Barnesalona League
Lokomotiv Londres FC 3 v Madras 3
Dear oh dear oh dear. Tut-tut. Naughty. Bad Loko, bad!
Sunday was a total washout. In lovely weather, Loko began their build-up to the tournoi with a feeble display against a nondescript Madras side. The signalmen should have won the match comfortably but contrived to throw away a three-nil lead in the last ten minutes. I don’t understand how it happened. The team was as follows: Steve Martin in goal; Rohan, Paul, Pete and Nick at the back; Dave, Dale, Adrian and Ismail in midfield; Roger and Mark up front. James and Stefan joined manager Jules on the bench.
Loko began the match against only ten men, yet failed to take the game by the scruff of the neck. Madras didn’t look dangerous but still managed to get near the Loko area on several occasions when they really shouldn’t have done. After ten minutes Madras were bumped up to their full quota when their late man showed up.
Loko took the lead in highly dubious fashion. Mark went on a good run into the box, which was ended fairly by a Madras defender. However the tackle sent the Loko centre forward sprawling to the ground and the ref awarded the steamers a penalty. Adrian stepped up and placed a powerful shot low and to the right of the keeper. Sadly this was to have been Mark’s last contribution – the striker had to go to hospital where he discovered that he had cracked a rib. Hopefully he won’t be out for too long. James came on in his place.
The first half progressed in a fairly even manner. Loko created the better opportunities but didn’t extend their lead. Madras had their own dodgy penalty appeal turned down when the ball was played against Paul’s hand in the box. Half time came quickly.
Half-Time Loko 1 v Madras 0
At half time the players drank plenty of water. Jules spoke of the need to use the match as training for the tournament. The hot weather (not even close to ‘tournoi hot’) and large pitch were typical of what we can expect in Pecs. Jules came on for Adrian and Stefan replaced Ismail.
In the second half Loko began to exert their dominance. Steve didn’t have a save to make until the collapse towards the end. Loko battered away at the creaking Madras defence, and should have run away with the game. The lead was doubled on the hour mark when Roger Barnes-Barrington (Pictured Below), shielding the ball for the 1000th time with his back, turned his man on the byline, dribbled away from goal and round a second marker before spinning to place a low shot inside the bottom left corner. Great play from the hit man.
Loko thought they had put the tie to bed with twenty minutes to go. Dave whipped in a corner; Jules met it with a firm header that the keeper could only parry at the near post, leaving Stefan with an easy finish from point-blank range. Good to see the versatile attacking midfielder getting his first goal for Loko.Loko had other chances to extend their lead. That they failed to do so did not seem overly important at the time, because Madras were offering nothing that resembled a challenge. But sometimes all you need is a little luck to spark some life into a beaten team, and that is exactly what they got.
With about fifteen minutes to play Real were awarded a penalty. The circumstances were identical to their unsuccessful appeal in the first half, as the ball was blasted against Pete’s hand from close range. However this time the ref gave it – and the Madras striker made no mistake from the spot. Madras would no doubt have seen this as only fair, given Loko’s first half spot-kick – however two-nil would have been a fairer reflection than three-one, especially given that this decision was to turn the game on its head.
Madras, buoyed by their good fortune, piled forwards in search of a way back into the match. Their first chance came when the centre forward finally won a flick on against Pete, and Steve came out to make a superb last-ditch block. Then came Madras’s first goal. Can’t remember the build-up, only panic in the box and a powerful shot that left both Steve and Rohan helpless on the line.
Play kicked off again with two minutes left on the clock. Madras carried on pumping long balls into the box, and the back line stood still as the centre forward ran past everyone but hooked his high shot just past the upright. It proved to be a very brief reprieve for Loko.
Everything went crazy as the last minute arrived. One more free kick was sent flying into the box. Steve leapt to catch the ball but dropped it as a Madras player bundled into him, sending the ball bobbling into the net again. Everyone howled in protest but the ref deemed that the ball had been in play, and there was nothing to be done. The final whistle blew immediately after the restart, leaving the Madras players celebrating a bizarre and extremely unlikely comeback, and the Loko players unable to understand what had happened. We need to learn to defend a lead if we are to have any chance in Hungary. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Final Score Loko 3 v Madras 3
Next up is a trip to Rotherham, followed by Loko vs. Hendrix which could well decide the destination of the ‘best of the rest’ fifth place in the league. This, weather permitting, has been catchily dubbed ‘Bring Your Girlfriend/Friend/Family Day’, and everyone is expected to contribute at least one fan. Book early!
Manager Julian Milne's comments:
"The muddy waters have settled on an infamous collapse and the question remains. How much of what happened can be attributed to our own performance and how much was down to lady luck? A bit of both would seem to be the sensible answer.
I believe that despite the hammer blow finale we deserved to win a match we dominated for 75 minutes. We were unlucky in that Pete’s handball was clearly not a penalty. It was ball to hand and did not prevent a scoring chance. In fact it was Pete who kicked it and had it not hit his hand it would have flown up the other end of the pitch
The serious points to be made are:
- We still need to learn to play for the full 90 minutes. We have drawn 3 games this season we clearly should have won because we only played to a high level for a half or 75 minutes. Those extra points are the difference between challenging for the title and being mid-table. Certain players are not fit enough and as a collective we sometimes switch off or take our foot off the pedal both physically and mentally.
- We were a little bit naïve towards the end. All our productive play had been the result of neat passing and players releasing the ball early. As the game looked to have been won everybody started wanting more time on the ball and trying a trick or two. Consequently play was breaking down frequently when we had very promising counter attacks. On a wider than usual pitch and with only a few minutes left players were not making the effort to track back and give the team some shape. This left Madras with acres of space and time on the ball and they consequently created a number of good chances in that last quarter.
- We don’t want to make the same mistakes in the Tournoi where the hot weather and lush large pitches can be energy sapping. If we have a lead to protect let’s play in the most efficient manner. Moving the ball on quickly and keeping our discipline in terms of tracking back and team shape.
- We really should be encouraged by our potential to play good football and maybe on another day we would have won the match 6-0.
Let’s remember the positives and be confident that if we work on our game and eliminate mistakes then we are a really good team.
Man of the match: Stefan
See you in Sheffield!"
Team Line Up
1. Steve M
2. Rohan
3. Nick M
4. Pete
5. Paul D (c)
6. Ismail
7. Dave
8. Dale
9. Mark
10. Roger
11. Adrian
12. Julian (Replaced Adrian 45 Minutes)
13. James (Replaced Mark 15 Minutes)
14. Stefan (Replaced Ismail 45 Minutes)
Goals:
Adrian (1)
15th Minute - A low struck penalty into the bottom right hand corner.
Roger (1)
60th Minute - A mazy run from the wing enabled him to unlease a drive from 10 yards past the keepers despairing dive.
Stefan (1)
70th Minute - Dave's corner was met by a firm header from Julian forcing the keeper to parry at Stefan's feet two yards out and he steered the ball home.
Match Report provided by Rohan Tesh.
