By Gavin Lennard

This Surrey Elite league fixture pitched together last season's top two from the SIL(W). Last term Horsley topped the table despite the Ruts claiming four points out of six, although they lost to their hosts in the League Cup.

The Ruts started quite brightly and forced a succession of corners early on and then virtually left any real threat until the death, so the half was played out even and goalless.

The second half remained the same way until around the hour mark when Horsley seized on a defensive error to take the lead. The Ruts stirred a bit and, realizing that even a point was now looking doubtful, manager Clayton threw on substitutes Dean Riordan, Lewis Kelly and Luke Creates.

Late in the game Horsley put the game out of reach by notching a second and with one of the final kicks of the match young Kelly fired home OR’s scant consolation.

Ruts could and should have done better in the final third and they will be looking to put this right in time for next weekend.

All in all this was a disappointing opener for the Ruts, although with 29 games to go they will be looking to promptly rectify things to ensure the season's twists and turns prove more fruitful.

P.Lines, Marshall, Mitchell, Rea, M.Lines, Raggett, Flanagan, Hull, Corrigan, Finnis, D’Rozario. Subs (all used) Riordan, Kelly, Creates

By Gavin Lennard

The OR's put in an improved display compared to the previous weekend and were unfortunate to eventually lose to a late goal.

The Ruts opened the brighter of the two teams and could have been two up by the half hour mark, firstly Billy Finnis did well to create a shooting opportunity only to see his effort rebound from one post on to the other and then land in to the Keeper’s grateful arms. Paul Hull also saw his close range left footed connection go inches wide from an Andy Flanagan corner.

An early recurring injury to Daragh Corrigan enabled Paul Upfold to make his first team competitive debut at left back, as he became the first of 3 enforced changes to the Ruts rearguard.

Milford and Witley’s first half chances were not too dangerous until the 43rd minute when their forward should have converted from close range only to blaze his effort over permitting the half to remain goalless.

The second period saw Mike Lines clattered unnecessarily and late in the ribs by the elbow of an opponent which earned the home player a yellow card, despite trying to play on Lines was replaced shortly after with Neil Marshall slotting in at centre half with Dave D’Rozario coming on to replace Lines.

The third defensive casualty was Marshall with a tight hamstring and he was duly replaced by Richard ‘Tiny’ Hayward who slotted in at left back in a switch that forced Paul Upfold to bcome Phil Rea's 3rd partner of the afternoon in central defence.

Both keepers displayed solid hands all afternoon thwarting most of the attacks from their opponents, so it was clearly going to take something a bit special for one of the teams to claim a victory.

Milford grew stronger in the final 20 minutes of the match and they eventually broke through the Ruts much changed backline, converting with what must be said was 'an excellent headed goal' worthy of winning a match.

Shortly after Paul Hull should have been awarded a penalty after he was upended, as his mazy run was brought to an abrupt halt. The Referee claimed to have seen ‘only minimal’ contact!? Although, in fairness Milford had also seen a decent penalty appeal turned down shortly beforehand.

The last time the OR’s lost their first 2 games of the season was in the year they went on to win the SIL(W) Premier title at the first attempt, so they will draw on their bouncebackability experience ahead of next weekend as they host Croydon Greenside at Poplar Road.

P.Lines, Mitchell, Rea, Corrigan, M.Lines, Marshall, Flanagan, Raggett, Riordan, Hull, Finnis. Substitutes: (all used) Upfold, D’Rozario, Hayward.

By Gavin Lennard

The Poplar Road pitch was in excellent condition for this Elite league fixture which saw the Ruts meet their visitors for the first time in over five years back in the 2002/03 season in the Surrey South Eastern Combination.

Both sides had started this campaign with two defeats apiece and were equally intent on winning this fixture ‘to get off the mark’ for the new season.

The first half was a reasonably close affair with Croydon looking lively going forward but unable to break through a solid Ruts backline. The OR’s threatened on occasions too, although as is appearing customary the interval arrived goalless.

Mitchell (foul) and Marshall (dissent) both earned yellow cards for their troubles during the period and manager Clayton replaced Riordan with Upfold allowing Mitchell to revert to the right side of the pitch at the break.

The second half followed a relatively unexciting pattern with glimpses of ‘good play’ from both sides here and there. Finnis received a cut head in a clash with the visiting keeper causing him to leave the field for a minor patch up and as the minutes ticked away one wondered if the deadlock would be broken.

Eventually it came when a decisive through ball into the Ruts area found their forward neatly find space for an acute shot giving Phil Lines little chance to prevent the ball from hitting the back of the net.

Clayton replaced Finnis with young Rhys Waul and Creates came on for Hull as the Ruts went in search of at least an equalizer.

Waul busied himself immediately which clearly unsettled the Greenside centre half. Soon after a Flanagan corner was converted by Neil Marshall at the far post enabling him to end his busy afternoon with the Ruts M.O.T.M award.

Frustratingly for the Ruts they find themselves without a match this coming weekend. Instead they will have to patiently wait for their four consecutive home games in October and hopefully engaging a winning streak to kick start their season for real.

P.Lines, Mitchell, D’Rozario, Flanagan, M.Lines, Rea, Marshall, Raggett, Finnis, Hull, Riordan. Subs: Upfold, Creates, Waul (all used), R.Lines (unused)

By Gavin Lennard

The Ruts secured their first league win of the season at Poplar Road on Saturday.

The ORs went ahead on 25 minutes courtesy of Billy Finnis who pounced at close range. The Ruts had a few half chances during the period although it was the visitors who proved the more threatening with their lively attacking play causing the hosts problems with only the woodwork, the head of Phil Rea and an excellent goal line clearance from Paul Upfold preventing Grove from equalizing.

Unlucky Dwayne Mitchell - who’d come on for the injured Neil Marshall early in the match - inadvertently deflected an attempted clearance into his own net two minutes before the interval. Although in fairness the Ruts could not complain at the half time scoreline.

