Banbury Utd

Nomads 4-1 Banbury Utd: A View From The Terraces

Posted by ChrisB on January 5, 2008, 7:38 pm

Heavy rain just before kick-off and overnight had left both goalmouths very tricky, but the outfield played well enough with just the odd ball skidding off the top.
Nomads started in lively fashion looking to extend a run of good results, two early attacks utilising the pace of Mark Janes well, and the United keeper was into action early saving from Mane McKenzie. He made a goal-stopping block with his legs from a snap shot by Ben Moses a minute or so later and then had to sprint off his line to deal effectively with a long kick from Gareth Tucker that McKenzie threatened to get on the end of.
Though the home side were going forward confidently, the defence looked a little uncertain at times allowing United’s No.6 a free shot and then leaving a channel down the centre for United’s No.10 to run through unchallenged: fortunately neither attempt tested Tucker.
Nomads continued to build well and produce chances. A Moses pass was just taken off the toes of McKenzie by the visitors’ keeper; Moses lobbed just high from thirty yards after a Banbury goal-kick had landed at his feet; and a good run and shot from John Rixon brought another timely stop from the United keeper who was generally having a very good game.
With a quarter of the match gone an uncharacteristically misplaced pass from Kieran Lewis allowed Banbury’s No.10 a clear run on goal and though he rounded Tucker his goal-bound shot slowed in the muddy goalmouth and Darren Quegan was able to clear. This encouraged the visitors to press forward and they won three corners in quick succession though each was cleared relatively comfortably,
Chris Fontaine picked out a darting run by Corey Forbes who went on to hit the side netting, before the home side eased ahead on 31 minutes. Another probing pass from Fontaine released Ben Moses who accurately picked out Forbes at the edge of the box and his pass allowed Mane McKenzie to fire home from near the penalty spot.
Nomads had another two or three half-chances before the break, but United’s No.10 had two fantastic opportunities to tie up the score, but spurned both, before finally getting his head to a deep free-kick from the Nomads' left and gliding the ball between Tucker and the post with a minute remaining of the half.

HALF-TIME: NOMADS 1-1 BANBURY UTD RES.

Nomads attacked positively on both flanks from the outset of the second period, though the visitors had the best early chance when their No.6 pulled his shot wide of the target from a good position.
As the half developed the home side raised the tempo and delivered more and more crosses into a crowded Banbury box, but a combination of good goal-keeping, timely tackles, bad luck and rather profligate finishing kept the scores level, and perhaps a feeling was developing that a second goal wasn’t coming.
A hard cross from Janes flashed off a defender’s boot and the post for a corner; Rixon picked up a pass from Fontaine and struck the base of the post with a well-hit shot; a Lewis Colwell free-kick into the box caused all sorts of problems and produced a goal-bound shot that clipped Ben Moses' heel and went wide.
The pressure finally paid off in the 73rd minute. A corner-kick was played short to Lance Shaw, his cross reached McKenzie in space, and a defender took some of the pace off his shot and the ball came to rest on the goal-line. The ball was cleared, but only as far as Janes who knocked the ball back firmly and, this time, across the line.
Two minutes later and John Rixon picked up a loose ball on the edge of the penalty area and gave the keeper no chance with a powerful waist-high drive.
Though the pace of the game dipped slightly in the last fifteen minutes as players tired under the heavy conditions, Nomads continue to have the edge and they finished off the match with a clinically well-worked goal as the game moved towards injury time. Fontaine, as ever with a keen eye for the telling pass, fed Lance Shaw on the right side who in turn set Mark Janes on a run. He cut in towards goal and gave an inch-perfect pass for Ben Moses to make it four from ten yards.

FULL-TIME: OXFORD CITY NOMADS 4-1 BANBURY UTD RES.

Nomads: Tucker, Quegan, Lewis, Rixon, Sackey, Moses, Janes, Fontaine, McKenzie (Griffiths 82), Forbes (Shaw 65), Colwell.

P.S. Many apologies for my inability to identify Banbury players by name.

