MGBSFL DIVISION ONE

OAKWOOD B 1 SCRABBLE FC 2

“What a game and what an advert for the league,” Abrahams told JC Sport after an epic contest.

“A game which could ultimately have a huge impact on the promotion race started at a very high tempo as Scrabble dominated the early play and the visitors were rewarded on 10 minutes when a superb move and neat pass saw the ball dropping out of the air to Josh Bharier’s feet. Standing 45 yards from goal, the Scrabble midfielder noticed the keeper was off his line and launched a curling dipping volley into the roof of the Oakwood net to give Scrabble the lead.

Scrabble doubled their lead midway through the first half when some sloppy play by the Oakwood goalkeeper saw the ball fall to in-form striker Danny Sherman who made no mistake from 15 yards.

Oakwood halved the deficit five minutes later and their hopes received another boost moments later. Zak McLeod, who had already been warned by ref Luke Steele, lost his cool and was sent off for foul and abusive language with over an hour remaining.

The Scrabble team regroup for the second half and produced an heroic performance as they fought a defensive battle for the whole of the second half as Oakwood were probing for an equaliser.

To their credit, Scrabble’s defence and midfield looked impenetrable as the game turned into a hard but  fair battle, with both keepers making some important saves.

Sam Stead was brought on for Dan Green midway through the second half to boost a Scrabble team that had worked its socks off to keep the slender lead and they held firm until the final whistle to register a crucial win in their bid to win promotion.

Proud Scrabble manager Ray Abrahams told JC Sport: “If I was in a battle of any sort I would want these lads with me. The 10 heroes we had at any one time out there today were magnificent for the best part of an hour and the camaraderie and determination to take the three points drove us on.

“They did credit to this fantastic club and themselves for the way they fought today and it was one of our best performances of the season.

“With Redbridge dropping points today, we are closing in now on that promotion place that we want and things are back in our hands.

“It's always a problem when you go down to 10 men and we were forced to defend deeper and deeper, but we kept our shape and our nerve and defended superbly as we looked to hit them on the break.”

Paying tribute to Scrabble’s opponents, Abrahams went on to say: “Oakwood are a decent side and a strong powerful team who get at you quickly and it was a terrific game.

“It's always a pleasure to play against Oakwood as they are a top set of guys led by a top manager and who are also a club that play the game in the right spirit and the right way.”