OQN 2-5 Bisley Sports

A curious game: on paper a numerically heavy defeat that doesn’t really reflect the part Nomads played in the match.

Nomads started much the brighter team: Takriti had hit the bar with a shot and, later, a header before five minutes were up and a last-ditch tackle just saved what looked a likely goal from Danny Keen on 15 minutes. Bisley promptly broke to the other end and the powerful Coborne fired them into a lead. Two minutes later and a long-range effort from Folley edged inside Leach’s right-hand post and Nomads were two down against the run of play.

They lifted their game and, in the 19th minute, the speedy Williams evaded the offside-trap to run on and put in an accurate cross for Keen to net for Nomads.

After this goal-spree the tempo dropped and the game became rather untidy with neither side seeming to be able to keep the ball for long.

Just on half-time Danny Keen picked up the ball on the edge of the area and although he couldn’t initially get a shot away, he put John Hawkins in on the left and his return pass was converted by Keen to level the scores.

As injury time ticked on Sean Leach took a knock when he had to sprint out of his area to make a timely clearance and, at the time at least, looked unlikely to continue.

Half Time: OQN 2-2 Bisley Sports

In the second half the visitors seemed to be finding more space and produced the more telling chances. Coborne couldn’t quite get on the end of a tantalising cross from Mason and then Pinney fired just over.

Nomads were passing well most of the time but couldn’t seem to get men free in space against a well organised red defence. Bisley’s longer ball approach was paying off and, on 57 minutes, they regained the lead when Mason found space on their left and put a powerful shot across Leach to restore the lead.

Chances came and went at both ends and Nomads pressed on for the equaliser. Leach was still the busier keeper though, and thankfully seemed to have run off his first-half injury successfully. Nomad’s best hope came with three minutes left when they were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the area after Aaron Williams had been fouled, but the free-kick and subsequent shots were all scrambled away and, as in the first spell, the ball was promptly moved to the other end where Coborne extended the lead with a well-taken shot.

Two minutes later, with time up on the clock, Coborne again found himself with room to pick his spot beyond Leach for a well-deserved hat-trick.

Full Time: Oxford Quarry Nomads 2-5 Bisley Sports

Nomads: Leach, Porton (Parker 57), Rendell, Lane, Tutton, Hawkins, Takriti, Hall, Keen, Lindo (Steel 57), Williams

OQN 1-0 Prestwood

Nomads pulled off their second win in two games in a match in which they had much of the possession but just lacked that final touch to produce the defence-splitting pass. In fact both keepers really only had to deal with long-range efforts, through balls, and a few crosses in the first half, with the visitors defending in numbers and hoping to pick up something with quick breaks.

Half-time 0-0

Aaron Williams came on after 50 minutes for Lance Shaw and that bit of extra pace produced more openings and possibilities. However it looked as if this early use of the only substitute might rebound on Nomads when Liam Illsley damaged an ankle five minutes later and had to leave the field. However, cometh the hour, cometh the man and, after five minutes with ten men, manager Dave Matzen entered the fray and showed he still possessed plenty of good touches.

Then, in the 85th minute, just when it looked as though the match was heading for a stalemate, John Hawkins found himself a little space just outside the area and a powerful strike, and, perhaps, the merest hint of a deflection, took the ball past Slattery's dive and into the net. Two minutes later and Rob Tutton almost doubled the lead when his header from a corner was just held by the keeper.
Five minutes of added time ticked by, but the home side held on to their advantage to gain another three points.

Full Time: Oxford Quarry Nomads 1-0 Prestwood

Nomads: Leach, Spencer, Porton, Green, Illsley (Matzen 60), Tutton, Takriti, Hall, Szczesny, Shaw (A. Williams 50), Hawkins.

OQN 2 - Englefield Green 1

Great result. Nomads scorers were Williams (5 mins) and Shaw (75). Visitors pulled one back in 85th minute.

OQN 1 - Rayners Lane 3

Nomads' second home game in three days brought a better crowd to CPF last night to see if the youngsters could improve on Saturday's disappointing result. The injection of four members of the first team squad brought rather more shape and direction to the team and it was probably only the visitors' greater sharpness in and around the area that gave them victory on the night. In terms of chances produced the match was evenly balanced and Wickham was possibly the busier of the two keepers.

