Oakhill went through to the second round of the cup against all the odds on Saturday, overcoming the loss of a) their skipper b) a two goal lead and c)any sort of composure by the referee. The fact that this giant-killing performance against top-flight opposition came off the back of two absolute shockers made it all the more satisfying a triumph.

Despite the general lack of form, the management duo chose to stick to the usual line-up, in the main: Logan in goal, with Little Toss and Brett as fullbacks joined by Hughesy and utility player Elzee at centre half. Mikey D was on the left, Harris continued at right mid and the usual suspects, Carnt and Holtie in the engine room. Skins and Nick formed an all-black attack. Nathan dropped to the bench to join the Beige One and Matty Hunt on his return from long-term injury.

Strong words were said prior to kick-off, leaving the team in no doubt as to the level expected of them following recent horrorshows. With this in mind, Oak started at 100 miles an hour, with Skins and Nick causing all manner of problems for Croygas. The quality on show deserved reward, and it duly came in the shape of a deft Neil Carnt back-header from a Philpott cross. 0-1.

Not content to rest on their laurels, the boys continued to ping the ball around and show composure and grit. With the Reggae Boyz unstoppable and the confidence flowing, it was only a matter of time before their clever link play struck goal again. Skins did as his name suggests down the left flank and crossed low and hard for Nick to stab home at the far post. 0-2.

At this point it was looking bad for Croygas, as Oakhill were playing with a freedom that has not been evident so far this season and the midfield and attack were linking well. Even Logan was well worth his clean sheet at this stage. It was surely going to be a case of how many we could get, as the oppo looked thoroughly demoralised and outplayed. Then suddenly the hosts broke away and Hughesy was forced into a lunging challenge on the edge of the box. The Ref clearly was not aware of the searing recovery pace of Brett, who was covering round, and to everyone's horror (and to the slight embarrassment of Croygas, to their credit) he brandished a straight red in the face of the big fella, who had to walk for the 'last man' offence. Tempers flared on and off the pitch, but the Ref ignored all of this as he was already contemplating the crisp paper of his report forms and the joy of skipping to the Post Box on Monday morning. Fred let him know in no uncertain terms that he believed him to be a huge fan of self-stimulation and was himself banished from the technical area, leaving Tom to quietly contemplate a second half of quietly getting his quiet point across in a quiet way. Oh dear.

To add insult to injury, the subsequent free-kick was saved by Logan but tucked away on the rebound by one of three onrushing forwards with Oakhill still in shock.1-2.

At half time there was a reshuffle, with Mikey D joining Holtie in the middle, Neil Carnt positioned next to Elz at the back and Skins dropping to the left of midfield. This left Nick  manfully toiling on his Jack Jones up front. After a stirring team talk, United came out to face opponents who now had the belief they were right back in the game. This feeling was accentuated as Logan was lobbed. Yes. Again. 2-2.

With everything going against them and with tiring legs and minds, there would have been no shame in Oakhill bowing out of the cup at this stage, having put in a valiant performance already. However, what followed will surely go down in the annals of club history as one of our proudest moments. Instead of putting up a wall of ten men and trying to desperately hold out for penalties, the mighty Oak decided to go on the offensive. Wave after wave of highly-skilled counter-attacks finally brought their just rewards, with Skins rounding off a mazy run with a superb finish. This sparked scenes of delirium amongst the team and the supporters, eager to cause great offence to the Ref, who had inadvertently allowed us to become, in the words of David Bowie, 'Heroes - just for one day........'.

Hunty came on to save a badly-cramped Doran and Nathan got a reward for his exemplary attitude with a run-out, as Oak closed the game out and sealed victory. Everyone left the pitch exhausted, having given everything they had. It's days like this that make you glad you paid your subs and stayed true to the proud name of Oakhill.

Special mention to Logan, who came off his line repeatedly and even kicked end-to-end on one occasion, Ellzie, who was an awesome auxiliary centre-half, and Nick, who won everything in the air, was a threat on the deck and deserved more than one goal for his work-rate. If only there were 10 mugs they would surely have been handed out to all the boys by a grateful Hughesy. However, there can be only one man of the match, and for sheer quality and commitment to the cause, Skins edged it on the day.

Team: Logan, Philpott, Hewlett, Hughes (c), Francis, Doran (Hunt 70), J.Holt, Carnt, M.Harris, Knight, Brown (Pike 85).

Subs not used: Beigeinho

Goals: Carnt, Brown, Knight

Cards: Hughes (Red - Professional Foul).

Man of the Match: Lewis 'Skins' Knight