Barnesalona League
Hendrix FC 2 v Lokomotiv Londres FC 2
Well that’s that. Having failed to put Barnes to the sword last week Loko again failed to make late pressure count, this time against the jazzily rebranded ‘Hendrix FC’, formerly plain old Hendricks Gin.
Another draw meant that, despite stretching their unbeaten run to six league games, Loko’s title challenge died a cold January death. It seems that Loko are unable to play for 90 minutes; last week they only started playing at 3-1 down whereas this week they shamefully let slip a 2-0 lead. The steam engine boys finished strongly and came agonizingly close to a winner, but should have been well clear by that stage.
With Pete out following an eye injury sustained last week against Barnes, and both Ivan and Christophe absent, the team lined up with Rohan, Jules, Paul and Doug in a make-do-and-mend back four in front of keeper Ismail. Roger and Dale picked up from where they left off in centre mid, with Dave and Nick as wingers. Mark and James began the match in attack, with Paul Kelly and Stefan warming the bench. Club captain Paul pulled on the armband, the rotating captaincy having done the rounds.
The match began on pitch two with its wild slope and goose shit, under the warming rays of the new rising sun. Paul, having won the toss, elected to play uphill in the first half. Loko started reasonably well, passing brightly and getting the tackles in early. Ginsters pies, buoyed by their draw with WKK the week before, revealed themselves as a workmanlike, physical side. They came rumbling down the hill like boulders while the Loko players, not the leanest bunch of machines themselves, darted in and out like meerkats at play.
Honourable mention goes to Doug, who did sterling work filling in at left-back, and even managed to initiate several attacks with his outside-of-the-boot passes down the line.
Loko quickly accelerated, or powered if you will, into a two-nil lead. Both goals resulted from slick passing play originating from midfield; Mark and James sowed seeds of panic in the Hendrix defence, allowing first Nick (pictured above) and then Roger, to pounce on loose balls in the area and slot them low past the static keeper. Dale had a hand in Roger’s goal, knocking his two bodyguards to the ground and squaring the ball to the rejuvenated dynamo.
Loko didn’t relax immediately after the second goal; no, that error happened later. They pushed for a third, and a great chance went begging after Mark, requiring only to beat the keeper from two yards, tripped over a wah-wah pedal that one of the opposition had dropped and scuffed the ball into the keeper’s arms.
Then, and only then, did the Loko players relax. Hendrix got themselves back in the match when a through ball split the centre halves; the centre forward ran onto it from an offside position and finished well past Ismail. The keeper planted the ball down to take the free kick but it turned out that the ref had given the goal. The remainder of the half finished without incident, save for when the Hendrix drummer threw his sticks in the air and one hit Steve Whitely on the head. Steve confiscated it and Hendrix were forced to play the second half bereft of percussion.
Half-time Hendrix FC 1 v Loko 2
Jules had to shout his half-time team talk to make himself heard over the Hendrix jamming. “Listen boys,” he yelled, “I been standin’ next to a mountain, and I chop it down with the edge of mah hand. Now get out there and beat those pups.” Stefan replaced Mark who had pulled a muscle in his leg. Loko really, really should have polished off the rockers in the second half, playing downhill. However they showed greater determination and lady luck smiled upon them.
Despite another bright start and a couple of corners, Loko lost their grip on the lead when an innocent floated cross somehow eluded the attentions of three Loko defenders and the lone striker planted a firm cross-goal header past a justly furious Ismail. “No excuses”, we said at the time, although it later transpired that Paul had found an abandoned, still-smoking spliff by the goal and had been passing it around the Loko back line.
The second half flew by with Loko pushing all the time to regain the lead and Hendrix trying to counter. Ismail made some great saves from corners and Jules won countless headers. In a freakish natural disaster it transpired that Dale’s head was magnetically attracted to his counterpart in the Ginsters midfield. We feared the worst as they landed heavily but luckily only some cheap recording equipment was damaged. Roger had his own bout of fisticuffs with the bassist, but on closer inspection it was only handbags. Paul Kelly replaced Dougie at left back, and Jules and Nick swapped places.
Late on Loko had two golden opportunities to win the game. Dale, bounding through like a Labrador, pushed the ball past the keeper; it looked as if he’d gone too far wide but he managed to turn the ball goalwards, only to see it bounce off the post. Then, with only a couple of minutes left to play, Roger crowdsurfed up at the far post to nod a corner back across the goal to Stefan, who somehow failed to divert it past the keeper.
The final whistle blew and the Loko players trudged off the pitch. Jules wasn’t too downhearted, but it was gutting - the cheers of hundreds of groupies rubbed salt into the wound. There was a silver lining, though – the players enjoyed a vigorous warm-down, and all agreed it was brilliant fun and made up for not winning.
Final Score Hendrix FC 2 v Loko 2
Manager Julian Milne's comments:
"Everyone seemed slightly downbeat after this match and letting go of a two-nil lead was certainly hard to take. We played some of our best football of the season in the first twenty minutes with Mark, Nick and James passing the ball well and providing plenty of options for Dale and Roger in midfield. As the game wore on, however, it became increasingly physical and we started to lose some of our energy. We were torn out of shape and they increasingly found time and space on the ball between our midfield and the back four. This issue was addressed but only once they had pegged us back to two all.
We perhaps have to look as a team at the way we react to being in the lead in a game and compare it to how we play when we are trailing. I don’t think it is coincidence that we have drawn our last three games (in a league where few games are drawn) and perhaps the reasons are psychological as well as physical. We sometimes seem to play with more freedom when we are behind and either lack the belief that we can hold on to a lead or simply take our foot of the gas when we have a two goal cushion.
If we examine the last two games certain things are evident. Against Hendrix our attitude clearly altered after the second goal and we were second best until they equalised. We then picked things up again and created a couple of golden chances that could have sealed all three points. Against Barnes we battered them after half time (when we knew we had nothing to lose) but then relaxed at 3-3 and had only a solitary strike from Andreas to show in the last twenty minutes. I think the point to be made here is that we need to address the issue of why we only play to our potential for periods of a match (and generally only when we feel the situation demands it) and not for the entire ninety minutes.
There are clear positives to be taken as well. We are six matches unbeaten in the league now and back into fifth place ahead of Barnes and Auckland. We are just 6 points behind SW6 with a game in hand and as such are still leading the peloton trying to break into the top 4. All the games are competitive and exciting and we are becoming difficult to beat. The important thing is to enjoy our football whilst at the same time trying to improve our game in areas that will give us the edge in a lot of very tight matches.
Man of the Match: Ismail – another good performance with some fine saves."
Team Line Up
1. Ismail
2. Rohan
3. Doug
4. Julian
5. Paul D (c)
6. Roger
7. Dave
8. Dale
9. Mark
10. James
11. Nick
12. Paul K (Replaced Doug 70 Minutes)
13. Stefan (Replaced Mark 45 Minutes)
Goals:
Nick (1)
10th Minute - Nick ran on to the ball and hit it low under the keepers right hand in the bottom right corner.
Roger (1)
20th Minute - A slick five man move ended with Roger turning his man and hammering it under the keeper.
Match Report provided by Rohan Tesh.
