Redwood Leisure Cup ~ First Round

Bankfoot 0 - 1 Oakley United

Lammie (31)

United Close 2007 with a Win

Oakley eased through to the second round of the Redwood Leisure cup after a successful trip up the M9 to Perthshire.
Ex Dundee United and Motherwell defender, Derek Murray took charge of United versus Bankfoot in the absence of Manager Willie Newbigging who was enjoyed a well deserved Christmas break in “slightly” warmer surroundings.

United lined up with an attacking 3-4-1-2 formation, which had more to do with the players available than for any tactical reasons, as missing in addition to Newbigging, were John Allison, Gary Smith, Patrick Halpen, David Murray, Steven Stewart, Lee Morrison as well as club captain John Rushford.

On a day that Oakley should’ve won by a wider margin, it was a solitary Scott LAMMIE strike that sealed United’s victory. A rasping thirty yard plus drive from the stand in skipper finished off a great move that involved both Ward and the tireless Burke down the left hand side.

To say Oakley should’ve won by a greater margin is a bit of an understatement, Lammie himself could’ve had hat trick on any other day with several long range efforts coming close. In addition to that Martin Ward came close and had a goal chalked off under bizarre circumstances when the referee allowed advantage to be played after a Bankfoot player grabbed a handful of Ward’s shirt until the ball landed in the net and then he (Ref) called the play back for the original foul !!! A belated Xmas present to Bankfoot obviously!

Greig Sinclair could also have had a hat-trick with the closest coming on 73 minutes when he arrived late into the box only to see his header rattle the post with the Bankfoot keeper routed to his line.

The Bankfoot keeper to be true had a steady game, saving two almost certain goals late on in the game, when firstly he denied Lee Celentano his tenth of the season, when he saved his spot kick on 79 mins and a minute later when he stopped another Sinclair effort after the striker had controlled the ball, turned and shot whilst under immense pressure in the Bankfoot area.

Some horrendous late tackling on Scott Lammie and dissent towards the whistler saw Bankfoot reduced to ten men in time added on, to tarnish what had been a reasonable game. However it had no bearing on the overall outcome as United were well on top for the majority of the afternoon.

1st Round ~ East of Scotland Cup

Oakley United 4 - 0 Dalkeith Thistle

Burke (13mins), Wright (26), Celentano (49), Ward (71)

Oakley Ease Through

Oakley finally got back to winning ways after two successive defeats, which saw them comprehensively dumped out of the Scottish Cup 5-0 to Bathgate and dropping another three points at home to Camelon 2-0 to remain routed to the bottom of the Super League table.

On a day when goals were aplenty, Oakley despite some excellent Thistle defending, United shot four past a spirited team Dalkeith team that played well without ever troubling Cameron in the Oakley goal. However it could’ve been a lot more had it not been for some great last ditch tackling from the Dalkeith’s back four especially their centre half & captain.

Oakley Player Manager Willie Newbigging had to ring the changes, as a number of first team players were unavailable for selection, new signing Colin Campbell continued in goal at the expense of youngster Stewart, with Newbigging himself playing at the back in the absence of Gary Smith.

Allison and Ward were drafted into midfield in place of Greig Sinclair and the banned Scott Lammie, but despite this the O’s were by far the better team and fully deserved their win on the day.

Goals from Colin BURKE from close in and a sweet left foot volley from the edge of the box from Gary WRIGHT were enough to put the result beyond Thistle even before half time, but at a price, with United’s captain, John Rushford injuring his back and barely making it to the break.

The players were barely on the park for the second half when it was three-nil, a turn and shot from Oakley’s leading scorer Lee CELENTANO saw his effort find the back of the net after taking a wicked deflection which had sent the Thistle number one the wrong way.

A mixture of poor finishing and great defending meant that Oakley struggled to add to their lead, but eventually a cross to the far post from Cusick was forced over by Martin WARD for his first goal for the club.

Halpen, Ward, Celentano and Bannatyne all came close in the dying minutes but it finished …. Oakley United 4 – 0 Dalkeith Thistle.

Scottish Cup ~ Second Round

Edinburgh Utd 1 - 3 Oakley United

Celentano 63,73,84

Celebration

A Lee Celentano hat-trick and poor home team discipline combined to see Oakley’s name in the hat for the third round of the Scottish Junior cup.

A typical Oakley start and a poor first half performance almost had the Oakley faithful heading for the gates when once again they conceded a goal in the first few minutes of the game. A hopeful punt over the top was controlled by Reid and played it into the path of ELLIOT who simply stroked it past Stewart to give Edinburgh the lead with less than a minute on the clock.

Things then took a major turn for the worse, when only four minutes later Oakley midfielder Scott Lammie was sensationally shown a straight red for alleged stamping on Edinburgh player Reid when both players fell, fighting for the ball on the half way line.

