Match Report: Little Oakley 3-1 Dunstable Town

Written by Zain Rizvi

Photos by James Smith

Dunstable travelled to the seaside for the first preliminary round of the FA Cup sadly it was not a celebration for Steve O’Reilly’s young team as the game ended in a 3-1 defeat.

Dunstable were forced into an early change as centre back Melvin Onu came off in the 14th minute due to hamstring issues and was replaced by Jake Fox-Nania.

Dunstable were then given a very harsh warning in the 17th minute as a header from Little Oakley appeared to have crossed the line however the linesman did not think so. This galvanised Little Oakley to push on and break the deadlock. As a goal kick was flicked to Luke Hipkin who had been left unmarked and was able to slot home for Little Oakley. 

Minutes later, another controversial refereeing decision saw Nathan Rowe receive a booking for a high, studs up challenge which could have very easily warranted a sending off. 

Dunstable continued to look timid as Oakley doubled their lead through a corner being headed in by Darren Holmes

Three changes were made at halftime indicating Steve O’Reilly’s dissatisfaction at what he had seen from his team in the first 45 minutes. Ayo Akinbobola, Shay Greene and Josh Hatton were introduced in place of Mason Davis, Spencer O’Leary and Dan Purvis.

Steve O’Reilly’s team talk seemed to have an impact as a reinvigorated Dunstable Town side started the second half leading to a well taken goal from Ayo Akinbobola in the 52nd minute for much of the second half it looked like an equaliser was close, however, Dunstable seemed to lack the finishing touch.

Ayo Akinbobola celebrates pulling one back for Dunstable.

In the 82nd minute, Luka Lodder was harshly dismissed for a light kick out, which made minimal contact, in retaliation to being kicked at. The referee seemed to miss the Little Oakleys player involvement in the altercation as he went unpunished. 

Dunstable still created chances, however, they were unable to put them away. The final nail in the coffin was a goal from Lewis Wood in the 90th minute to deny Dunstable the chance at a replay and confirm their elimination from the FA Cup

To conclude, despite a disappointing result, there were positives that Steve O’Reilly will be looking to build on to take all three points against Baldock on Saturday.