LITTLE Oakley’s footballers are celebrating one of the highlights of their season.

The Acorns stunned Essex and Suffolk Border League title-chasers Coggeshall Town 2-0 – watched by pop king Olly Murs.

Ben Hammond and Sam Eldridge netted the all-important goals and afterwards joint-boss Sean Tynan described his players as “outstanding”.

“It was one of the boys’ best performances since I came to the club,” he said.

“They truly performed and showed me what they’re capable of.

“You could see what it meant to them in the changing room afterwards – it was like we’d won the cup.

“Coggeshall have beaten us twice this season – once in a cup semi-final and once in the league, so we owed them one.

“In my mind, there’s no doubt that the best team won and it’s up there with our best results of the season.

“To be fair, there have been a few this season.

“We’ve had some great wins and winning a cup semi-final was unforgettable.

“But this was definitely one of the highlights and I couldn’t possibly pick a man-of-the-match.

“They were all outstanding – from those who started to those who came off the bench.”

Wednesday’s win completed a satisfying few days for Oakley, who thumped Hatfield Peverel 6-0 on Saturday (see page 38).

It moved them up to fifth in the premier division table with two more games to go – at home to West Bergholt next Wednesday and away to the University of Essex on May 14.

Former X Factor host Murs, who plays for Coggeshall’s reserves, was watching from the sidelines and as news of his presence spread on social media, a crowd of between 250 and 300 flocked to the Memorial Ground.

Tynan (pictured above) said that added to the atmosphere and felt his players finished as worthy winners.

“Coggeshall were at full-strength and had the likes of (former Heybridge Swifts player-boss) Cliff Akurang playing for them,” said the Acorns joint-boss, who manages the side with Paul Sadler.

“I looked at the team-sheet before the game and told my players that if they got a result, it would be a massive achievement.

“(Goalkeeper) Luke (Tynan) made four or five great saves and defensively we set ourselves up to be hard to break down.

“We grew into the game and when we went forward, we looked dangerous.

“Ben scored a great goal from a corner, chesting the ball down and smashing it into the bottom corner.

“Sam then won and converted a penalty.

“Ian Lord was sent off in the latter stages but overall the boys really impressed me.

“Coggeshall just ran out ideas and it was a great result so late in the season.”