Cricklade Town

Posted by CT on December 26, 2007, 7:48 pm

Another impressive display from this young Nomads team. Nomads took the lead in the first half with an opportunist goal from Ian Roper only to be pegged back by a disputed penalty and soft goal from the visitors who led 2-1 at half time. In the second half Nomads dominated and were finally rewarded with the equaliser from Ian Roper with a superb left footed drive from 16 yards down the left channel. Nomads were playing fast and fluent football and took the lead again when Ben Moses nipped between two defenders to finish off a tremendous move on the right flank. In the final minute it was again Ian Roper who was first to the cross in the six yard box to complete his hat-trick and Nomads excellent 4-2 victory.

Trowbridge

Nomads 2-1 Trowbridge Town: A View From The Terraces

Posted by ChrisB on December 15, 2007, 7:53 pm

City hosted Trowbridge Town this afternoon for a tough fixture for both sides. The visitors, growing steadily from the ashes of the former side who had been members of the APL in the early ‘80s, are a hard-to-beat side with an excellent following looking to rise further up the pyramid; whilst Nomads are beginning to put together some better results lately.
Nomads were the quicker into their stride and, after a good piece of control and an accurate cross from Alex Stewart, Mane McKenzie put his shot just high of the goal with only three minutes gone.
The visitors were quick to counter, though, and Kieran Lewis made a good clearing header under considerable pressure, but only as far as Woods whose lob very nearly crept under the bar.
Darren Quegan produced a testing cross that Stewart could not quite head on target just before Trowbridge forced the first corner of the game on twelve minutes. The in-swinging kick caused problems among a Nomads defence that seemed slow to react to the situation and, though the first two Trowbridge shots were blocked, the ball finally fell to Dave Percival with plenty of time and space to finish tidily past Gareth Tucker. The visitors almost scored again within a minute as poor marking let the same player through on goal and it took a very well-timed tackle from Joel Meade to rectify the situation.
Lee Hewlett was replaced by Steve Rixon and gradually Nomads steadied and took the game to the visitors. Danny Castro and Mane McKenzie were both off-target with shots from good positions, and McKenzie had an appeal for a penalty waved away by the referee after a powerful run had taken him close to goal.
A free kick from a dangerous position was struck wide of the post by the visitors’ No 10 as Trowbridge produced some consistent pressure around the half-hour mark, and the same player might have done better when he found himself with just Tucker to beat a few minutes later. The keeper also had to react quickly to smother the ball as two yellow shirts bore down on goal as the visitors pressed forward.
A free-kick from Castro found Lewis at the far post but he was unable to control the ball before the defenders arrived, and Liam Malone worked a couple of good chances for himself but saw both his efforts blocked by a well-organised defence.

HALF-TIME: Nomads 0-1 Trowbridge


Nomads began the second period with some good attacking moves and plenty of possession. A powerful Stewart free-kick from 25 yards was not far above the bar and, five minutes into the half, he picked up a precise through pass from Michael Sackey but his low cross was just behind Castro and McKenzie as they arrived in the area.
Nomads drew level after 56 minutes when good work by Rixon allowed him to find Stewart unmarked on the far side of the area: unfazed by the appeals for offside he took three or four paces on and gave Lewis Porter no chance with a low shot.
Trowbridge fought hard to re-establish their lead and within minutes Tucker had to make a brave block at the feet of an attacker when a goal looked inevitable.
A great shot by Stewart was luckily deflected wide of his keeper, and the post, by a Trowbridge defender, and Porter was quick to react as McKenzie burst into the box and lined up a shot.
Sound tackling and good covering were keeping the visitors’ attack generally under control, but Gareth Tucker, on two or three occasions as the game entered the final quarter, showed great goalkeeping skills as the last line of defence to deny Trowbridge a second goal.
Nomads pressed hard for the breakthrough in the last ten minutes and it looked as though luck was not going to run their way as Castro, Malone and Stewart all saw goalbound attempts cannon off the massed yellow-shirted defence. But with four minutes left a run by McKenzie into the box drew a foul and he then composed himself and put away the spot-kick high to the keeper’s right.
Michael Sackey might have doubled the lead a minute later when he latched on to a misplaced pass, but Porter caught the shot cleanly, and Nomads negotiated the final few minutes without any major alarms.

