Olney 2 v Wing Raiders 1

Everyone has a Nemesis, Batman and the Joker, Spiderman and the Green Goblin, Superman and Lex Luther..............Olney and Wing ! Well KAPOW ! At last we managed to take all three points, not without a few scares along the way, mind you any less than 3 points would have been hard to take as we dominated for long periods and could have won by three or four. Another great character builder for the team that did little for my blood pressure, Toff and Jake put in two really good last ditch tackles to ensure we retained our 1 goal lead. The two goals we scored were great finishes, Callum finishing superbly from a very tight angle and Harry rounding off a clever short corner worked by Jam and Ben L. These three points still give us everything to play for, those with games in hand have to play each other and that can only work in our favour. Lets stay positive and confident but don't forget that we will have to work for everything in the last five games if we are to realistically have a chance of promotion. Good again to see Jon and Ben being decisive between the sticks and sweeping when the opportunity arose. Keep it up, stay focused and keep playing football, anything can happen over the next few weeks, lets ensure that our effort does not falter over the coming weeks. A good result and a well deserved three points, well done.

Olney 1 Wing Raiders 1

Bah Humbug ! Terrible pitch, terrible conditions (same for both sides), terrible Ref (questionable as to whether this was the same for both sides). I don't think turning 43 has made me more cantankerous ? I do find poor refereeing / officiating though completely unacceptable, have a bad meal in a restaurant and you don't pay for it yet we had to swallow this tripe today. It was never going to be a great footballing spectacle in those conditions and on a very heavy pitch, it was one where we needed to roll our sleeves up and get stuck in. We took the lead through a great strike from Ben Lucas, just reward when you think the offence that lead to the free kick was almost common assault. We came in at half time very muddy and 1 nil up, could have been two but Joel never got the chance to slot home his one on one !! (I could have knitted a scarf in the time it took for the linesman to put his flag up, having said that he ran 15 yards to get level with Joel before flagging). Wing equalised in the second half and could have had a second but for a great save from Jon. We never really hit top form today but we are a footballing side and these conditions were never going to be in our favour. As I say we need to stay positive and look at the positives............Wing beat us twice last season.............We never lost today..........there were some really good individual performances............A year ago would have lost a game like this. Jake Stokes was superb today and Toff played really well but the MOTM went to Calvin. Sorry to any parent who may think my match report is far from sporting, certain incidents today were verging on cheating and for some of the challenges to go unpunished was not acceptable. Football is and always will be a passionate game, watched by passionate supporters, played by passionate players and teams run by passionate managers. I don't think our lads openly displayed their frustration or annoyance to the Ref and that is something that I am proud of. My soap box is now being put back in the garage.

Olney 1 Brookfield 2

What a bitter taste defeat leaves in the mouth, we were out fought first half and came in a goal down, sadly this was probably a fair reflection of the first half. Brookfield were up for this from the start, a big strong team who demonstrated a great work rate from the first whistle. We played some good football but lacked clear cut chances today, unlike us when you look at our previous results. Second half we demonstrated a desire to not be steamrollered and promptly equalised, a fantastic finish by Callum to bring us level. To be honest I would have taken a point there and then, you just got the impression that the ball was not going to run for us today. Ten minutes later Brookfield broke very quickly and found themselves 2 v 1, a simple square ball gave the striker a relatively simple chance that he calmly took. Our heads never dropped to our credit but Brookfield defended very well, they got plenty of people behind the ball and limited our space, when we did get behind them their keeper was in great form. They will trouble a lot of teams this season and there was no shame in today's result, lets hope we can now replicate the run we put together after our last defeat. Man of the match went to Callum, a very hard working performance that was capped off with a great goal. Calvin and Jake pushed him close today, the pair of them tackled like Trojans. A week off next weekend, enjoy the break but come back with the same resolve that we have demonstrated previously. A day of what might have been, it happens sometimes and whilst its frustrating it is very much a part of football. Mr Brown deserves a mention, a very busy young man today who showed some great handling under pressure, well done.

Olney 3 MK Wanderers 0

Not all habits should be kicked, winning is one of them. Three points, three fantastic goals and our third clean sheet on the bounce. Today was about our commitment, resolve , belief and ability. This was almost text book stuff, soak up the pressure whilst playing into a very strong wind and come in all square at half time. Whilst we had the odd jittery moment we controlled so much of the first half without really testing their keeper. The wind was always going to benefit us second half, sometimes a goal at the right time can break a teams resolve and so it proved today. Mr Ayers dispatched a 'trademark' thunderbolt from 20 yards that literally flew into the back of the net, a perfect tonic for us that clearly rocked MK Wanderers. This lifted us as a team, some of the passing and movement surpassed anything that we have demonstrated so far this season. We created half chance after half chance, when we did find them goal bound their keeper was performing heroics. We needed a second to secure the victory and your thought that it was going to take something special to beat their keeper for a second time...................Mr Sweeney duly delivered. A strike with venom that gave their keeper no chance at all as it flew into the bottom left hand corner. (great technique to generate the power and keep the ball down) The second finished the game really, we relaxed and played some great football, just time for Toff to out pace the full back, cut inside and slot the ball home with his left peg. We are showing a true belief in what we can achieve this season, the job is less than half done and we need to show the same resolve next week. On another day five or six people could easily have merited the award of MOTM. (Calvin, Josh, Ben A, Harry, Callum, LLoyd) Today however it went to Jake Stokes, played in numerous positions and marshalled the team in Freds absence, typified the teams resolve and desire. Each week these reports become harder to write, I know what you are capable of collectively, it is great to see you living up to those expectations and more often that not surpassing them. As always a pleasure to watch and a pleasure to manage, lets keep focused and hope that the season can deliver what our current efforts merit. Enjoy the week, enjoy the result and never underestimate your own individual contribution to another fantastic result. Rumours have it that Fred has a real shiner and that Brownie may have been the guilty party ! The things he will do to try and get a game on pitch.
(Spurs 9 nine v Wigan 1)

