping the score at 0-0. The A’s took the lead on the twenty five minute mark. A free kick from wide left, was perfectly delivered by full back Will Oglesby. The ball went between the keeper and defence with neither wanting to commit to it. Just as you thought it may evade everybody, James Kane arrived at the far post to stab home. A great late run saw James double his goal tally for the season and put the lads 1-0 to the good. The goal inspired confidence into the team, seeing the lads stroking the ball around and really take the game by the scruff of the neck. Despite Faringdon’s domination, they couldn‘t add to the score and it took a great one handed save from keeper Webb to keep the clean sheet intact.

The halftime team talk was fairly straightforward, keep doing the same for 45 minutes and there will be no complaints. Thankfully the lads did exactly what was asked and proved to be well worth the three points they earned. With thirty minutes remaining, Rupert Collett replaced winger Tim Smith and Mike Belcher replaced Stuart Finnigan in the centre of midfield. When the second goal came there was a touch of fortune involved but nonetheless well deserved. Rupert Collett beat the defender and went down the right wing before whipping a low cross into box. The visiting defender, under pressure from the A’s frontline, lashed at the ball only to see it slice off his foot into the corner of his own net. The remainder of the game saw the lads continue to dominate all over the pitch but fail to add to the score line. The newly formed defensive partnership of Wojcik and Murby looked as if they had been playing together for years not minutes. This can only be a good thing for the future of the A teams backline.

So a match report with no complaints, this must be a first and I hope it is the first of many.

C.Webb, N.Wojcik(c), L.Murbey, W.Oglesby, J.Kane, A.Capper, L.Farmer, S.Finnigan(M.Belcher), L.Farmer, T.Smith(R.Collett), M.Curtis, M.Key.