Having lost heavily in the reverse fixture before Christmas, following a very sub-par performance, Ops first goal for their season closing fixture with Burnt Ash was simply to put on the sort of display that would sign off their season in the manner they would want. A second, somewhat more ambitious, target was to beat their visitors by a significant margin, that could help them climb above them in the final league standings.
Shorn of 5 regulars, through absence or appendicitis, Ops drafted in Borris Nordone from the Mighty Ops 7s, and youngster Leo Davey, as well as veteran Tim Beggs from the 8s. Ops were soon into their work, pressing high up the pitch, with Ben Taylor, Tendai Nyika and Josh Scooter really putting the squeeze on the Ash back line. With AJ Vignaux and Daniel Andrews on the flanks in midfield there was little escape for the Ash defence, and as the Ops pressed even harder, skipper Andrews became something of a magnet for any attempted clearances, picking the ball off at all angles to unleash further Ops attacks. When Ash were able to escape the vicelike press, they found the Ops backline of Beggs, Colin Fernandez-Grant, Dougie Ferguson , Ross Dryburgh and keeper Charlie Milligan an insurmountable obstacle. With Nordone and Davey entering the contest, Ops maintained their high-octane hockey, with Davey impressing everyone on debut with his skills and resilience on the ball. Nordone was everywhere, sweeping up and releasing the free running forwards, with Scooter in particular giving his opposite number a torrid time. With Andrews jr charging up both flanks, mesmerising opponents and the partisan crowd with his silky skills, opportunities were coming thick and fast for the home team. The major stumbling block was that no-one seemed to be able to convert them! Scooter played several balls across the face of the goal, which would have just needed some sort of Ops stick on them to get a deserved lead. Nordone squared a pass to Andrews sr and the skipper somewhat fluffed his lines, scuffing the ball wide of the far post. Eventually though the dam had to break. With Andrews sr able to pick off another attempted Ash clearance, the skipper drove forward before slipping the ball to Nyika. His pass to Taylor saw the youngster open the Ops account for the day. The Ops did not let off - their play was so irresistible at times, that they began to believe that the ambitious target of a 7-0 win to overturn the goal difference deficit on their visitors might just be achievable. More great chances came and went though, to leave the score on a knife-edge at the break. As has been common this season, 'more of the same' was the main theme of the chat. Ops started the second half in the same manner, but gradually some tiredness began to creep in and Ash began to exert some pressure of their own. Ops were indebted to their defence for keeping them in front at times, with Milligan a commanding presence between the sticks, and Beggs, Dryburgh, Fernandez-Grant and Ferguson in no mood to take a step backwards. Ops were still pushing hard to increase their lead and several gilt edge chances came and went, along with the visiting keeper making several vital stops. The pressure eventually told, and following another blistering Scooter drive down the right, Taylor was on hand to finish again, doubling the Ops lead. The visitors proved their resilience though, carrying a threat to the Ops goal and from one of their attacks their forward finished high into the net with a fine reverse stick finish to setup a nail-biter of a finish. Ops had further chances to increase their lead, with Andrews jr, Nyika, Davey and Scooter all showing seemingly boundless energy, spurred on by the 'supportive' home crowd! It wasn't to be though, and the Ops claimed a narrow victory to cement 4th place. The league standings show that 3rd - 5th place all ended the season on the same points, with goal difference being the deciding factor in the final picture. All in all, a season for the Ops to be very pleased with, especially given that they were promoted to this league just at the end of last year. A season of tremendous wins, the odd very disappointing loss, but nearly always displays of skill, character and guts, culminating in a 5 game unbeaten streak to complete the year. A very happy skipper signing off on the reporting for this season.