The Ruts knew they needed to stop giving the ball away cheaply and retain more possession and in the second period their improved efforts paid dividends providing a vastly improved hard working team performance.

On another day the score could have been significantly higher with a hatful of decent chances going begging. The best of the period saw Kevin Foster shoot narrowly wide on one occasion and his two other efforts from close range flew high over and wide. Dave D’Rozario saw a variety of efforts go agonizingly close, firing wide from 15 yards, hitting a post with the keeper beaten and an audacious effort from wide left which bounced a few yards out and flew fractionally over the Grove bar with their keeper stranded. An excellent Foster cross saw D’Rozario’s connection also go just wide.

In between all of this pressure an Elm Grove defender inadvertently stopped the ball stone cold dead with his hands in the area providing the Ruts with a penalty which D’Rozario firmly dispatched to make it 2–1 to the Ruts.

The Ruts defended well during the period as Grove always looked lively themselves going forward. However, Clayton’s team held on to their deserved lead to claim their first Elite League win of the campaign with Andy Flanagan getting the Man of the Match nod from the gaffer.

Next week the Old Ruts host South Godstone FC at Poplar Road in the first round of the Surrey Intermediate Cup.

P.Lines, Marshall, Upfold, Rea, M.Lines, Raggett, A.Flanagan, Foster, Riordan, Finnis, D’Rozario. Subs (all used) Mitchell, Stephens, L.Poulter

By Gavin Lennard

The Ruts cruised into the second round of the County Cup with a comfortable home victory at Poplar Road at the weekend.

The first half hour remained goalless before the Ruts ramped up the pace with a trio of fine strikes before the break. Firstly Kevin Foster fired home a left footed drive. This was followed by an excellent move for the OR’s second after a deft through pass from Dave D’Rozario to Lee Poulter, who cleverly evaded his marker to set himself up with an opening which he promptly buried.

The Ruts third caught South Godstone well and truly on the hop when a quickly taken Foster free kick on the Ruts left by was met by Nick Raggett’s early surging run which saw him firmly bury the ball in the visitors net to put the hosts in a commanding half time position.

Immediately after the restart Raggett’s run and byline cross was tapped in by D’Rozario for the Ruts fourth to put the game completely out of reach for the visitors.

Manager Clayton replaced Paul Upfold and Lee Poulter with Luke Creates and Paul Hull on the hour mark.

With 20 minutes to go Ollie Hicks made his first team debut coming on for D’Rozario. Hicks had progressed through the Ruts teams and marked his 1st XI debut with several powerful runs and a simple goal following clever footwork from Foster created a straightforward opportunity.

Ultimately this was a case of job done for Clayton’s team, completed with a pleasing, albeit relatively comfortable clean sheet as Phil Lines handling and a solid back line snuffed out any threats from the South Godstone attack.

Phil Rea got the Gaffer’s nod for the Ruts M.O.T.M award and the Ruts now keenly await their return to League action with the visit of Epsom Athletic next weekend.

The only definite change to the squad will be the absence of Kevin Foster owing to his three week suspension. His fitness should be maintained as he intends to chase eggs with our Rugby cousins – so we’ll see him again in 21 days with a bent nose and cauliflower ears.

Neil Marshall, Daragh Corrigan and Marc Hawley may or may not be back in contention as Clayton awaits updates.

P.Lines, Mitchell, Rea, Upfold, M.Lines, Raggett, Flanagan, Foster, Riordan, L.Poulter, D’Rozario. Subs (all used) Creates, Hull, Hicks.

By Gavin Lennard

The Ruts' poor league form continued as they suffered their third defeat in five Elite games. All three losses have been by a solitary goal, highlighting the narrow margins separating success and failure.

It is fair to say that the OR’s had only themselves to blame for this reverse. Despite an upbeat dressing room mood and a positive warm up, for some unknown reason the Ruts then offered a severely lacklustre first half display with woefully inept defending gifting Epsom chances to take full advantage, which they deservedly exploited, converting past the exposed Phil Lines in the 2nd and 11th minutes.

The Ruts were forced into making two changes at the break following injuries to Phil Lines and Lee Poulter. Mike Lines took over in goal and Clayton had to reshuffle his line up to accommodate Creates and Mitchell into the fold.

Epsom appeared to have put the match beyond reach on the hour mark when yet again another defensive error gifted an Epsom forward a straightforward finish, this time past Mike Lines, to make it 0–3.

Clayton replaced Paul Upfold with the buccaneering young forward Ollie Hicks in a last ditch attempt to salvage something from the match and in the end he was perhaps a tad unfortunate not to get a point.

A little too late in the match the Ruts actually started playing some decent football to provide the visitors with a nervy final 20 minutes.

A clever move down the right saw Hicks clattered in the Epsom area leaving the referee pointing to the spot. Dave D’Rozario converted from 12 yards and the Ruts sensed that they could possibly be in with a chance of altering their fate. Shortly after a Marshall header hit the Epsom bar and D’Rozario pounced on the rebound to make it 2–3.

A few other chances were forthcoming to offer the OR’s a hint of a draw, the best of which saw young Hicks fire over the Epsom bar when he probably should have at least hit the target following a strong run.

With five games played and 25 more to go the Ruts have ample opportunity to propel themselves up the table into more chartered territory – let’s make sure we put things right in order to be challenging at the other end of table come the end of the season.

P.Lines, Upfold, Rea, Marshall, M.Lines, Raggett, Flanagan, Riordan, Hull, Poulter, D’Rozario. Subs: (all used) Mitchell, Creates, Hicks

By Gavin Lennard

Yet again the Ruts were left to rue costly defensive errors at the weekend. Despite a vastly improved opening half hour the pressure the OR’s applied in Esher’s half proved fruitless, although the exchanges were worthy of goals. Esher weathered the storm and smashed and grabbed two quick goals for themselves in a five minute spell before the break. The first was a crisply struck effort which evaded Phil Lines, although the second was slightly harsh given that Andy Flanagan appeared to have been fouled in the preceding carnage.

