OTFC IIs arrived at Grists facing windswept conditions and the league leaders in Old Wokingians. Having lost 5-0 to the same opposition in December, the 13 man squad were looking to put in a better performance and secure their first victory of 2016.

Tiffs started well, piling on the pressure from the outset and should have had an early penalty when a Woking defender acrobatically handled a dangerous cross from the right. Not to be deterred the 2’s continued to press, and after a couple of missed chances the deadlock was broken on 20 minutes. After Joe’s shot was tipped onto the crossbar, John quickly followed in to head home from close range. 1-0 Tiffs.

The 2’s failed to capitalise on further possession and chances, and were punished close to half time when a Woking winger broke through a couple of challenges and released a shot from outside the area. The flight of the ball was slightly misjudged and it bounced cruelly over Cottee into the net.

Half time scoreline: OTFC IIs 1 -1 Woking V. Not exactly what our performance had deserved but plenty of time to respond.

The strong wind continued in the second half, leading one of our opponents to compare the conditions to Hurricane Katrina. A particularly meteorologically astute Tiffs midfielder contended that this was, perhaps, “Not the most relevant hurricane” – providing an unorthodox approach to the customary war of words…

Nonetheless, Tiffs started the second half where they had left off, building moves patiently from the back to create a few early chances for the frontline. This pressure was quickly converted into a breakthrough, when John latched onto a through ball to round the onrushing keeper and finish from an acute angle on the left. 2-1 Tiffs.

A third goal followed soon after, with Dave controlling a defence-splitting through ball from Charlie and calmly finishing from the edge of the box. 3-1 Tiffs.

The one-way traffic continued with the 2’s creating a handful of chances through neat passing in the midfield. However, some poor finishing from Tiffs was swiftly punished by Woking as they pulled one back against the run of play. After some confusion in defence, an under-hit backpass fell kindly to the Woking striker who rounded Cottee to make it 3-2.

In previous weeks the 2’s might have sat back and conceded again, however, the team responded strongly and continued to put pressure on the Woking defence. The reward came again through a goal from John, who clipped the ball past the keeper with his right foot to complete a perfect hattrick (“left-foot, right-foot…head-foot”). Tiffs remained defensively tight and comfortably saw out the remaining 15 minutes.

Final score: OTFC IIs 4-2 Woking V

Overall, a really strong team performance all over the pitch and a great result to match. MOTM went to John for his clinical display. Onwards and upwards to Glyn next week!