Ebbsfleet v Oxford United - Blue Square Premier

Ebbsfleet United Starting Eleven

Cronin
Ricketts, McCarthy, Charles, Opinel
Purcell, Stone, Barrett, Long
Gash, Moore

Substitutes: Mott, Hawkins, Appiah, Hand, Ibe.

Substitutes Used: The first Ebbsfleet substitution came in the 50th minute when Hand came on for Stone. In the 75th minute a second substitution was made when Hawkins came on for Ricketts. In the 85th minute Ibe then came on for Purcell.

Oxford United Starting Eleven

Cole
Clarke, Willmott, Quinn, Foster
Carruthers, Hutchinson, Burnell, Murray
Odubade, Guy

Substitutes: Hinchliffe, Day, Reid, Haldane, Constable.

Substitutes Used: Double substitution in the 59th minute as Haldane and Constable come on for Guy and Odubade respectively. A third and final substitution was then made in the 63rd minute when Reid came on for Burnell.

Going into this game it was always Ebbsfleet that was the favoured team to take the 3 points. Neither team has been playing particularly amazing football so far this season, due to their home advantage Ebbsfleet just about had the edge however and it was Ebbsfleet that were therefore the bookies favourites. Ebbsfleet of course made history in February 2008 when a consortium of 30 000 people took over the club having paid a £35 annual fee each through the website My Football Club. After the deal went through the first team they actually played was Oxford United away at the Kassam, things are still a little crazy at Ebbsfleet and everyone around the club continues to this day to be on a huge high.

Bookies favourites Ebbsfleet looked dead certs to take all three points when Luke Foster was sent off in the 44th minute. For the third away game on the trot Oxford had a player sent off in the first half, and for the second time this season it was Luke Foster that was shown the red. Luke Foster now faces a four game ban for United and things are looking progressively bleaker for the Oxfordshire side. The first half ended 0-0 however, and despite several Ebbsfleet chances; Jake Cole held firm in the Oxford goal and managed to finish the first 45 minutes of the game without conceding. Cole has been in terrific form for United as of late, Billy Turley is still out through injury but Jake Cole is proving to be a more than adequate match.

In the first half Stacy Long and George Purcell both could have scored for the home side were it not for the excellence of the Oxford goalkeeper. Ebbsfleet was by far the stronger team, and in going into the second half with an extra man you really felt that Ebbsfleet would now be able to rip Oxford apart. Oxford United has not been a side that has played with much confidence so far this season, and with ten men for the final 45 minutes of the game it was always going to be an uphill struggle for Oxford. The best Oxford chance of the first half fell to Yemi Odubade, he could have found himself on the scoresheet but sadly knocked the ball just wide. So with the half-time score at 0-0, it was Ebbsfleet that looked the most likely to take the 3 points from this one.

When Michael Gash scored early on in the second half; it seemed as though Oxford United's game was over. Oxford had lost the last two away games going into this one and conceded five goals in the process. You felt that Oxford could still gain something from this game, the man disadvantage suggested otherwise however and despite continued attacks nothing seemed to go right for United. Gash actually spent a while on trial at Oxford during pre-season and played a game in the process, Ebbsfleet ended up signing the man however and it was inevitable that he'd score against Oxford here. In all honesty he didn't do a lot in this game other than score; scorings a major part of football however and a goal is still a goal regardless of how well you play.

Chris Carruthers continued to ping balls into the box for Oxford throughout much of the match, he desperately deserved to score himself an assist and was relentless in whacking the ball into the area looking for a fellow yellow shirt. Both teams continued to play attacking football to no avail however and as the full time whistle drew ever closer the score continued to remain at 1-0 to Ebbsfleet; Ebbsfleet would surely take this, Oxford continued to battle on however and kept on looking for an equalising goal.

The referee never made this game easy for Oxford. I know it's a tad contrived to blame the referee when things aren't going your way in football; there's no denying however that referee M Bull was absolutely useless here. For starters the sending off of Luke Foster was never a red card; even Ebbsfleet manager Liam Daish didn't believe it was a red card offence, and nor did his assistant Alan Kimble. That was just the start of it however; throughout the entire match he was incredibly inconsistent and almost every decision of the game just seemed to go Ebbsfleet's way. The man is from Essex also, Kent's neighbour county and surely this should not have been allowed to be the case. Bull seemed very biased and it was almost as though Oxford had ten men whilst Ebbsfleet had twelve. Despite the terrible decisions of one M Bull however, Oxford United somehow managed to scrape a draw here and left it until the very last minute to do so.

In the 93rd minute of the match substitute Levi Reid grabbed his second Oxford United goal of the season. Last season he was a Macclesfield man, this year he's an Oxford player however and an excellent free pick-up he's proving to be too. It was a very well taken goal for Reid, a volley from the edge of the area and one that has provided Oxford United with another important Blue Square Premier point. The game looked to be over and Oxford just didn't seem to be able to break the Ebbsfleet defence down, it always felt as though if there was to be a second goal then it'd be another for Ebbsfleet; Levi Reid had other ideas however and with his goal Oxford United now move two places up the table to 17th position. It has been a terrible start to the season for Oxford, slowly things seem to be coming together for them however and hopefully momentum can now be built and Oxford United can continue to climb up the Blue Square Premier table. Ebbsfleet currently have 9 points to their name, they sit 12th in the league but with a win or two could easily crawl into the play-off positions.

It was a pretty decent game of football all things considered, a point was celebrated by the Oxford United faithful as though the side had just won the league; when you're losing until the last second like that though and then manage to attain a point; it's almost as good as winning the game and everyone is therefore left incredibly happy. A point was great but three points would have been even better for Oxford United, it's the team's first away point of the season however and you can't really complain with the end result here. Both teams deserved a point from this one really and a 1-1 draw is a reasonably fair reflection of the game. Oxford United must now travel away to Northwich on Tuesday, Ebbsfleet however face Cambridge United at home. Cambridge have started the season incredibly well, Northwich on the other hand is somewhat of a bogey side for Oxford United and it's therefore difficult to say who has the easiest game next. On paper it's Oxford that has the easiest match-up by far, Northwich currently sit third bottom and have yet to win a game in the 2008/09 season; Ebbsfleet once more have the home advantage behind them however and I really wouldn't want to predict as to what will happen Tuesday night. Oxford United will be the happiest of the two teams here having scored so late on, it's still another valuable point for Ebbsfleet however and one which could prove to be incredibly important come the end of the season.

Final Score: Ebbsfleet 1 - 1 Oxford United

Date: 30/08/08
Home Team: Ebbsfleet
Venue: Stonebridge Road
Referee: M Bull
Sent Off: Foster (44)
Goals: Gash 56', Reid 93'.
Attendance: 1842