With Dave D’Rozario and Lee Poulter absent, the Ruts striking pair of Paul Hull and Ollie Hicks combined well on the stroke of half time with Hull crossing for Hicks to head home reducing the arrears.

The Ruts leveled with an innocuous effort within a couple of minutes after the restart. I’m still a bit baffled how Neil Marshall’s effort evaded the Esher keeper, although nevertheless the Ruts were level which their overall attacking play deserved.

OR’s joy was short lived as an Esher player found space in the Ruts area to calmly notch the visitors third, although this time it was United’s turn to have a short lived lead as Dean Riordan produced a delightful 20 yard free kick to level - game back on. The Ruts certainly created plenty of chances to put the game well out of Esher’s reach, but alas they were unable to do so. Whilst this was very much due to poor finishing, the OR’s cause wasn’t helped by a number of beleaguering flag waving decisions during the afternoon, nor by the reaction of some of those present.

Ruts welcome unbeaten Wraysbury to Poplar Road next weekend for the first ever meeting between the teams. Clayton’s squad will be looking to abolish the all too frequent defensive errors and finally kick-start their season with an impressive solid all round team performance and hopefully good tasting beer when the final whistle arrives.

P.Lines, Mitchell, Rea, M.Lines, M.Hawley, Raggett, Flanagan, Riordan, Marshall, Hull, Hicks. Subs: Upfold (used), Noonan, Alderman (not used).

By Gavin Lennard

The Ruts' quest to find their form continues after they suffered their fourth defeat in seven Elite League games.

The visitors were unbeaten and their lively forward play demonstrated that they meant business as numerous attacks down the flanks caused immediate problems for the hosts. The fact that Wraysbury were unable to get players on the end of crosses until around the half hour mark meant that the Ruts remained in the game and 17 year old K.M. Swain marked his competitive First team debut with a well struck effort shortly before the break to level for the OR’s. Having created some space for himself he controlled the ball well and fired a left foot effort past the helpless keeper.

Disappointingly for the Ruts the second half saw them concede two further goals too easily which in the end ensured the visitors comfortably maintained their 100% record.

The Ruts now find themselves firmly in the lower regions of the table and they will have to significantly improve their individual and team performances if they intend to make a mark in the inaugural season of the Elite League.

Next up is the visit to Holland Sports on Saturday where manager Clayton knows an inspired display is a must as they look to turn the corner in a below par season to date.

P.Lines, Mitchell, Marshall, M.Lines, M.Hawley, Raggett, Flanagan, Riordan, Swain, Hull, Hicks. Subs: (used) D’Rozario, Corrigan, R.Lines. (Not used) L.Poulter

By Gavin Lennard

The Ruts went into this County Cup tie having made enforced wholesale changes to their line-up. Las Vegas had summoned the Lines’ trio, Marc Hawley and Captain Andy Flanagan across the Atlantic and Strikers Dave D’Rozario & Lee Poulter were absent owing to work commitments, pleasingly Nick Raggett made an unexpected late return to the squad having bribed his Boss with a liquid lunch the day before.

Given the ample advance warning of his known absentees Manager Clayton had penned in the ‘temporary’ return of his former Captain Alan Whiter who’s long term absence had been due to family commitments. Steve Berry made his first competitive start for the 1st Team having just returned from Vegas (is that place all the rage or what!?).

Crescent we’re clearly suffering availability problems of their own, which resulted in them only having 11 players available, thereby setting themselves a tall order on the day.

Ruts made their intent known early on, with Nick Raggett firing an excellent long distance strike from 30 yards to put the Ruts one ahead on 7 minutes. On 12 minutes 17 year old KM Swain powerfully converted following the sterling work and great cross from Steve Berry. Alas, as Berry had been clattered late when crossing the ball, the Officials whistle had sounded as the ball hit the back of the Crescent net – meaning ‘goal disallowed’. In fairness (and fortunately not costly) The Ruts consolation saw the Referee apologize for not having played the advantage.

Whilst the Ruts looked to be in general control of the match the hosts threatened themselves on occasions going forward. In particular, Wayne Alderman made a first class one on one save when left exposed by his defense on the half hour mark.

Paul Hull settled the OR’s down into a more comfortable rhythm with a sublime strike on 33 minutes, his effort followed sound build up play involving Dean Riordan and Steve Berry.

Craig Lyle’s skill on the stroke of half time earned him a well deserved goal, when following a mazy incisive run from the byline he fired a shot against the Crescent bar and was alert to fire home the resultant loose ball.

Early in the second half Crescent were reduced to 10 men as the result of an injury. The Ruts went on to add two further goals against their hardworking counterparts with Berry killing the game as a contest when he shin-padded home a cross from Neil Marshall on 68 minutes and an superb effort from Marshall himself wrapped the game up on 81 minutes when he drifted the ball over the hapless keeper from some 25 yards (crap celebration though eh Daragh!?).

Amongst this, the Semi retired Alderman showed a neat bit of skill to his team-mates (shame about the pass afterwards!) and Substitute Steve Nicola had a long range effort saved by the keeper on 87 minutes.

In summary, yes it was pleasing to earn a comfortable win, although we all know there is a huge amount of work to be done in order to repair the season to date. Take the positives? Yes, continue our quest for a winning streak? Yes, get carried away? Most definitely not!

Ruts M.O.T.M award went to their hugely influential and inspirational former Captain Alan Whiter who diligently reminded his Club how sorely they miss his presence. Hopefully his permanent return to the fold will be possible when his circumstances allow.

