Heartbreaking. Unfathomable. Shellshocked. Call it whatever you like but there is no denying the pain and confusion we feel today as we try and figure out what actually went wrong in the closing minutes against Oxford Irish. With just under 10 minutes to go we were cruising 3 nil up. Then a corner was allowed to bounce in the box. A harsh penalty was given. A loose ball broke free to an attacker. Bang. Ref's whistle. 3 - 3. Unbelievable.
No-one saw that result coming, especially the Oxford Irish coaches and parents. The ref didn't either... in fact, he said Cumnor played the best football he'd seen at this age level this season. And we did. We played beautiful football from the start, fluid and crisp, not even a violent hail storm and 10 minute delay could spoil. Every Cumnor boy contributed to a fine all round team performance. A fully stretched Henry made the save of the season in the second-half to stop a certain goal. Josh read the game like a master and revealed genuine instinctive footballing intelligence. Rory, carrying a rugby knock, was strong, tough and always in control of his defence. Toby returned to his rotweiller best, snapping away at attackers, making the ball his. Harry's positioning again was spot on and his confidence in the air showed there was no aerial way in for Irish. Centre-half, wide right, midfield... Jack was our go to man, just wind him up and watch him tear into the game. And Michael, well another all round excellent display, something he's been doing week in, week out up and down the right flank.
In midfield, the triumverate of Joseph, Adam and Ben bossed the game. Suddenly we have a central three blessed with power, attitude and cleverness. Joseph strolled around the field like he owned the place which is exactly what you want your rock, your CDM to do. Adam has been reborn in recent weeks and is obviously loving the rough and tumble of the central areas. Ben is a wonderstrike waiting to happen; his speed of thought and action makes our transition from defence to attack possible. And out wide, Fyn played with attitude and aggression and plenty of skill. He never stopped fighting. He hit the ball of the day. Over on the over wing, our most creative player, Doddie: our pocket Pele... what a joy it is to watch him run at defenders.
Up front, James almost scored with his first touch but his positioning and awareness adds so much to our attacking play. Then there was Nathan who was quite simply magnificent. His work rate on his own is tremendous and his linking play when partnered with Fyn or James is quick, clever and effective.
So that was us, minus Luke and Will. Let's be honest, we should have won. We played brilliant, on the ground football. Nathan's goals were coolly taken. And his supply work to get that cross in for Adam to eventually unleash his first time thunderbolt was superb. All the best things came from Cumnor: Doddie finding a way to the byline to set up the second, Fyn's visionary cross field pass, Jack throwing himself into a crush of bodies or chucking a cheeky little trick in. Joseph bullocking through the middle... the great stuff came from us. We set the standard, we set the the tempo. We were set to win the match.
But these things happen. It can't be explained, it just has to be endured. There is something we can learn from Oxford Irish and that is, never give up. Never stop trying. Full credit to them for digging in and keeping going til the very last kick. Let's hold onto the pain we felt at the final whistle and channel it into next week's cup semi-final. We shall rise again.
Player of the Week: Adam for his all-action midfield display and his beautifully taken goal.
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