People's reactions cause problems.
This match, to be fair, never really got going throughout the game from an attacking point of view and both defences were on top from start to finish, neither one giving the opposition attackers any clear cut chances to score.
From a spectators point of view there was plenty of effort, commitment and endeavour from every player on the pitch but the quality that both teams possess within their ranks never came to the fore, as the match became one of nutrition, every ball challenged for, every bit of space soon filled and any player with, or about to receive the ball, was soon put under pressure therefore, time on the ball was minimal to say the least.
Perhaps this type of match was to be expected in truth as, even at this stage of the season, defeat for either team whilst not disastrous, would have surrendered any initiative to their opponent and the other clubs in and around them at the top of the table.
Therefore, it seemed to most fans that both sides played with an air of "let's make sure we don't get beat" rather than the more positive "let's win" attitude, the latter being the one chosen by the Crows, in all their games so far this season.
As the away side and prior to kick off, one can understand that a point for the Crows at the final whistle would be considered satisfactory but whether the home fans would be happy with that as a starting point I don't know, after all we are used to the Crows going out to win every game, especially at home, which is all we can judge on.
The first shot at goal came in the 12th minute, Muggeridge firing wide after a great through ball by Perry, prior to this effort any dangerous ball by either side was rather brutally dealt with by a defender sending it high, far and wide, including outside the ground on numerous occasions.
The Oaks defence had a scare in the 15th minute when a Carey free kick was saved by French but the ball ran free and was just cleared before a Crow could tap the ball home. The rest of the half was about free kicks, tame efforts at goal that were easily saved by the respective goalkeeper or missed their target and a few offsides.
Half time was reached with a 0-0 score line and reflected the game so far, neither team being able to breakdown the other, Miles for the Oaks and Turner for the Crows, both turning in great examples of how to play the centre half position.
The second half started much the same as the first half did, with neither side really having superiority over the other and the first bit of action came in the 60th minute and that was a yellow card for a tackle by Tear, down the right hand side of the Crows defence and near the home dugout.
It looked like a mistake in the defensive area of the pitch would be needed for a team to take the lead and in the 63rd minute that's exactly what happened on the edge of the Oaks penalty area, a header back to the 'keeper seemed to allude his hands and the ball ran free towards their goal where the ever alert Perry was able to win the foot race and put the ball into the net.
With the Crows now 1-0 up and neither team having looked like really scoring, it seemed that this may be enough to secure the points for the away side however, the situation was about to change in the 69th minute when a challenge by Walder was deemed to be a straight red card by the referee, Joe Stokes.
Queue plenty of reaction by both sets of players, which was disappointing in itself, but what was more disappointing is the reaction you see from the players bench these days, management and substitutes all giving their point of view to the match official, leaving the technical area and invading the pitch on mass and thus making his job even harder.
Like most things you see on TV it filters down to all levels and this situation is one of those and let's be honest, it's all done to influence any decision the officials make and if it turns a yellow into a red, then it's worked.
Clubs can try their best to stop this happening but only the authorities and match officials have the power to really stamp it out but all the time it happens in the professional game without being cut out, then it will carry on at all levels.
It seems these days any tackle made with any force is considered to be dangerous, reckless or made with excessive force by the "offended" team, which is not always the case of course, and if the powers that be want to cut out a tackle on the ground then they should just come out and say so, clarify the rule, then we'd all know where we stand.
Back to our game, the Crows were now down to 10 and the home side took advantage by making a couple of attacking substitutions, something not to be unexpected and they enjoyed more possession from this point and started to create the odd chance, something that hadn't happened until the dismissal.
Plenty of balls into the Crows area were successfully dealt with, especially by Turner and his defensive partners, Boddy, Tear and Barton, ably backed up by Ellis who made a couple of excellent saves to keep the score at 1-0 to the Crows. However, in the 88th minute a defensive mistake led to Walker tapping the ball in the net for 1-1. A clearance by a defender hit one of his own players it seemed and found Walker inside the 6 yard box.
Vickers then replaced Perry as we entered stoppage time, of which there was plenty, and despite being under some pressure the Crows did have their own chances to win it but they weren't taken.
In the 92nd minute Dalton received a yellow card and the Crows held out for the draw as the referee blew for full time in the 95th minute. The Crow's supporters seemed happy with the players, their performance and the point as they clapped both sides off the pitch, whether the home side were or not is hard to tell.
Jack Turner was awarded the Crow's Man of the Match by the assembled supporters and well deserved too. We now move on to Hassocks FC on Tuesday night for a SCFA Senior Cup tie and where the winners will then play away to either Brighton & Hove Albion or Pagham FC in the quarter-finals following the draw made on Saturday.