Alderman, Mitchell, Marshall, Whiter, Rea, Swain, Raggett, Hull, Lyle, Berry, Hull. Substitutes: (all used) Corrigan, Nicola, Upfold

By Phil Rea

The gaffer was holding his own mini budget before the game, taxing players for almost anything. Poor Dwayne sneezed and was taxed 50p. Croydon Greenside were the opposition and when we got to the ground we were crammed into possibly the smallest changing room in the league. This didn’t worry people too much as it was probably the coldest Saturday so far.

After the 5-0 victory last Saturday in the cup, Graham named an unchanged side apart from replacing Alan Whiter with Andy Flanagan at the back. Since I am doing this so late I can’t really remember how it started, but I remember it didn’t start well. Their five man midfield over-ran ours and some bad organisation at the back (by myself) allowed them to go 2-0 up within 15 minutes courtesy of a flukey mis-kick into the roof of the net and a penalty. It felt like the story of our season - silly mistakes early on were punished and we faced an uphill battle.

Heads didn’t go down though and for the rest of the half the Ruts equalled and at times outplayed Croydon. Kevin Foster was terrorising his marker and providing some great crosses. KM was also having a great game, getting past his marker regularly and he really should have scored from five yards after some great play, but it looked like it wasn’t going to be our day.

Then our luck changed. A weak free kick from Kevin Foster should have been caught by the gangly Croydon keeper, but he offered the Ruts an early Christmas present by throwing it into the back of the net. The score was 2-1 going into the second half and the Ruts felt upbeat and confident of getting back in the game. The gaffer put captain Flanagan back in his more comfortable central position and gave the defence man-marking jobs. Young Dwayne was asked to act as sweeper and organiser which he duly did with great confidence.

The new five-man midfield for the Ruts was causing problems for Croydon and we were playing the ball around very well. In fact, we probably played some of our best football of the season and this was rewarded with a second goal from Nick Raggett. Their keeper was a changed man in the second half and kept Croydon in the game with some fine finger tip saves. The eventual man of the match Kevin Foster should have won the game on 85 minutes when he was put clear after some great passing, but went for power rather than accuracy and the ball skimmed the outside of the post to leave the final score 2-2.

A clean sheet this week is required badly. The Ruts can take positives from this game as they showed great spirit to come from behind and played some really attacking football.

By Andy Flanagan

The Ruts went into this League Cup first round game looking to build on last week’s performance at Croydon Greenside - well the second half performance anyway - against a Tongham side who, like the Ruts, haven’t exactly set the world alight with their start to the season.

A few changes to the starting personnel saw Mick Lines slot into the holding role in midfield and Marc Hawley return at centre back, with Hully and Dean making way in a Ruts side that set out in a 4-3-3 formation (that’s right isn’t it Clayts?!)

A sluggish start on what was a less than impressive pitch to say the least was punished 15-20 minutes into the half when a poor goal kick and a Bambi on ice impression by Phil ‘Lesley’ Lines was poked home by the Tongham striker, 1-0. Things went from bad to worse in a matter of minutes when Dwayne was adjudged to have pulled back a Tongham player in the area, the ref pointed to the spot and the penalty was converted, 2-0.

A shuffle of the pack from the gaffer and a bit more control in the play saw the Ruts pull one back just before half time, tenacious play from Bezza and KM saw the youngster ‘nudge’ one back after the keeper saved well from the first shot, 2-1, Ruts back in the game.

A few choice words were the order of the day at half time and they seemed to do the trick as the Ruts started the half with real purpose. An early substitution in the half saw Andy ‘Mr Magoo’ Flanagan go off after a thumb to the eye(!) to be replaced by Paul Hull, who made an immediate impact by sending over a peach of a cross which allowed Bezza to square the game up at 2-2 - game on.

Moments later after more neat play Hully was rather crudely hacked down just outside the Tongham area. He perhaps thought about getting up and taking it himself but left it to Kevin Foster - good choice, as the midfielder curled it into the top right hand corner with the keeper rooted. His celebration earned him a booking for some obscure reason, think only the ref knows the answer to that one, 3-2.

Soon to be 4-2 as good play by KM on the wing fed in Hully who took the scenic route to goal but slotted home in the end. Foster added another not long from the end after some ‘tricky’ wing play from The Beast to make it 5-2. Neil ‘play me up front’ Marshall also got in on the act to round things off and stuck a nice shot away from just inside the area, although there was a ‘strong’ suspicion of offside and it may have to go to the dubious goals panel. His celebration definitely earned him a fine though!

A good result after a bad start I think is all that could be said about the game. Next week’s opponents will not give away goals as easily and the Ruts will have to put a stop to these kamikaze periods of play to have a chance of competing as they should.

By Steve Berry

With three away games on the spin the Ruts were happy to get back on home soil. This would mean at the very least they would get to play on a pitch that would not cut up and get hot showers after the game.

Horsley were the visitors sitting pretty in second place in the league, with the Ruts fourth from bottom. On paper you would think it was a foregone conclusion before the whistle sounded. In the way of that conclusion stood 14 Ruts players eager to show their manager and the league that they could turn their season around.

The game started with Paul Hull and Andy Flanagan in the middle of the park. Standing a full foot above were Horsley’s centre midfield, so from the start it was an uphill battle. To many spectators' surprise the determination from these players, along with the support of others around them, meant the lack of height was not an issue.

Steve Berry was determined to show that he is not simply a stand-in forward and worked hard running balls down and making it difficult for the Horsley back four to settle. This mentality was mimicked by the other 10 Ruts players who, for 45 minutes, matched Horsley for effort and commitment.

The best chance of the first 45 fell to young KM who found himself in the box after a good flick on from the returning Trigger. Instant control was needed and provided by the ever impressing KM. Unfortunately the flick over the outrushing keeper was not so composed.

The half time team talk was words of encouragement from Graham, making a change from the week before. Good job too as like some of the players on the pitch, Graham’s voice had gone.

