Oakfield have won the Ryde & District Cup by beating holders High Park at Smallbrook on Wednesday evening.
This is a big achievement for the Oakers as the club was forced to withdraw from the Island League at the start of last season and was only reformed for the 2024/25 campaign.
Oakfield began the game on the front foot seeing a goal attempt bounce off the crossbar in the 7th minute.
The Slade Road side took the lead in the 11th minute when Reon Obeyesekere turned an opponent before scoring with a deflected shot (0-1).
Centre forward Nathan Roberts had chances to extend Oakfield’s lead but was first fouled outside the penalty area by High ?Park keeper Scott Parker then sent a shot across the face of the goal when clean through.
The half ended nervously for Oakfield when keeper Ben Woodford handled the ball outside the penalty area, and High Park were awarded a free kick in a promising position but failed to take advantage.
Half time: Hight Park 0-1 Oakfield
On the hour mark, High Park equalised through a Reece Galloway free kick that floated over Ben Woodhouse into the top left corner of the goal (1-1).
7 minutes later, Oakfield regained the lead though Nathan Roberts, who found himself in a 1-on-1 situation with Parker and slotted the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal (1-2).
Josh Parsons then gave the Oakers a 2-goal advantage by scoring from an acute angle (1-3).
Both sides were reduced to 10 men for the final 3 minutes of the game when an unfortunate altercation led to referee Andy Dorning brandishing red cards to Oakfield’s Dean May and High Park’s Joe Salmon. However, most of the game was played in a sporting manner by both sides.
Full time: High Park 1-3 Oakfield
High Park: Scott Parker, Isaac Harvey, Matt Ogden, Lewis Fleming, Drew Leggett, Chris Dibsdale, Reece Galloway, Alex Harvey, Matt Woods. Dan Robjant, Brad Foster, Joe Jackman, Joe Salmon, Ad Clark, Jack Leggett, Kyle Kilroy
Oakfield: Ben Woodford, Charlie Wood, Callum Gawn, Jack Lavall, Tyler Larbalestier, Jos Townsend, Robbie Woodford, Reon Obeyesekere, Nathan Roberts, Josh Parsons, Ollie Hammond, Dean May, Kyle Follows, Andy Bennett, Ben Gerdener, Riley Farrell
After the game, Oakfield said:
“It feels good to get the club going again and win some silverware.
“Big respect to High Park for a battle they were always going to give us – they are never an easy team and a hardworking club that battle for everything and play football how it should be played.
“We dug deep and made sure we finished as winners. Congratulations to all staff and players and even our fans. We want everyone to feel like winners.”
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