The first half was evenly balanced for the first 30 minutes or so with both sets of attackers being caught offside a little too regularly. Nomads had the best chance to take the lead when an inch-perfect pass from Luke Brandon released John Hawkins whose neat cut-back from the line was just missed by attackers and defenders alike.At the back Pilling was holding the back-four together well and restricting Rayners Lane to long-range efforts.

Nomads took the lead five minutes before the break when a good pass allowed Danny Keen to take the ball on and beat Wickham with a rising shot.The lead was short-lived, though, as, four minutes later, Michael Mair took quick advantage of a mix-up in defence and lobbed the ball into an empty net.

Half Time: OQN 1-1 Rayners Lane

Both sides were quickly into their stride in the second half, but it was the visitors who went ahead on 47 minutes when Ian Jones shot home in a crowded area.
Nomads raised their game and were looking the team more likely to score now. Danny Keen had a strong shot well-saved; the visitors were saved by the woodwork twice when Keen hit the bar and Lance Shaw crashed the rebound against the post; and then John Hawkins shot just past after a good run.Just as it looked as though Nomads might square things, with the pacy Aaron Williams having come on as a substitute for the debutant Philip Radley, a quick break left Ian Jones with far too much time and space to net the third for Rayners Lane with twenty minutes to go.Nomads continued to press: Hawkins headed just over, and both Williams and Brandon brought sharp saves from Wickham, but the visitors clung on to the two-goal lead.

Full Time: OQN 1-3 Rayners Lane

OQN: Barisic, Spencer(sub.: ? 68), Hall, Illsley, Pilling, Brandon, Radley (sub.: Williams 55), Steele, Hawkins, Shaw, Keen.

So, another defeat, but a game that was enjoyed by the crowd, and, as the team beds in, it would be difficult to imagine it would be too long before that first victory of the season.
Again, apologies for any errors with names, but there were many changes from those listed in the programme.

OQN 0 - Badshot LEA 5

The sun shone on the start of a new campaign for Oxford Quarry Nomads and it is clearly going to be a very steep learning curve with today's rapidly-assembled team bearing no resemblance to the side that finished mid-table last season. Milan Barisic in goal was, I think, the only member of last year's regulars.

It was, then , rather unsurprising that the visitors found little to slow their progress in the first half-hour or so, with the home side's defence hastily trying to find some sort of shape. They were finding Bradley Smith particularly difficult to deal with, and he gave them the lead on 6 minutes with a neat lob, having missed a tap-in from three yards a minute earlier.
A good run and shot from the very promising-looking Aaron Hall on 10 minutes saw the keeper's save nearly put in by Denel Thomas, but two minutes later the visitor's No 10 doubled the lead after some lax defending.

Most of the attacking play was coming from the visitors and only some inaccurate finishing, and a couple of good saves from Barisic, kept the score at two. Badshot Lea eventually stretched their lead five minutes before the break when Smith was on hand to convert a cross from near the bye-line.

Half Time: OQN 0-3 Badshot Lea

A brief, but clearly effective, half-time talk from new manager Dave Matzen saw the home side perform markedly better in the second half though still not producing many clear cut chances. Indeed the game was to reach the final minute before the visitor's keeper was really tested when a good ball from Aaron Hall allowed Fabien Connell to put in a good shot from the edge of the area that was well saved.

Nomad's defending had looked sharper for much of the half, but again uncertainty in the new-look back line allowed the visitor's No.6 (on 75 minutes) and Smith (90 minutes), his hat-trick, to slip through and score from one-on-one situations with Barisic.

Full Time: OQN 0-5 Badshot Lea

Oxford Quarry Nomads: (from) Barisic, Szczesny, Hawkins, Williams, Spencer, Shaw, Thomas, Gary ?, Hall, Kwame ?, James, Porton, Connell.

After a baptism of fire in the first-half the side settled better, and they will quickly have a chance to put what they have learned from today's experience into practice when they take on Rayners Lane on Tuesday evening.

P.S. Apologies for errors etc. in the players' names ... but the team on the field (and the numbering!) bore only a passing resemblance to the listing in the programme: so much of the above was a matter of guesswork!!