The second half started in much the same tempo as the first had finished. Unfortunately it also started the beginning of the Phil Lines show. With 45 on the clock the Ruts keeper had been tested just the once and made a fine save. The next 45 was a different story. Horsley came strong and showed the Ruts what it takes to play at the top of this league. With good work and battling they were rewarded ten minutes into the half.

Graham’s response was quick. The next ten minutes saw all three subs brought into play. Young KM made way for the returning Daragh 'birthday boy' Corrigan, Mark 'don’t do 90' Hawley came on for Mick Lines and Steve Berry was replaced by Richard Lines.

The Ruts now with a different shape had to change the way they were playing to search for the equaliser. The physical presence of Richard started to give the Ruts joy with the long ball. The best move for the Ruts came from a good outswinger from the right finding the free man at the back stick. The chance was not taken and less that a minute later the ball was down the other end and in the back of the Ruts net.

Two goals down soon became three with the Ruts players dropping their heads and not closing Horsley down. With the space available Horsley had time to pick their passes and rub salt into the wound. Phil Lines kept the Ruts in the game for as long as possible with fine saves at 1-0 and 2-0 but without the support of his defence at times 3-0 was on the cards.

With 90 on the clock the Ruts piled forward looking for a consolation goal. This came thanks to what the ref saw as a deliberate hand ball on the line from a Horsley player. Why any player would deliberately handball when you're 3-0 up and the final whistle imminent is a puzzle to many.

The next two minutes saw the referee’s office very busy. Trigger managing to find the back way out in the first half after chatting back to the ref was lucky to escape with a booking. The Horsley players were not so lucky and out came the book, not once but twice. Eight quid for you, Thirty Six quid for you, yellow, red, job done!

With all the silliness out the way Trigger stepped up to convert. A 3-1 defeat looked harsh but football is played over 90 and not 45. The Ruts must take positives out the game and rejuvenate ready for the hard times ahead. The Ruts have never had a side relegated but with just six points from 10 games things need to improve.

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By Dave D'Rozario

Old Ruts continued their run of good form with a comprehensive league win over Tongham. Manager Clayton set out with P.Lines in goal, a back four of Riordan, M.Lines, Rea and Flanagan. The midfield quartet saw Foster and Marshall (Yes Marshall, not a typo) on the flanks with Raggett and Hull in the centre. D’Rozario and Berry were once again paired together up front. The subs were M.Hawley (M.Lines 80 mins), Laurence (Bezza 60 Mins) and Mitchell (Marshall 65 mins).

Ruts were quick out of the blocks and could have gone one up in the first 10 minutes when Hull met Foster's corner only for it to be blocked on the line. The relief for Tongham was short lived when five minutes later another Foster corner was met by Rea at the far stick. I’d like to say it was a thunderous header into the roof of the net but clearly Rea had his eyes closed and the ball flew off the top of his head - it was far from text book.

An under par Tongham found themselves under growing pressure and five minutes later Ruts went two ahead. Berry was put clean through and clinically dispatched into the bottom right corner.

This set the tone for the rest of the half with Ruts creating numerous chances which everyone (D’Rozario especially) seemed to do their best to miss. With several near misses and the woodwork rattled on three occasions had the score been 5-0 at half time Tongham could have no complaints.

The half time team talk focused on our inability to kill off a weakened Tongham with Clayton impressing the importance of keeping our shape and showing better quality in possession - keep the ball seemed to be the order of the day.

The second half began much like the first with Ruts applying constant pressure on the opposition’s goal. The inevitable third goal came on 60 minutes, skipper for the day Raggett made an excellent run beating a couple of players before unleashing a left foot drive into the bottom corner.

With the oppo’s enthusiasm dwindling even D’Rozario finally managed to score. Following good work from Foster and Hull down the left the ball fell to D’Rozario in the box who drove home. Shortly after it was 5-0, a good break in to the box from Riordan and a cross-shot found D’Rozario three yards out.

With 10 minutes remaining Flanagan made it six, firing home from 15 yards to complete the rout.

In fairness I should mention that the oppo did create a couple of chances over the 90 minutes but P.Lines dealt with everything they threw at him and takes his run of clean sheets to four games.

In summary it was a comprehensive win and another vital three points but clearly Ruts are capable of more. Skipper Rags was awarded Man of the Match for his tireless work in midfield.

By Richie Lines

With a fair bit of rain around the country on the days leading up to this game, concerns over the pitch were, as always, to be unfounded. It was a nice afternoon and the pitch was slightly heavy in small patches but still in good condition. The Ruts came into this County Cup match confident of getting a win after recent results and performances.

The Ruts lined up with P.Lines in goal, Marshall, M.Lines, Rea and Mitchell making up the back four. Flanagan, Raggett., Hull and Foster across the middle and with in-form striker D'Rozario unavailable, R.Lines came into this game for his first start in the 1st team this season after a year out. Poulter also returned to the team to complete the line up. Berry, new boy Laurence and injury prone Corrigan made up the bench.

The game got off to a lively start for the Ruts, catching their opponents off guard with some nice flowing moves. Raggett was to head home for the Ruts in the opening stages. It was good work down the right that lead to the opening goal, Flanagan played in R.Lines who got in behind the left back and after some nice footwork layed the ball back to the forward-minded right back Marshall who hit a peach of a cross to Raggett at the back post who headed in from a tight angle which left the keeper flapping and falling into his own net.

Ruts continued to play some neat football, closing down Staines with hardwork. Ruts made some other good chances with Raggett in particular making some goods breaks forward from the middle. At the back the Ruts were coping well with what Staines had to offer in the early stages, however as the Ruts continued to spurn possession cheaply and chances at one end, Staines improved their passing game and movement and it was this that allowed them to get a deserved equaliser after a short spell of domination.