FULL-TIME: Oxford City Nomads 2-1 Trowbridge Town

Nomads: Tucker, Meade, Lewis, Sackey, Hewlett (Rixon 18), Malone, Quegan, Castro, Stewart, McKenzie, Davis (Herrero 60).

Newtown Henley

Nomads 3-0 Newtown Henley: A View From The Terraces

Posted by ChrisB on December 12, 2007, 4:04 pm

The pitch had recovered well from last week’s inundations, though the top was beginning to frost as Nomads took on Newtown Henley from the Premier Division of the Reading League. The visitors, effectively two Steps below Nomads, had had an excellent 1-0 win against Clanfield Reserves in the previous round and would, no doubt, be looking to produce another upset.
The first attack of the match saw the visitors concede a corner. Lee Rendell’s initial kick was punched back out to him by the Newtown keeper and when he returned the ball Ian Roper outjumped his marker to flick the ball beyond the keeper and into the net to give Nomads a lead before a minute had elapsed.
Nomads, with Mark Janes and Rendell using the flanks well, produced numerous opportunities as the half moved along, but with the visitors determined to defend in numbers few clear cut chances came Nomads’ way, and, when they did, shots were blocked or just failed to hit the target.
Newtown were finding it very difficult to produce worthwhile attacks of their own and, indeed, Gareth Tucker was not involved in the action at all until the 28th minute when he had to collect a long through-ball.
Joel Meade, Mario Herrero, Corey Forbes, after some particularly good footwork, Ian Roper and Lance Shaw did all carve out shooting opportunities for themselves, but sent the final shot just wide or high of the mark.

HALF-TIME: Nomads 1-0 Newtown Henley

The second period continued in very much the same vein as the first and, apart from a brief period at the start of the final quarter when five minutes of heightened pressure from the visitors saw a couple of half-chances of re-establishing parity come and go, Nomads battered away at a defence that doggedly stuck to its task.
Mark Janes’ shot was deflected against the post and behind by a defender’s leg; Jack Griffiths’ shot from the subsequent corner was somehow bundled off the goal-line; a Rendell free-kick rattled around the box for almost ten seconds without anyone quite able to apply the finishing touch; another Griffiths shot struck a defender on the line; and a rasping shot from Forbes just skimmed the bar.
Finally, on 78 minutes, Nomads doubled their lead when Janes cut in from the right flank and struck a powerful left-footed shot that the keeper got his left hand to, but could not stop.
Four minutes later and the visitors suffered a further blow as their No. 2 blocked Griffiths' run on goal and received his marching orders for a second yellow card.
This opened up more space on the Nomads’ right and a great run and reverse pass from Janes gave Corey Forbes a good shooting chance, but his powerful drive hit the side netting.
Ian Roper’s quick turn and shot produced a good save, before the same player’s run into the visitors’ box in the last minute ended when his heel was clipped by a defender. Mr Coggins, who had refereed the proceedings efficiently, informatively and unobtrusively throughout, awarded the penalty, and Roper netted precisely to give a final scoreline that better reflected Nomads’ share of the game.

Nomads: Tucker, Quegan, Smith (Griffiths 60), Sackey, Meade, Forbes, Janes, Shaw, Herrero, Roper, Rendell.

FULL-TIME: Oxford City Nomads 3-0 Newtown Henley

In the Quarter-Finals of the Competition Nomads visit Ardley United on January 12th.