Oakley decided to continue to play with two up front and with three across the midfield, with Rushford, Carberry and Bannatyne covering for the absent Lammie. This meant that Edinburgh had the majority of the possession but it was Oakley that had the best of chances. Morrison glided past three players before his weak shot was easily saved by Atai, before a Smith diving header also went close.

A groin injury on 34 minutes, meant an early bath for the youngster Lee Morrison with Peter Fyfe coming on in his place. This meant a reshuffle in the Oakley ranks with Carberry going back to full back and Fyfe on the right hand side of midfield and Bannatyne going into the middle to support the tireless Rushford.

Both sides had the opportunity to score before the break, firstly two brave saves by Steven Stewart at the feet of Reid and Elliot denied the home side taking an even bigger lead into the break and only the thickness of the paint on the post was all there was between a Peter Fyfe header and an Oakley equaliser.

The second half was only five minutes old when again Oakley had to undergo a major team reshuffle when centre half Gary Smith was forced off . Manager Willie Newbigging however, took the opportunity to replace the defender with a striker in the form of Gary Wright to show their intention of going for the win.

A shocking lunging tackle by Ure on 51 mins saw the Edinburgh midfielder receive his second yellow and subsequent red , to even up the numbers on the field, giving Oakley the belief that they could get something from the game.

That belief was rewarded only 8 minutes later, when a long cross field pass from Allison, was instantly controlled by Wright cutting in from the left, forcing the hapless Montgomery to take the striker down for penalty. Up-stepped Lee CELENTANO to place the penalty beyond Atai, into the bottom right hand corner to square the game at one apiece.

Oakley were pushing and pushing, and their pressure finally paid off when Edinburgh’s centre half and captain Campbell, gave away another penalty when his mistimed tackle on Brendan Cusick also saw him receive his second yellow.. Before the penalty was taken , Campbell found himself joined on the walk to the dressing room by Edinburgh’s striker Reid for descent. It was CELENTANO who stepped up once again, firing his penalty past Atai into the same bottom corner as his first.

It was all over with five minutes to go when the game saw its best move of the day that swept the length of the field. Elliot lost the ball to Rushford on the edge of the Oakley box, with Rushford stepped forward before playing a simple ball to Bannatyne who broke with pace from the back before playing a delightful through ball to Cusick who closed in on goal before unselfishly squaring the ball to CELENTANO to force the ball past Atai to score his and Oakley’s third of the day.

With time running out there was time for one more Edinburgh player to see Red, this time it was their big central defender Pullen, whose tackle on Celentano was nothing short of assault.

A great fighting second half display that warrants Oakley’s place in the next Round.

Fife & Lothian Cup ~ First Round

West Calder Utd 1 - 3 Oakley United

Lammie 9, 47; Celentano 71

Lamie Double Sinks West

After consecutive Super league defeats Oakley finally managed to get a win under their belts, when they came from behind to beat a determined West Calder outfit three one.

Manager Willie Newbigging was forced to name both himself and Coach Dougie Russell on the bench when Oakley found themselves with only twelve fit / available players. Despite this there was a strong starting eleven with the luckless Bannatyne the twelfth man !

As normal in any Oakley game, the opposition were gifted an early goal, West striker Steven JOHNSTON was left unmarked in the area to lob the stranded Stewart as early as the second minute, to give the home side the dream start. This had the home support jumping for joy, but their glee was short lived, when Oakley’s midfield dynamo Scott LAMMIE got on the end of a Morrison cross to finish off from close in, after an impressive move that travelled the length of Burngrange park.

Lammie, Cusick and Rushford all came close to adding a second, but it was West Calder that had the best of the chances when Reid found himself through one on one on Stewart only to side foot into the side netting.

Big Wayne Greig in the Calder goal, who was supporting a colourful Blue & Yellow Mohican type hairstyle, showed that he was selected for his goalkeeping prowess, if not his fashion sense, when on 26 mins when he dived well to his right to block a fiercely driven Morrison free kick, only to see the rebound scooped clear for another corner as the Oakley strikers bore down on goal.

Oakley started the second half as West Calder had started the first, when a Scott LAMMIE cross cum shot, was missed by all and sundry to finally find itself tucked in the back of the net for Scott’s fifth goal of the season.

WCU made a number of substitutions on the hour mark but it didn’t halt the Oakley push, with Burke and Cusick both coming close before Lee CELENTANO finally put matters to bed when he outpaced the Calder back four to slip home Oakley’s third and decisive goal.
With time running out Cusick squandered a great chance to make it four, when his run and shot found the side netting when it seemed easier to square the ball to the unmarked Allison, who was left screaming in frustration in the box.

All in all a good day for Oakley but with Tayport looming next Saturday they will need to show a little bit more guile in front of goal.

Glenrothes 5 - 1 Oakley United

Oakley Hit Bottom

It was goals, goals, goals, at Blairwood Park as the Glens went nap against a luckless Oakley, who found themselves reduced to ten men as early as the 15th minute, when captain John Rushford was awarded two yellow cards in as many minutes to hand the initiative to the away team.