The Ruts had a goal disallowed and Marshall was ruled offside despite beating the offside trap with a late run from deep putting him through one on one with the keeper, only to see a flag from the opposition linesman and the referee failing to spot the mistake. This didn't put Marshall off however and he added to his impressive scoring record this season with a sweet rocket of a strike with ten minutes left in the first half. He ran onto a loose ball and from all of 30 yards out hit a piledriver into the roof of the net to leave his team mates as well as Staines in shock including a Staines defender who was heard saying 'all day from there'.

With five left in the first half both teams were to be playing the remainder of the game with ten men. Lines up front had run onto a forward pass, with the Staines keeper coming to the edge of his box and the defender looking unsure Lines attempted to steal the ball from the pair of them, however in his attempt to get the ball he did catch the Staines keeper to concede a foul. The Staines keeper took exception to this and ran 10 yards to confront Lines, leading with his head. Lines stood his ground and head to head contact was made. With players seperating the two, the Staines keeper a good five seconds later dramatically threw himself to the floor, and then popped back up straight away to confront Lines again. Lines resisted taking the matter any further despite the keeper's reaction and both left the referee with little option other than to show the red card. Lines, disappointed for his team and to see his first red for the Ruts, went with the Staines keeper.

The Ruts seemed to be more affected by losing the 11th man and allowed Staines to come out the better team in the second half. Too many Ruts players were giving the ball away cheaply, midfield players not tracking their men, getting caught flat footed and this lead to the Ruts defence being overrun and the game swinging from a one goal advantage for the Ruts to a goal advantage to Staines. Score 3-2.

A Foster freekick finally found its target and Marshall put the Ruts on level terms and equalised with a neat header. Over the next ten minutes Ruts were forced into three changes. Ruts seemed to lose their shape and were chasing shadows at times. A number of players continued to give the ball away and show any real desire to win this game despite some of their team mates around them giving 110%. Staines capitalised on this and took the lead with some confusion between the back four and P.Lines in goal.

Ruts picked up two more injuries in the last five minutes and with no subs Staines extended their lead and put them through into the next round with a fifth goal with a good finish under the exposed Ruts keeper. Only a great last ditch tackle by M.lines a yard out stopped a sixth.

Man of the Match went to Marshall for a great display.

Ruts had dominated this game for long spells during the game but just didn't have the edge of the day. They will go back into league action this week, with a number of players away in the snow. GC will be hoping a number of players will show they deserve their place in the first team and show what it means to play for the Ruts.

By Nick Raggett

After a disappointing result last week in the Surrey Cup, the Old Ruts saw themselves at home against Milford & Witley who have in the past always proved to be strong opposition. This being the case it didn’t help the Ruts were missing a number of key players. Goal keeper Phil lines, centre back Jonathan Woodgate, midfielder Andy Flanagan, and fresh back from injury Rich Lines (now suspended till 2030) were all of snow boarding, even though if they had waited till Monday Boxhill would have been a much cheaper option. Right back Neil Marshall was somewhere else? And Daragh was injured again!

This did however allow the gaffer to bring in Wayne “massive” Alderman ( it’s ironic) between the sticks, the legend that is Alan Whiter in defence and the talented youngsters K “nudger” M, the Fonz and Joe Riches.

Clayts gave very simple instruction to follow before kick off, this was a must win game for the Ruts playing a team one position above in the league.

The Old Ruts line up looked good on paper: Alderman, Mitchell, Rea, Whiter, Hawley, KM, Raggett, Wright, Hully, D’Rozario, Trigger.

After a 15 minute delay the game kicked off (this is where my memory goes walk about but the game went a bit like this).

A poor start to the game saw the Ruts giving the ball away far too cheaply all over the pitch, there was not enough work rate from the players to find space and help out team mates. We were not playing well at all.

A quick short corner from Milford saw the Ruts react slowly with 4 or 5 players trying to close down the cross, needless to say the cross found its way into the box and was met by a Milford player to make it 1-0.

The Ruts reacted well and a goal mouth scramble with a hint of hand ball saw Hully level for the home side.

Some very dodgy linesman decisions and weak / poor refereeing started to frustrate the Ruts. Can an attacking player be given offside if he runs on to a back pass from a defender? Answers on a postcard.

Some more direct play from the Ruts saw a Trigger goal disallowed for handball. Going into the break the game was tied at 1-1.

The second half kicked off with the wind in the Ruts favour, unfortunately the advantage wasn’t taken and we were 2-1 down shortly after the restart. (can’t remember how it was scored, but I’m guessing if it was at the other end of the pitch it would have been offside).

The front two were getting frustrated with lack of service, and the gaffer had to make changes to try and snatch a victory.

Hawley off for Foster, Wright off for Fonz and Hully off for Joe, not all at the same time obviously but changing the formation to 3-4-3.

The Fonz stepped straight into the middle of the park and duly put himself about, his hard work resulted in him head butting two of his own team mates and one of the oppo in his enthusiasm to win the ball in the air.

The Old Ruts never stepped up a gear into second and the result was summed up by some poor shooting and overall lack of chances created. Can we get any worse than this performance?

You know you’re in trouble when a shout for man of the match goes to Hawley who was substituted on 55mins.

MoM finally went to massive between the sticks, who played ok and neither goal was his fault for a change. Personally I believe he was awarded MoM for his ability to polish off three plates of mussels as part of a starter in the Chinese that evening. A good night of beer and food completed a terrible day of football.

Peace.

By Mike Lines

Today saw the Ruts pitting their wits against a side in and around us in the league standings, Reigate Priory. It was a great opportunity for three much needed points and it proved to be a very open and eventful encounter.

The Ruts lined up without their captain Rags who was delayed with work commitments, but one man's loss is another man's gain and Lawrence stepped into the midfield role.

The match started well with both teams creating chances, the Ruts keeper pulling off one superb stop in particular.

It became apparent from early on that the home keeper was having trouble with his kicking (much to the amusement of the visiting bench) and surely it was only a matter of time before the Ruts capitalised.

