After the postponement of the league matches during the period of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II, Oakley resumed their campaign with a fitting home fixture against Queens Park Crescents. In the previous match, Oakley had earned a hard fought point against Sharnbrook and so we were raring to go, in search of a second win of the season. 

After meeting early for some team photos, our usual match preparations began and there was a minute silence, with Oakley players and staff wearing black armbands in remembrance. 

There were a few changes with injuries having surfaced after the Sharnbrook game, Alder, Ives and McLean dropping out with Evans, Hawthorne and Bentham coming in. The Oaks defence was dealing with the QP threat pretty well, and Aulsberry was industrious as ever up front but there was a real lack of quality from both sides for much of the half. Disappointly, the visitors took the lead in the first half when two half clearances from a corner dropped in their favour, the ball then finished into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. 

The focus at half time was for the Oaks to show some more composure on the ball and collectively move higher up the pitch, knowing we would be facing the hill in the second half. There was an improvement in the second half and QP were kept at bay for the most part, but we still struggled to create anything meaningful for much of the game. Abel Mensah and new signing Ben Webster replaced either full back and aided our intent to have more quality in possession, and the Oaks drew level with about 10 minutes remaining. Aulsberry sent a quality ball over the QP defence for Green to latch on to, the pace of our forward drew a foul from the Crescents’ goalkeeper with a penalty duly awarded. Despite the visitors’ best efforts to spoil the penalty spot, McDonagh stepped up and converted to the keepers’ right. 

1-1 the final score and we looked like we might go on to win it if there were another 5 minutes, but ultimately a fair result for a relatively poor performance by our standards. 

Next up is a trip to Elstow, with an undefeated record for both teams on the line with the Abbey having 2 wins and 1 draw ahead of our meeting. The home win against Elstow was our best performance by far last season, scoring 9 goals in the process, but a 3-2 scoreline away from home a couple of weeks later showed they are capable of posing a real threat to our unbeaten ways. COYO