Easington Sports

Nomads 1-0 Easington Sports: A View From The Terraces

Posted by ChrisB on December 5, 2007, 12:04 pm

Court Place Farm saw Nomads play only their sixth home league match of the season on a windy, but unseasonably warm, evening against table-toppers Easington Sports. Unlike last week’s cup match against Abingdon Town this was a more ‘typical’ Nomads line-up: Mario Herrero made an impressive home debut on the left; Youth player Simon Reeves performed very well for 75 minutes; and Veterans’ star Chris Fontaine played a full 90 minutes.
Though Ben Moses forced an early corner for Nomads, most of the initial pressure came from the visitors looking to impose themselves on the proceedings. Four corners were won in quick succession by Easington within the first ten minutes, but Nomads defended in numbers, and though some of the clearances were necessarily a little frantic at times, the only major threat to Gareth Tucker’s goal came from Gareth Source whose shot took a deflection and the wrong-footed keeper had to react quickly.
Having survived the initial onslaught, and found that that they had enough players with pace and skill of their own, Nomads gradually came back into the game and much of the play for the second quarter was based in the Easington half. Ian Roper went close with a header from a corner that the visitor’s keeper misjudged in the swirling wind, and, in fact, a succession of corners on the half hour saw the Reds’ defending becoming more and more ‘first-time’.
A good break by Easington on 35 minutes saw an awkward bounce evade the reliable Joel Meade, and Gareth Tucker had to be quickly off his line to head clear from the opponents as they closed in.
The half finished with Nomads having three good chances. Firstly a piece of quick-thinking saw Ben Moses take a free kick while discussions continued among the Easington defence, and the keeper just managed to scramble it past the post for a corner. Ian Roper was then put clear by a good pass from Lance Shaw and his powerful shot, bound for the top corner and wobbling in the wind, was just tipped away by a terrific save from the young keeper. Right on time Moses released Roper and another strong shot was parried into a dangerous area but there were no hooped shirts close enough to take advantage.

HALF-TIME: Oxford City Nomads 0-0 Easington Sports

Nomads continued to press strongly after the break and looked the more likely team to score. The home defence had settled to its task well; Chris Fontaine’s eye for the telling pass was as good as ever in midfield; and the incisive running of Moses, Shaw, Roper and Herrero continued to produce promising breaks for the Blues.
An apparently good shout for a penalty was waved away as Roper went tumbling when closing in on goal; Ben Moses had a flicked header from a Darren Quegan cross just scrape the bar; and the excellent Sports’ keeper was quick to smother an attempt by Lance Shaw as he burst into the area.
The pressure on the Easington defence ebbed for a few minutes as they committed more players forward and attacked Nomads on both flanks, but the back-line dealt tidily and unhurriedly with the threat.
And then Nomads were pushing forward again. The outstretched leg of the Sports’ No 5 almost gifted Nomads a goal as he saw his deflection of a Shaw cross just drift past the post; a long cross from Herrero just eluded Roper’s head; and Ben Moses final shot was just too high after Fontaine had found him in acres of space.
As the third quarter closed the Sports’ substitute tested Tucker with a good shot; and a well-aimed free-kick found an attacker’s head but he could only guide his effort into Tucker’s waiting arms.
Nomads finally grabbed the goal that had eluded them for so much of the match, when, in the 77th minute, Corey Forbes made ground on the Nomads’ right and his low, hard cross was met at the far post by Mario Herrero who slid in just ahead of a Sports’ defender to get the final touch.
Almost immediately the lead might have been doubled as Chris Fontaine drifted into a great position to receive a pass from Shaw but his drive cleared the bar.
Easington renewed their efforts in the final ten minutes – plus a healthy helping of injury time – and near the end went close when a dipping free-kick forced Tucker to hold well just beneath his bar.

FULL-TIME: Oxford City Nomads 1-0 Easington Sports

Nomads: Tucker, Quegan, Herrero, Sackey, Meade, Reeves (Smith 76), Forbes, Fontaine, Shaw, Moses, Roper.

An absorbing confrontation thoroughly enjoyed by the Nomads’ supporters (and possibly to some extent by the visiting fans?), and it is hard to see Nomads remaining too long at the wrong end of the table if they continue to perform like that.