The Ruts took a deserved lead through D’Rozario after good work from Foster on the left and soon doubled the lead when their keeper came rushing out for a through ball and clattered into their captain Rolf Harris (as Gav named him) leaving KM with the simplest of tasks to tap into the unguarded net. 2-0 and half time.

Oh... and need I bother telling you Darragh "I've only got 10 mins in me" pulled up with a hammy and was replaced by KM.

The opposition have been contesting every single refereeing decision all half and should they of concentrated more on the game they may have got back into the game quicker. . .alas . . they did get a penalty (dubious from where I was) and scored to make it 2-1 with 30 odd mins remaining.

D’Rozario came off for M.Lines up front and Foster was replaced by R.Lines shortly after.

After missing several good opportunities to kill the game off the Ruts finally scored a deserved third goal after M.Lines flicked on a long ball to Hully... some lovely feet in the area and the ball came to R.Lines 15 yards out and he managed to slot the ball home with his £10 JJB Special boots.

All in all a good win (with too many yellow cards for the managers liking) against a side that we have now done the double over. It was hard fought but I personally thought we were good for the three points.  

Onwards and upwards now as we have some tough games coming up against some of the leading teams.

Quote of the day: "Draw us another picture Rolf" (you know who you are).

P.Lines, Hawley, Rea, Mitchell, Marshall, Lawrence, Corrigan, Flanagan, Foster, Hull, D’Rozario. Subs: KM, M.Lines, R.Lines.

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By Phil Rea

The 1st team were away to top of the league Liphook on Saturday to contest the quarter final of the league cup. Liphook’s record in the new elite league is impressive so far, won 14, drawn 1, lost 1 and sitting top.

But this was the cup, so the record in the league meant nothing, it was all about 90 mins and the best team on the day would go through. The gaffer instilled this into the team before the start, and was stating that only a really spirited and confident performance from the team would ensure we would get anything from this game.

Graham “The Gaffer” fielded a changed line up of Phil “Stiff neck“ Lines, “Teachers pet” Marshall, “the one and only Blunder boy” partnered Michael “my pads stink” Lines in the middle, and Phil “is he still playing?” Rea made up the defence.

The midfield was made up of Kevin “I do track back” Foster, Nick “where’s Charlie?” Ragget, Dean “soap dodger” Riordan and Andy “ mop head” Flanagan. Not forgetting Dave “hairy bum” D’Rozario and Paul “hairier bum” Hull up front. A very youthful looking bench was made up of Aaron and Dan Larkin.

This was last chance saloon for the Ruts. With the league out of sight, this represented our only chance of silverware in 2009 and for the first 20 mins the game was evenly matched. Liphook were probably the more organised and were passing the ball around better, not surprising as they are flying high in the league. They were not creating much in the danger areas and the first decent chance of the game fell to veteran Dave D’Rozario who swivelled and shot a rasping effort just over the bar from 30 yards.

Liphook seemed more confident on the ball, they were also working hard off the ball, closing us down and forcing us into mistakes. However after the half hour mark, honours were still even and it was too close to call. The deadlock was however broken after the ref made a very suspect decision after shouts from the oppo and awarded the home team a corner. The resulting corner was driven in fast across the goal and unfortunately it was not dealt with by the keeper who was looking to punch it clear, but mistimed and a simple header from a yard was enough to make it 1-0 to the home side. It was a bit of a kick in the teeth as we had matched them up till then and as its been all season, little mistakes get punished in this league.

Liphook continued to pressurize the shell shocked Ruts in their own half, and we couldn’t seem to string more than three passes together. A bit of panic and frustration was setting in and a cynical foul by Boy Blunder just outside the box gifted the home side a free kick in a dangerous position.
The resulting free kick was a beauty and totally unstoppable. It had pace, bend and was placed so far in the corner it hit the post and bar at the same time before hitting the roof of the net. All we could do was applaud, but of course we didn’t.

The Ruts continued to flap a little after that goal and Liphook took full advantage, they sensed the Ruts were rocked by these two quick goals and were piling the pressure on. To make things worse Phil Lines got a boot in the head from a late challenge from their winger, and his unfortunate luck against Liphook continued and like the previous year he was forced to be replaced by his younger and some might say (actually only Mick and Mick’s missus actually say) better looking brother.

The Ruts felt a little unfortunate to be going in two-nil down, but the gaffer pointed out we were doing ok and only a silly mistake and wonder goal were dividing us. Memories of a gallant fight back against Elm Grove the previous week also helped the Ruts stay positive.

The second half saw the utility man with big hair put into left back and the elderly yet still Housewife's favourite (according to my wife and El Pres) into centre back. Dave D'Rozario was asked to move onto the left of midfield and he duly accepted.

The response from the Ruts was more encouraging. We seem to playing without the fear and were now competing at their level, and probably were the better side. They were now making mistakes and giving the ball away cheaply, due to our increased work rate and determination.

In fact Liphook were looking very ordinary which was annoying as if we had competed in the first half like this we would still be in the game.... Flanagan was having a good game at left back keeping their winger quiet, but unfortunately for all our effort, we really didn’t look like troubling them in the final third and no matter how well we battled and passed the ball around, we couldn’t get in behind them.

Young Aaron came on for Dave D'Rozario and had a couple of decent attempts on goal, but we could have probably played for another hour and not scored if were honest. Credit must go to their defence who have only let in 8 goals in 16 games this season.

The Ruts will be playing Liphook twice again this season in the league and will take heart that although they lost the game 2-0, the team showed great team spirit and were probably the better team in the second half. The Ruts can be confident that although there is a massive 26 points between the teams in the league, on the day there wasn’t an awful lot of difference in the sides.

It’s really down to the players (me very much included) to look at themselves and make sure that they perform as we did in the second half for the rest of the season and not wait until we are behind to start giving 100% for each other.

