Visitors deserved their win in the end.
Many teams have come to the Community Stadium this season and shut up shop in the vain hope of taking a point away with them and if they're lucky, all three points in a smash and grab way.
Therefore, it was very refreshing to see an attacking, end to end game at the Community Stadium on Tuesday in a SCEFL Challenge Cup Quarter-Final, as the Crows and the Oaks went toe to toe to see who would reach the semi-final stage.
The Oaks definitely started the brighter and were quicker on the ball than the Crows as well as winning most second ball in the midfield or attacking areas. They had eight corners inside the first 15 minutes (eleven in total during the first 45 minutes), whilst the Crows only forced one, in the 25th minute.
Whilst both teams had chances neither goalkeeper was really tested as their respective defences kept the opposition forwards at bay, Ellis did have to make one smart save, tipping the ball over for a corner but overall, defenders held sway.
The Crows took a surprise 1-0 lead, on the balance of play, when a Pring shot from the edge of the area hit the far post before rebounding out and hitting Nichols in the Oaks goal, the rebound fell nicely at the feet of Barton who tapped the ball home from a yard out inside the six yard box.
One felt when watching the game that one goal wouldn't be enough and so it proved in the 40th minute when McCann levelled things up with a volley from six yards out on the angle, the cross not being dealt with by the defence.
Bearing in mind what happened when we played the Oaks at Greatness Park in December 2016 the match was played in a competitive but fair way and the only booking in the first half was for a tackle by Barton in the 37th minute, therefore, the break was reached with a 1-1 score line, the Crows probably feeling the happier of the two sides when taking in to the amount of pressure the Oaks put on the Crows defence.
The faithful knew that the second half would be better for the Crows, it normally is but that feeling was tempered slightly as the sides came out for the second half as Vickers, who had been carrying a knock for most of the half, had to be replaced by Lewis Unwin, not a bad replacement and he has never let the side down previously and he didn't disappoint this time either.
The Crows started on the front foot this time and took the lead again in the 51st minute, Perry heading the ball home, off the underside of the crossbar, following good work and cross from his strike partner Attwood.
The home side carried on with attacking intentions, Attwood having a shot saved by Nichols but both these sides are not at the top of the division for nothing and it was obvious that the Oaks wouldn't go down without a fight and they equalised in the 62nd minute, Bennett tapping in at the far post following a deep cross in to the Crows area.
At this point the Oaks manager was dismissed from the bench by the referee, presumably for something he said to the assistant referee when they equalised. Why he should've been upset at that moment I personally don't know, perhaps it was for something that happened earlier, the result was the same anyway, the long dreaded walk to the dressing room.
Crows were soon back on the front foot and were unfortunately caught on the break in the 69th minute, McCann was able to race clear down the left wing before playing the ball to Gnahore inside the area. The striker still had plenty to do but with a deft turn, a good touch and shot, he was able to make it 3-2 to the away side.
From here on in the match was very much end to end again. Pearson replaced Attwood in the 74th minute and is often the case in the last 15 minutes of a match a flurry of further substitutions take place which often disrupts the flow of the game, the main reason they are done of course.
With time running out and clear chances few and far between, Carrington came on for Carey in the 85th minute as the Crows tried to add further impetus to their forward line. Oaks responded by making a double substitution, Carnegie and Gnahore going off, Walker and Rogers coming on as the away side looked to hold on to what they had.
The only thing that happened of note between now and the end of the game in the 97th minute was another mass confrontation, Carrington was rather brutally hauled down and reacted in such away that caused a reaction between foes and teammates alike. In the end the only player booked was Bingham of the Oaks.
Only a minute later the game ended and it's the Oaks who progressed to the semi-finals and we wish them well and apart from the small matter of a Sussex Senior Cup Quarter-Final against Brighton & Hove Albion next week, the Crows can concentrate on the league.