Abingdon Town

Nomads 1-2 Abingdon Town: A View From The Terraces

Posted by ChrisB on November 28, 2007, 2:32 pm

A match that had already been postponed twice got under way on a damp evening in front of a respectable crowd (given the counter ‘attraction’ of some televised alternatives) with Nomads looking to see if they could repeat the previous round’s feat of knocking out Hellenic Premier opposition. As in the match at Shrivenham some 1st XI players were drafted in for the occasion.
Nomads had an excellent chance to open their account in the second minute when a run to the goal-line and pass from Ikechi Anya found Mark Jones in a good position, but he lifted his shot over the bar.
The direct running of Anya and Mark Bell was causing problems for the visitors’ defence, but on a number of occasions the speed of the ball off the damp grass caused chances to go begging.
Bell had a free-kick that evaded the flailing limbs of defenders and attackers alike, as well as the Gareth Walker’s left hand post by a small margin; while Anya’s first touch lacked its usual precision when he was picked out near the penalty-spot by an accurate ball from Darren Quegan.
Though Nomads had had the better of the early exchanges, it was Town who edged in front on 25 minutes when the usual tight marking of the back-four failed and Craig Bloomfield finished accurately beyond Gareth Tucker’s dive.
The lead was short-lived, however, as three minutes later an incisive run by Lee Rendell allowed him to release Anya into the box where a sharp change of direction drew a foul from a Town defender. After the traditional protests from the defenders had finally been subdued by the referee, Ben Moses fired an almost perfect spot-kick past Walker’s left hand.
Two minutes later and Mark Jones almost gave Nomads the lead as he headed Quegan’s deep cross against the underside of the bar and the defence reacted just sharply enough to scramble the loose ball clear.
Abingdon were restricted to occasional breaks from defence as Nomads pressed forward in search of that second goal, and, as the break approached, Mark Bell created a good position for himself after a long run but hit the advertising boards above the goal with his shot; Rendell saw a shot fade past the post; and Jones was close to getting his head on a teasing cross from Bell.

HALF-TIME: Nomads 1-1 Abingdon Town


Abingdon started the second half more strongly but even so the first good chance fell to Nomads when a tricky run from Anya took him behind the defence and his precise pass picked out Bell on the edge of the area, but he failed to hit the target with his shot.
Ex-City player Tony Njogu came close to a spectacular hit for the visitors after 55 minutes when he spotted Tucker off his line, but the back-peddling Nomad’s keeper was able to hold the ball beneath the bar.
Back at the clubhouse-end Anya drove into the box but fired over, and then curled in a great cross from the City right, only to see Moses’ powerful header scrape the bar and go behind.
Mark Bell’s contribution was applauded warmly as he was substituted on the hour, and the applause continued as the ever-youthful Chris Fontaine took his place.
Town gained two corners in quick succession during a good passage of play for the visitors, and Njogu lined up a free-kick on the edge of the Nomads’ penalty area, but cleared the defensive wall and the bar.
The longer the game continued the more it looked likely that the next goal would be decisive, and Nomads were having the better of the pressure as the game entered the last ten minutes.
Mane McKenzie dispossessed a defender after chasing a long clearance from Rendell and his low cross just failed to find Jetmir Kamberi sliding in at the far post, and Justin Merritt’s through-ball found Jones but his pass was bundled clear just before Town’s Tom Larman picked up a loose ball and curled a shot across Tucker’s goal but beyond the far post.
As it seemed certain that extra-time would be required Chris Fontaine went close to Walker’s right-hand post with a speculative effort, and then Kamberi wriggled past his marker to provide a threatening cross that Walker held well as McKenzie challenged.
Then, with almost six minutes of injury time already elapsed, Abingdon forced a corner on the City left and tall defender Ian Smith’s head was the first to the ball to guide it into the corner of the net.
There was time for Nomads to kick-off again, but no more, and Abingdon went through to face Ardley in the next round.

Oxford City Nomads: Tucker, Quegan, Colwell (Kamberi 45), Merritt, Meade, Jones, Bell (Fontaine 60), Castro (McKenzie 70) Moses, Rendell, Anya.