By Phil Lines

Top of the table Liphook came to try their luck at Poplar Road at the weekend hoping for another 'easy' victory against the opponents they beat 2-0 a fortnight previous. The Ruts were out to avenge the scoreline which we thought was undeserved.

The Ruts lined up with Phil Lines between the sticks (hoping to last 90 mins for once against the side he has been injured against in the last two meetings.) Mike Lines, Mitchell and Rea at the back in a complete reshuffle of tactics. Marshall and Flanagan were introduced in a new role as wing backs (Marshall is still unsure to this day what his role is) with Wright and Rags in the heart of the midfield. Hull, Foster and D'Rozario were the chosen three to lead the Ruts attack to see how the Liphook defenders could handle a three strong front line. Subs were Joe Riches, M. Hawley and S. Nicola.

The Ruts kicked off attacking the far end and playing some strong attractive stuff early on. Creating chances has been our problem all season and with us 'not offering much in attack' the strikers gave the away team problems from start to finish.

With the Ruts showing the early initiative, and having already gone close with a D'Rozario header a corner was whipped in the box by Foster only for Dave D to get there first and find the back of the net to the obvious excitement of the team. The question now would be could the Ruts push on and take points off the team who are running away with the league?

The answer was no. Liphook responded by popping the ball around and throwing the ball in the box from free kicks and corners, which Phil Lines dealt with competently with all game.  However, a short throw and cross caught out the Ruts defence and the away side got a glancing header which avoided everyone and somehow hit the inside of the post and back into the arms of the expertly placed Lines.

With the game comfortable and Liphook running out of ides of how to break down the sturdy defence of the Ruts, their striker decided to take what I can only describe as a blatant dive in the box (something young British Diving hopeful Tom Daly would have been proud of) and won a penalty. Surely this was to be the equaliser.  Surprisingly, the striker picked himself up whilst looking embarrassed, dusted himself down and decided that he was the man to make the scores level. Surely 1-1?... NO... Lines outwitted the player by diving the other way, putting the fella off and watch the ball crash against the post. The Ruts chased in well to clear the danger. Justice if ever I saw it.

Just after this, the away side again broke down their right and the winger cut inside to unleash a ferocious shot through a pack of players, destined for the far corner until Lines pulled off arguably the save of the season to keep the Ruts ahead.

Talking of moments of the season, Dave D'Rozario was most unfortunate to have a goal chalked off for a non-existent handball which was nothing short of class. Writing down details of it does not do it justice, so if you were one of the lucky ones to witness the strike, you will know what I am talking about. (Webmaster’s note – I was there and Phil isn’t exaggerating)

Shortly before the break, an excellently flighted free kick from Flanagan was put into the Liphook box, Raggett glanced on and the grateful Marshall was there to lob the keeper from 12 yards. Some say it was a lucky finish, I personally though it was more than that.

Half time, the Ruts were two goals to the good and spirit was high.

The second half started pretty quiet, although we knew that Liphook would have to come at us and it didn't take long before a cross come in the box and they hit the bar from seven yards, although Mitchell did very well to get in his way and put him off.

The home team were now attacking the car park end and with the game being thwarted by good defending, excellent home team goalkeeping and positive hard working front lads, it was obvious that against the run of play Liphook got back in the game with a similar goal to the Ruts second. Less said about that the better.

By this time the home support had grown by the minute with every clearance, header, tackle being won and Foster winning a header being cheered like we had just won the league.

Liphook were throwing everything at us but was all swept up by the defence and keeper who on the day were determined to hold on to this lead. More so, Liphook got on the refs back and kept on and on at him. The more they were doing this, the more it was helping us. I sympathise with them to an extent because we have been guilty previously of losing our game plan because decisions were not going our way.  This led to a token remark made to Clayton from the opposition which can only be a mistake.... “Shut up you fat  w****r.” Nice.

Even the subs, Joe and Hawley, came on and did their part.

With the Ruts defending from the front and playing some good stuff throughout, the game finished with a brilliant win and a much-needed three points.

Everyone worked their socks off and I think El Pres was especially proud and happy with the result. Well done everyone, lets make sure we do this again next week and finish the season on a high. That would be fantabulous.

Ruts Man of the Match was Dave D'Rozario. Although there could have been no complaints from anyone had any one of the 11 got the nod. Well done Dave.

By Kevin Foster

The Ruts went to follow up on their victory over top of the table Liphook against an Esher team that played on probably the worst pitch in the league, not to mention the Elite league dugouts which consisted of five bar chairs (luckily for Clayts he opted not to try find out how much pressure they could take!!)

We stuck to the new tactics of attacking with three up front and welcomed back in the team Trigger and Tom - well done boss for getting you and the apprentice the day off! Not so well getting caught by Sherlock Lennard downing a few sambucas on the Friday night, rumour has it there was a third player who had joined them on the night that shall remain nameless!!

The first half went past without much action at both ends with a massive wind swirling around and the pitch making it hard to keep control of the ball and the Ruts taking one too many touches in front of goal!

At the other end Esher had two quick strikers that never really looked liked threatening the big lumps of Mike, Phil and Tom!

The second half is where the action started to happen and included a hat trick of disallowed goals for Trigger including one goal that had their skipper apologising for such a dreadful decision, but despite playing in rain, hail, swirling winds and then bright sunshine there was also a 20 min break for Dwain (surprise surprise turning up late), but this time for a header leaving their centre midfielder needing stitches (we’ll let him off for this one).

With 10 minutes left the introduction of Dean Riordan (had already played one game for the Reserves) got the ball on the edge of the box to slide in a ball that cut the defence in half to leave Paul Hull to round the keeper and give Ruts finally a deserved goal that wasn’t disallowed.

The Ruts went on to get a deserved win but knowing they didn’t play great but another three points and onwards and upwards for the Ruts!!!