On another day, who knows?
On a blustery day at the Community Stadium, the recent run of good form shown by the Crows was blown off course by a determined and resolute Oaks side who had goalkeeper, Jake Rankin, to thank for their ultimate victory.
As in most ball sports players can cope with soft and slippery conditions but wind does tend to ruin the spectacle and whilst their was still some excitement during the match, neither team probably played to the standard they would've wanted and whoever had the wind at their backs had the easier tasks of defending their goal.
Sevenoaks Town played with the wind at their backs during the first 45 minutes and made their intentions clear from the kick off which were to get the ball forward as quick as possible, bypass the midfield and rely on the pace of their forwards to put pressure on the Crows defence.
At the start of the season the long high ball, turning our defence towards their own goal, was causing the team problems but our defence has been coping with that tactic of late a lot better, since they've adapted to this league now.
However, it was the Oaks who threatened very early on as they had two shots at goal within the first 3 minutes, neither came to anything though and the home side started to get into the game themselves with shots from Waterman, Ridley, Rich and Ridley again, giving the away sides defence some concern and it was 'keeper Rankin who was the busiest of the two on the pitch.
Still, the Oaks were dangerous on the counter attack when, from another long ball, their forward broke free, his lobbed shot evaded the advancing Collick and hit the top of the Crow's cross bar, on such narrow margins does a 0-0 scoreline remain.
The game was now settling down, the Crows having slightly the better of ball possession but on 22 minutes the away side took the lead from one of their breakaways down the Crows left, which saw the ball crossed into the area and the unmarked Constable was allowed to head goal wards, his effort hitting the post and whilst the defenders were trying to gather their thoughts, Springett put the ball away for. 1-0 lead to the Oaks.
The Crows now upped the tempo slightly and forced a number of corners, free kicks, Springett being booked by referee, Lukauskis, for a misdemeanour and in particular efforts from Funnell, whose effort was well saved by Rankin and a Boddy header causing the away defence the greater concern.
The half time whistle went with the Crows probably feeling that they hadn't played their best and were maybe a bit unfortunate to be losing but at only 1-0 down, playing against a strong wind, that there was all still to play for.
The second half started with the Crows on the attack and the away side relying on what is the strongest element of their side, the defence, to continually repel the home sides forays into their half.
The tackling from the away side started to get a bit desperate and in the 55th minute a free kick was awarded to the Crows and Springett, who opened the scoring for the Oaks, inexplicably booted the ball downfield after the whistle had blown. In the modern game, rightly or wrongly, it's an automatic yellow card.
The referee quite clearly reached for his back pocket as if to reach for the yellow card, therefore giving Springett a second yellow which would have been followed by a red and the Oaks down to ten men. For some reason referee Lukauskis seem to change his mind after being approached by the away side's captain and Springett stayed on the pitch.
Only 3 minutes later, in recognition of their rather fortunate escape, Springett was substituted by Martin Debrah as the Sevenoaks management needed to keep eleven players on the pitch.
The Crows still created chances, Barton and Boddy probably had the best efforts and with the away side relying increasingly on breakaways it was from one of these that they increased their lead on 64 minutes. Another long ball was played forward and really should have been headed away but it was allowed to bounce and Constable, who by now was playing as a lone forward, eventually hit a shot across Collick and into the far corner of the net.
Immediately the Crows made a substitution, Charlton off, Clarke on and it seemed to perk the home side up and from the 65th minute until the final whistle, the Crows dominated play and it became a rear guard battle for the away side with Rankin constantly being in the firing line.
To further heighten the pressure on the away side, Carrington replaced Waterman and a succession of free kicks, shots and corners rained down on the Oaks goal. Carrington himself had an effort cleared off the line but eventually, in the 84th minute, Crows got the goal their pressure deserved, Barton heading in a Ridley corner from some six yards out.
The Crows now went all guns blazing in an effort to get the equaliser and in the 90th minute they thought they had it when a goal mouth scramble led to the ball appearing to be over the line. However, the ball eventually went wide of the post and the referee consulted with his assistant referee and the upshot was disappointment for the Crows and a goal kick for the Oaks.
The final whistle blew in the 95th minute and the Crows had lost 2-1, not their best performance of late and definitely not their worst, it's just one of those games you get from time to time and on another day they may have won quite comfortably, especially if the wind have not been blowing.