Holcombe: 1

Sevenoaks: 3

SEVENOAKS got back to winning ways with an important three points against local rivals Holcombe.

Oaks pressed from the start, retaining possession expertly at the back and involving central midfielders Nadeem and Miller at every opportunity.

Oaks were the first to offer a shot on target, Andy Whalley finding Ben Allberry in space at the top of the circle, his reverse strike just too near to trouble the keeper.

Oaks cracked the whip and further chances came, but the Holcombe defence remained tight.

Holcombe themselves caught Sevenoaks on the counter-attack a couple of times, but found no way past the solidity of Ian Fletcher and Chris Barker at the back.

Oaks scored their first goal on 18 minutes, Pakistan Olympian Nadeem finishing off a goalmouth scramble after Allberry's wobble around the back of the Holcombe defence.

Holcombe were level four minutes later, a through-ball finding itself at the back post and the resulting shot was deflected at close range past the Oaks goalkeeper.

Oaks went into half-time 2-1 up as a result of Nadeem winning a penalty corner, which he himself took to slide an inch-perfect ball onto the diving stick of Allberry, who registered his ninth goal of the campaign.

Oaks defended extremely well in the second half, while Holcombe's chances were limited to penalty corners and wide-angled shots on the Oaks goal, which were easily handled.

The visitors scored the only goal after the break, when, again, a run around the ball saw it fall to Nadeem, whose reverse-stick shot was fired into the roof of the net.

Oaks now go into their midweek re-arranged league game with Southgate, full of confidence and hoping to climb up the table.

Sevenoaks II: 2

Blackheath: 1

THE seconds kept their season rolling with a desperately poor win over Blackheath at the weekend.

While the result was the correct one, the Oaks team had every right to be very unhappy about their performance.

The first half of the match was a drab affair.

Both teams seemed unwilling to seize the initiative and while Oaks defended well, they failed to create many chances. This was, in no small part, down to Price's absence and the re-arranging of the team, which saw hardworking Chris Back moved into defence and the midfield reshuffled.

Oaks were not overly disappointed, going into half-time, but were aware of the need to improve.

Regrettably, coach Neil Morey was absent, but after words of encouragement from Tom Blain, Oaks renewed hostilities.

Nevertheless, it was Blackheath who scored first.

A cruel deflection at a short corner saw the visitors jump into the lead.

Thereafter, Oaks controlled the game and slowly pushed Blackheath back.

They equalised through Adam Fullwood, after Neil Smith had cleverly unlocked the defence by firing a shot straight at the keeper.

Oaks moved into the lead when Mark Baker slammed home after a goalmouth scramble.

The rest of the game was marred by petulance from both sides and some questionable umpiring.

As a result, Oaks were guilty of allowing themselves to be sidetracked instead of focusing on the game.

Upcoming fixtures: Tonight, February 25: 8:00pm – Sevenoaks Men's 1st XI v Southgate Men's 1st XI – Hollybush. Sunday February 28: 2:00pm – Sevenoaks Men's 1st XI v Chelmsford Men's 1st XI – Hollybush.