MGBSFL DIVISION ONE
OAKWOOD B 0 SPEC FC 1
Player-manager Ricky Lawrence praised his SPEC FC squad for executing their game-plan to perfection as his second-half penalty condemned title-chasing Oakwood B to their first defeat.
Oakwood enjoyed the lions-share of possession but they could find no way through an in-form SPEC FC side who climbed to third in the MGBSFL Division One table following their third consecutive win.
SPEC FC match-winner Ricky Lawrence told JC Sport: "We had a game-plan and we stuck to it for the entire game.
"With so many players out we knew it was going to be a different game to last week, but every player was great today and Oakwood may feel they had all the possession but we were happy to let them and today, it worked a treat!"
Oakwood boss Jason Stein admits his players must learn from the defeat.
He told JC Sport: “I could sit here and moan about us having an outrageous amount of possession, about us living in the SPEC half, but I won’t do that because SPEC deserved that win today.
"They came with a game-plan, 10 men behind the ball and it was perfectly executed. They grabbed a goal from the penalty spot late on and held on.
"For a side to remain so disciplined and deep for 90 minutes, at this level, is an achievement. The fact we could not break them down is on us.
"Too many times we gave the ball away, rushed the ball out of play and generally lacked inspiration. It’s a disappointing day and then to suffer a mugging at the end and actually lose our first game of the season hurts even more.
"Our challenge now is to bounce back and end 2015 with two wins in order to keep us in the title hunt. That’s still our aim and we won’t give up. This squad has the quality, but today was a lesson for us."
To get more from Life, click here to sign up for our free Life newsletter.