Olney 2 Winslow Utd Tigers 0

Three points, clean sheet , two superb goals , a great team performance and all this against a team that are top of the table and had previously thumped us 6 nil. I asked for commitment and a real demonstration of the kind of football that we have produced over the last four or five weeks................boy did you deliver. We were keener, first to the ball, used it superbly and chased back to win possession every time we gave it away. We really defend from the front and build from the back, the work rate was superb today, an awful lot of you covered so much ground on a big and heavy pitch. We are finding our way with playing 3 - 5 - 2 and the wide men really have taken on board the importance of their defensive roles. As I keep saying we are not playing kids football anymore, the standard of football played and your understanding/reading of the game has been great and improves week on week. The goals today were both special and came at very important times during the game. Mr Ayers once again dispatched a great shot from 20 yards out that flew over the keeper and into the back of the net, the second was a fantastic move that saw Josh show great composure to slot the ball home from 12 yards. As with previous weeks the woodwork and lady luck deprived us of more. Harry and Callum were both unlucky not to head in, 'H' showing great determination and bravery at the back stick only to see his header come back off the post and Callum met a fierce cross that saw the ball go over by inches. You are becoming a joy to watch, the need to shout and holler is diminishing each week, yet again demonstrating the level of maturity and understanding that you are all displaying whilst on the pitch. A fantastic result that really has put us back in the promotion chase, we must keep our feet on the ground as every team will want to beat as, just as we wanted to beat Winslow today. We know what we are capable of, there is now a huge expectation for us to deliver every week......................enjoy the pressure as all good teams have to. Lets keep focused and retain the resilience that we have displayed over the last few weeks, but as always enjoy the result and keep playing with a smile on your face. Man of the Match today went to Tawf, a very unselfish display and his work rate was superb. This was a team victory and each and every one of you contributed in a massive way. Enjoy your week and lets hope we can maintain the high standard that we set today.

Olney 9 United MK Eagles 0

Today we were rewarded with a scoreline that reflected our dominance, work rate and composure in front of goal (not you Tawf !!) Our football in spells was fantastic to watch, smooth flowing passes on the deck that saw us stream forward in numbers and create enough chances to have doubled this scoreline. To be fair to United MK they kept playing and battled for everything, its never easy for any team to start a season having to bed in 7 or 8 new players. It was great to see us demonstrating composure on the ball and picking out some fantastic passes that created chance after chance. The goals were shared around today, another great attribute for any team to have, then to cap it all off we kept a clean sheet with both Jon and Ben having to slide out on more than one occasion to stifle the opposition strikers. Harry chipped in with two today (great composure for both) Callum kept his head to finish clinically, Joel slotted home from a great ball rolled into the box by Tawf, Ben Ayers scored an absolute screamer (made up for the one last week that came back off the crossbar) Tawf bagged two for the second week on the trot, still baffled how we never claimed a hatrick though, Jamie netted the other two, one a free kick that eluded everyone before trickling over the the line, the second a good finish after some clever footwork. No egos in the team and that leads to some great team spirit and a real willingness to pass the ball around, we built from the back superbly today and this enabled us to get behind them. Today was a real squad victory and thoroughly deserved, great to see Josh, Joel and Jack back from recent illnesses and Callum having sunned himself in the Maldives !!! Real test next week, we have the chance to right some serious wrongs from our first encounter. Well played today, all of you. MOTM goes to Jamie, thought he used the ball very unselfishly today and battled hard in the middle.

Olney 2 Wootton 1

We don't do things the easy way that's for sure, lady luck once again appeared to be against us, another week where we should have walked off at half time two or three goals to the good, we hit the woodwork three times in the first half. As it was we came off all square, Toff netting his 3rd of the season. (great assist from Calvin)With no outfield subs it was a big concern that tiredness could prove to be a huge factor in this game, thankfully not the case. We played great football in spells and you all demonstrated the willingness to roll your sleeves up and get stuck in when the need arose. Some tremendous tackling today (Jake) and some fantastic last ditch tackles. (Calvin & Fred). Wootton were a decent side, we weathered their onslaughts and broke with confidence, Toff probably a bit guilty of lacking composure in the 18 yard box at times. Our pace yet again caused the opposition all kinds of trouble and our deliveries from dead balls were superb, Harry also putting in some great early crosses. With three minutes to go you really got the impression that we would not get the rewards our endeavours merited, thankfully this was not the case ! Jake knocked a great ball over the top and for once Toff hit his shot early, rattling the crossbar on the way in. No better way to silence his nemesis or his critics. We have a great squad, a great spirit and a tremendous attitude towards the game, keep it up. Man of the match went to Fred but there was once again three or four players out there today playing at the top of their game. (Jake, Calvin, Harry, Ben A) 'Special mention for Jon Holt, great performance running the line in difficult circumstances' Others teams will be taking note of our recent form, lets keep this up, everything we have achieved we have genuinely worked for, lets keep the momentum going.