Copthorne suffered a blow in their quest to move away from the Southern Combination Division One relegation zone after suffering a home defeat on Saturday.

Copthorne came into the match in 18th position whilst Oakwood were 16th in this battle for survival. The venue was the Fusion Aviation Stadium at Horsham for this close encounter.

This was a feisty match, and as we now entering the business part of the league, every point is crucial. There were no goals in the first half but plenty of chances and tough tackles. The first player to get into referee Andrew Spinks’ black book was Copthorne’s Stuart Cameron on 26 minutes, it was a heated game which disrupted the second half in particular.

The second half kicked off and it only took a minute for an Oakwood midfielder to be lying in pain on the 3G surface from a tackle from behind. Fortunately for the Copthorne defender the referee decided not to book him. Copthorne had some opportunities, mainly due to a few skilful midfielders but the final ball just wasn’t good enough, frustrating the strikers.

Oakwood scored their first goal from an attack through the middle and a great finish by the lively Nick Sullivan, he is having a great season in front of goal. Just five minutes later Oakwood made it two; they attacked down the right, their striker was taken out by a defender and the referee awarded a penalty.

The spot kick was well saved from the Copthorne goalkeeper; the ball stayed in play and after some ricochet’s in the six yard box, the reliable Anthony Harris was there to poke it in.

At two nil it was down to Copthorne to chase the game which they did with the help from their left winger. As the ball was played into the middle it found a yellow shirt and was struck with venom and smashed against the left post.

Oakwood cleared the ball to the halfway line but Copthorne attacked again, this time striking the crossbar. Oakwood managed to settle down and began playing their football again and created their own chances. Copthorne were incredibly unlucky to not get one back.

As the game progressed the discipline from the Copthorne players deteriorated. The first player sent to the sin bin was Oscar Weddell after 65 minutes. Then on 77 minutes it was Conor Dickson’s turn to sit out the ten minutes. Copthorne still managed to attack and had four corners in a row, which they were unfortunate not to score from.

On the 91st minute Copthorne lost two players to red cards after another display of aggression, Weddell and substitute Matheus Andrade left their team to fight through injury time with only nine players. Miraculously this was when Copthorne scored their consolation goal, substitute Ryan Fenton managed to get on the score sheet on the 93rd minute but it was too late for a comeback.

Oakwood leapfrog Reigate Priory in the league and are now in 15th. The GWS Man of the Match went to Oakwood’s Dave Major for his fantastic contribution to the away win.

Next Saturday Oakwood host AFC Uckfield Town, who completed a fine 3-2 win over title chasing Seaford Town whilst Copthorne are at home to in-form Godalming Town.