Allen Hall ease past Blackfriars in Oxford Goalfest

Allen Hall sauntered to a 17-2 victory over Blackfriars, on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Oxford.

The highly anticipated encounter between the historic London seminary and the Dominican community is reported to be their first meeting.

Fresh from a disappointing 0-0 draw with Oscott, Allen Hall flew out of the blocks with a point to prove and began to exert great pressure on their opponents.

After a couple of early chances, it was Domagoj Matokovic who superbly opened the scoring when he beat his defender on the left before dashing a fierce shot into the far bottom corner.

Allen Hall started with three at the back, and though Blackfriars worked hard, they were stifled by the defence of Josue Garcia, Thomas Blackburn, and captain Paolo Gambardella.

After 15 minutes Allen Hall found themselves 3-0 up, before a horrific lapse in concentration by goalkeeper Robert Smialek allow the Oxford side on the scoresheet.

In midfield, debutant Paul Etheredge, was dominating and linking up well with Matokovic, only for the resulting chances to be squandered.

That all changed when Brenden Alvares was brought on as a sub for Ante Bulat, and within four minutes bagged a hat-trick, to send Allen Hall 6-1 in at half-time.

A half-time change in formation saw Gambardella move into a three-man midfield and resulted in a frantic five minutes after the break in which Allen Hall added five more goals.

While the goals slowed, the stand-out moment occurred midway through the second half when Gambardella won the ball in midfield and played a neat one-two with Etheredge, before whipping the ball across the box first-time to Bulat, who lashed the ball into the net.

The home side added their second goal from the spot shortly after, after a foul by the otherwise impeccable Paul Pimblett, but that was as good as it got for the Dominican outfit.

Tired legs saw the game slow down in the second half, however Allen Hall continued to dominate and added several more goals.

As the final whistle blew there was a noticeable air of emotion from Smialek, Bulat, Blackburn, and Matokovic, who are retiring from seminary football.

Regardless of the scoreline, both teams left the field in good spirits before returning to Blackfriars Priory for lunch and a time of fraternity.

Man of the Match: in his final game, Matokovic’s five goals were a fitting way to end a remarkable career in red and black.

Allen Hall Squad: Smialek (IRE), Blackburn (UK), GarcĂ­a (ESP), Gambardella (ITA), Etheredge (UK), Matokovic (HR), Bulat (HR) Subs: Alvares (UK), Pimblett (UK)

Goals: Matokovic 5, Alvares 4, Bulat 4, Gambardella 2, Etheredge 1, Blackburn 1