Brave Oaks miss out on FA Cup glory

OAKWOOD Ladies put up a fierce battle in their first ever FA Cup match against Islington Borough on Sunday (August 19th).
Islington Borough walked away with the win but it was a great test for newly promoted Oakwood, who are looking to challenge for the Division One title this season.

It's testament to how far Oakwood Ladies' have come to be playing in the FA Cup, and manager Andy Parsons alongside assistant Chris Minn, are setting a fantastic foundation for the club to build on.

Having only been set-up two years ago, the Oaks were facing a battle against Islington who have more than 10 years experience as a club and also won their league last season.

The first 10 minutes of the game saw the home side looking the more dominant with the top scorer from last season’s campaign, Chloe Higham, going closest with an effort from just outside the box.

However, Islington grew into the game and the warning signs were there when their pacey forward was played in on goal only to be thwarted by the outstanding Beckie Kirkham in goal.

Sarah Killick-Bird was also having a superb game in defence for Oakwood, with several outstanding interceptions to stop the North London side getting through on goal.

Despite the Oaks’ best efforts, it was Islington’s quick number nine who put the away side a goal up sliding the ball past a helpless Kirkham.
Oakwood battled back and tried to suppress Borough’s quick attacking line to stop any further damage before the break.
They were successful but shortly after half-time were caught with a sucker punch when Islington doubled their lead. The Oaks had to come out and attack, which meant they became further exposed at the back and it wasn’t long before they were 3-0 down with their FA Cup dream looking to be over.

The home side didn’t give up though, battling against last season’s Greater London Women’s Football League Division Two North winners until the end.

The game was wrapped up with a fourth and final goal to make it 4-0 and take Islington through to the next round.
It wasn’t the desired result for Oakwood but it will put them in good shape for the season with their their first match on September 9th against Mole Valley.

LINE-UP: Kirkham, Findon, Higham, Minn, Dancaster, Page, Tyler, Killick-Bird, Walker, Chaffe, Chesworth SUBS: Crawley, Daly, Fazackerley