In a game the referee seemed determined to book the entire Oakley team, he showed no fewer than 13 yellow cards (seven to Oakley) despite the fact there was not one, dirty tackle, nor a physio on the park during the entire 90 minutes.

Today’s result means that Oakley slip to the bottom of the Super League and can only mean that it is going to be a long hard season.

The game started brightly enough for the home side, with Glens keeper Steve Guppy pushing a thunderous Scott Lammie free kick onto the bar only to see the rebound cleared off the line following Colin Burke’s header.

Glenrothes took advantage of their superior numbers on 25mins with their midfield swarming all over the home defence, when a Andrew Benjamin cross was deflected into to his own net via a Duncan THOMPSON OG, whose attempted diving header clearance beat Oakley keeper Martin Parkyn at the near post.

Glens went further ahead after good work again by Benjamin on 43minutes when his cross found Graham NICOLL unmarked inside the Oakley box, who headed into the net for a two-nil half time score.

The second half had hardly begun and there was a goal at either end, Glenrothes went three up through the tireless BENJAMIN, who slipped in behind the Oakley defence despite roars for offside to slip the ball beyond the despairing Parkyn.

Lee CELENTANO pulled one back almost instantly for the home side when he outran the Glens defence to power in a shot only to see Steve Guppy save from close range, he was quickest to react however and followed up on his own effort to score in off the bar.

It was all Oakley at this stage and it looked as if they might get something from the game as they powered forward. Ex East fife stalwart John Allison almost got another back when his rasping effort rattled back off the bar.

The shot was hit with so much venom that the rebound landed well outside the box allowing the Glens to catch the O’s on the break. Again to shouts of off side, it was midfielder Lee DUFFY who crashed home the Glens fourth after Peter Bannatyne had failed to clear his lines affectively.

The referee again came to the Glens rescue when he denied Oakley a stonewall penalty after Allison had burst into the box only to see his cross pushed away by a defenders hand. With Oakley still demonstrating the Glens broke in numbers gifting John Paul BURNS with the easiest of tap ins to make the final score Oakley 1 Glenrothes 5.

Carnoustie Panmure 2 – 1 Oakley United

Allison Bullet provides
a Consolation

John Allison, arguably the smallest man on the park, rose high above everyone to absolutely bullet a header past a stranded McCafferty into the Carnoustie net to set up a thrilling last ten minutes in a game that once again Oakley deserved to take something from but didn’t.

Carnoustie are fast becoming Oakley’s bogey team, having now beaten the O’s 2-1 for three games consecutive games. Last season Oakley hammered the Panmure outfit both home and away but still finished being robbed of the spoils with silly goals being given away. Same has to be said of this match, with the Oakley defence gifting a goal start to Panmure as early as the first minute.

A speculative punt into the box was allowed to bounce, and bounce it did high over the head of young keeper Stewart dropping just in time to sneak under the bar and into the Oakley net.

New signings Colin Burke and Lee Celentano both looked sharp up front with Burke coming close on 15 minutes when he used his strength to turn his defender only to see his effort swerve away from goal.

Stephen Stewart in the Oakley goal made amends for the earlier goal with a fine double save on 18 minutes tipping the second attempt over the bar, after the referee had got in the way of a Rushford clearance deflecting the ball into the path of an unmarked Collier.

Collier had another opportunity on the half hour when he was played through one on one on Stewart, but he failed to capitalize, pulling his shot well wide when almost hitting the corner post with his strike.

Half time 1 – 0

Whatever Manager Willie Newbigging said at half time, it obviously worked as it was Oakley that dominated the second half for long periods of time. A sweeping move on 53 minutes involving the whole Oakley midfield was brilliantly cleared by Hendry just as Scott Lammie was pulling the trigger.

It was all Oakley, even big Gary Smith had an effort on goal as the Panmure held firm to the mounting pressure. Shots from Rushford, Lammie, Bannatyne and Celentano all went close but without forcing McCafferty in the Panmure goal to make a save of quality.

Despite all the pressure it was Carnoustie who struck. Lee Morrison was adjudged to have fouled for high feet, when in reality the Carnoustie players boot was just as high. From the resulting free kick Collier was left unmarked and his downward header went under the flaying body of Stewart.

Oakley went right on the offensive winning a corner within seconds of the restart, and from Bannatyne’s corner ALLISON powered home a header that nearly uprooted the net from the ground.

This was John’s first ever from the club but despite his wonder goal it wasn’t enough to deny Carnoustie from steeling the points again! With the pressure mounting even further and with time running out Carnoustie resorted to wasting time at every opportunity. Every free kick, throw in and Corner as well as in the amount of time taken to make two substitutions at the end were done at snail pace but it enabled them to hold on for their first win of the season.