Blues victorious in seven-goal thriller
Marlow FC: Captain Ovenden celebrates 350th appearance with a goal
Marlow FC fans were treated to another ‘thriller’ over the Halloween weekend as the Blues came back from two goals down to beat promotion rivals Basingstoke 5-2 at Oak Tree Road.
First half goals from Ezio Touray and George Reid gave visitors the lead before Aaron McLeish-White restored parity after the interval with a welltaken brace. A superb strike by captain Chris Ovenden – on his 350th appearance – then put the Blues in the ascendancy with eight minutes left to play.
And within those dying embers, Marlow were able to find the back of the net twice more, the goals scored by Naheer-Omar Nawaf.
Reflecting on the victory that keeps them in second place of the Isthmian League South Central Division, Ovenden said: “It was a thriller for the fans with another great comeback.
“To be fair, we felt being 0-2 down at half time wasn’t a true reflection of how the game had gone, so we knew we had it in us to get the three points.
“Barts (Mark Bartley), the gaffer, is an inspiring guy, so when he talks you listen and he reminded us we’ve been here before and that we are good enough so when we get one we can get two or three. He was proved right.
“You could tell by the celebrations how much it meant to us. We knew once we got one, that the momentum and belief in our side was in full flow so there was no holding back and it could have been six or seven in the end.
“Any team coming to Oak Tree Road know it’s not an easy place to come and are in for a fullblooded game until the end.”
Ovenden added: “It’s great to see us up and around the top of
the table, but we are experienced enough to know there is a long way to go yet.
“In fairness, we also know within the group we’ve got a few gears to go up, There is a great belief and togetherness in the squad so we know if we maintain our standards then we can remain in and around the top of the table come the end of the season.”.
On his milestone of appearances, Ovenden said: “I wasn’t actually aware it was a milestone game until afterwards, but I am very proud to have reached that many games at one club over the
last 10 years.
“My club sponsor James Knight actually said he fancied me to score on the day so when the ball fell to me on the edge of the box all I thought was ‘I’ve got to buy a ticket here and have a shot’, and it’s gone flying in top right off the post and in.
“Some say there was a slight deflection but we will wait on the VEO camera to decide.”
Marlow play Southall away on Saturday who are having a mostly positive season.
The side sit in eighth place with four wins, five draws, and three losses.