FULL-TIME: Oxford City Nomads 1-2 Abingdon Town

Clanfield

Nomads 3-3 Clanfield: A View From The Terraces

Winterbourne Utd

Sport Italia Hellenic League
Division One West
17th November 2007

Winterbourne United 1 (Potts 25)
Oxford City Nomads 1 (McKenzie 87)

This young and talented Nomads team could consider themselves unlucky to come away from high-flying Winterbourne with only one point.
The physically strong home team scored through the prolific Jamie Potts in the 25th minute after a flick-on from the keeper’s long punt beat the Nomads defenders and Potts slotted home past Gareth Tucker. Nomads immediately raised the tempo and camped in the Winterbourne half for much of the first period but without reward.
The second half saw Nomads, now kicking down the slope, create more chances. Midfield general Michael Sackey constantly probed the home defence with telling passes and Jetmir Kamberi’s pace and quality caused problems for the home side after his introduction. Mane McKenzie forced several good saves from Tom Shepherd, the home keeper who had an excellent game. An unfortunate Ben Moses received a red card after a melee where he was surrounded by several home players but this seemed to inspire the Nomads who laid siege at the Winterbourne goal. The visitors finally gained reward for their domination when Mane McKenzie drew the keeper and finished clinically from 20 yards after being played through by Matt Molten.
Nomads Team; Tucker, Quegan, Colwell (Shaw), Molten, Meade, Lewis, Castro (Kamberi), Sackey, McKenzie, Moses, James.

North Leigh

Oxon. Int. Cup

Posted by ChrisB on November 10, 2007, 5:22 pm

After 75 days on the road the Nomads finally returned home and tied the horses to the rails before taking on North Leigh Reserves in the Intermediate Cup at the early hour of 2.00 p.m. (the reason for the meagre turnout?). With four away on County duty and other calls from an injury-hit 1st XI there were several new faces in the side facing their equally young-looking opponents.
The visitors pressed at the start but the greater experience in the City side soon began to tell and Ian Roper put them ahead on 6 minutes with a strike that took a slight deflection before evading the North Leigh keeper.
City had most of the match in the next 20 minutes or so and looked to be about to go further ahead on three or four occasions but the final touches just eluded them. The visitors came close with two corners, and a shot a foot the wrong side of the post just before a break from Ben Moses was brought to an abrupt halt on the edge of the North Leigh area and he picked out the top corner with his free-kick to double the lead on 30 minutes.
With a gusty wind the high balls played upfield by both sides were causing few difficulties and it was when City kept the ball on the ground they looked at their most dangerous. A great through-ball from Jack Griffiths almost released Roper on 35 minutes but a good covering tackle stopped his run before, three minutes later, a deep corner from Lee Rendell found Griffiths beyond the far post and his low cross into the six-yard box was neatly flicked home by Roper with his back to the goal.

The second half very much followed the pattern of the first with the home side having the majority of the play without ever really putting a lot of pressure on the North Leigh keeper.
The fourth goal came eight minutes into the half after the ball had been held up well on the City right and Lee Rendell curled in a left-footed centre that evaded both Moses' head and the keeper's punch and dipped beneath the bar and into the net.
The visitors had some concerted pressure over the next ten minutes and Brett Freeman in goal dealt well with what came his way, though he could only watch as the North Leigh No. 12 crashed one shot against the bar; and Ben Moses, covering a lot of ground all afternoon, cleared off his own line a few minutes later.
City's approach work promised more to come but, as in the first period, solid tackling from the visitors and errant final balls left the score at 4-0 taking City Nomads through to play the winners of the Clanfield v Newtown(Henley) tie at the start of December.

Monday, February 04, 2008

Winterbourne - Home

OXFORD CITY NOMADS 1 WINTERBOURNE 1

This was an enthralling game with both sides on unbeaten runs.
City dominated the first fifteen minutes without really creating anything.
Then against the run of play Winterbourne took the lead. City continued to take the game to their opponene and dominate the gamwe. Then on 40 minutes a diving header from McKenzie was turned around the post for a corner. From the corner the ball was knocked across the box where Hewlett powered home a header which thumped in off the cross bar.
Half Time Oxford City Nomads 1 Winterbourne 1

The second half followed a similar pattern with both sides looking dangerous but without creating clearcut chances.
The final score was Oxford City Nomads 1 Winterbourne 1.

This was an enthralling game played by two sides with plenty of skill, endeavour and commitment, a credit to the game.
This puts the Nomads on an unbeaten run of 9 games.
Tuesday the visitors to Court Place Farm are Launton, so come along and support the City.