Match Report: Loko v Celtic

Sunday 15th March 2009
Barnesalona League

Lokomotiv Londres FC 0 v Celtic 1

Last Minute Heartbreak.....!

It was finally a nice sunny Sunday morning for a game of flowing fantasy football. Ismail once again went in goal for us with Adrian, Ivan, Dale and Joe in defence. Peggy and Simon on the wings and Tom and Michael holding the centre. Stefan was up top with Chris Z, with Fabrizio and Aymen on the bench.

The game started even and pretty much stayed that way throughout the 90 minutes, with Peggy and Simon doing well on the wings and Dale and Ivan (pictured above) controlling the defence with no clear cut chances for either side. Both sides had headers clear the crossbar from corners and Stefan had a couple of long range efforts well saved by the keeper.

Joe was having a blinder against their tricky little right winger and kept him under control, although he managed to pick up a booking for his troubles.

Half-Time Loko 0 v Celtic 0

The second half started as the first had finished, Fabrizio replacing Adrian and Aymen making his debut replacing Chris Z.

Loko had lots of possession and continued to counter attack with men over but never managed to find that final ball, although that has been a problem of Loko's for a number of years. Aymen continued to find space on the right side of the pitch but was not feed the ball when it counted.

Joe again kept his right winger quiet and put in a man of the match performance, with the rest of the defence not far behind, Ivan was a rock in the air and Dale swept up everything behind, and Fabrizio settle in at right back as though he had been playing there all his life.

Celtic had numerous corners and had a few shots that went wide but never looked like breaking the deadlock. The game appeared to be petering out into a draw until one last corner in the 89th Minute broke Loko heart's.

The ball was delivered to the near post and for the first time in the game a Celtic player rose unchallenged and powered past Ismail's outstretched hand. It was an undeserved winner as neither team had shown enough in the game to win it.

Final Score Loko 0 v Celtic 1

Manager Dale Mellor's comments:
"It was a very unfortunate end to what had been a promising performance. We had more than matched the team who are now second in the league. Good performances all round but special praise to Joe who kept quiet their best player for the whole 90 minutes. Keep your heads up and we move on to the next game."

Team
1. Ismail
2. Adrian
3. Joe [Y]
4. Dale
5. Ivan
6. Michael
7. Peggy
8. Tom
9. Chris Z
10. Stefan (c)
11. Simon
12. Fabrizio (Replaced Adrian 45th Minute)
13. Aymen (Replaced Chris Z 45th Minute)

Man of the Match
Joe - Best player on the park, battled well, marked his man out of the game and had the energy to run for the full 90 minutes. Well done.

Match Report by Dale Mellor.

Match Report: Barnes FC v Loko

Sunday 8th March 2009
Barnesalona League

Barnes FC 3 v Lokomotiv Londres FC 1

Monsoon-Ravaged Loko Fall Short

Thirteen keen Loko-men gathered at Barnes Elms on a Sunday that started bright and summer-like. But conditions soon turned nasty. A few minutes after kick-off the heavens opened, making play virtually impossible. Throw-ins never got anywhere. Passes spiralled up in the air. With the lashing rain and gale-force wind blowing against Lokomotiv, visibility was minimal and resistance was futile.

Lokomotiv were on the defensive throughout the first half in arguably the most hostile weather conditions in the club’s history. Despite Dale (pictured above) and PJ desperately trying to shore up the defence, Michael imposing his presence in midfield and Stefan and Peggy attempting to push Noah’s Ark out, Lokomotiv were fighting a losing battle against the elements.

Barnes’s physical onslaught was eroding the Lokomen’s defence and midway through the first half, a long range effort rebounded off Ismail's right hand and instead of punching it over the bar, it ended up in the path of an oncoming Barnes forward who slotted the ball into the open goal unchallenged.

Half-Time Barnes FC 1 v Loko 0

Manager Dale’s half time talk remained positive as he stressed the fact that Lokomotiv would now be able to capitalise on the wind in the second half. Little did he know. Sure enough, just before the referee motioned to resume play, the wind abated and the sun started peeping out from behind the clouds. This lucky break for Barnes FC certainly affected team morale as Lokomotiv never managed to get a grip, although the passing got slightly better as the game progressed.

Unfortunately, Barnes doubled their advantage midway through the second half. A cross that was not challenged too vigorously by the Lokomotiv defence on the left hand side of the goalmouth was headed by a Barnes forward into the path of one of his teammates who slammed the ball into the open goal. Then followed a third Barnes goal to put paid to the Railwaymen’s weak efforts.

Despite an end-of-match rally that resulted in latecomer Chris Zinga slotting the ball from a cross, Lokomotiv were well and truly beaten.

Final Score Barnes FC 3 v Loko 1

Assistant Manager Ivan Rahal's comments:
“This was definitely Lokomotiv’s worst game this year - complete with schoolboy’s errors and diabolical passing. The weather conditions didn’t help and many key regulars are still missing. However, our current makeshift team still need time to get to know each other but we need to be more vocal, encourage each other and become more aggressive – especially against our next opponent Celtic, who have turned their physical engagement into a major weapon.”

Team Line Up
1. Ismail
2. Vincent
3. Ivan
4. Dale
5. PJ
6. Michael
7. Peggy
8. Adrian
9. Stefan (c)
10. Fabrizio
11. Joe
12. Dean (Replaced Vincent 45th Minute)
13. Chris Z (Replaced Fabrizio 65th Minute)

Goal
Chris Z (1)
80th Minute - A ball in from the wing was slotted home by Chris who has now scored two in two games for Loko.

Man of the Match
Michael - He was the midfield dynamo on the day.

Match Report by Ivan Rahal.

Match Report: Loko v London Bloods

Sunday 1st March 2009
Barnesalona League

Lokomotiv Londres FC 3 v London Bloods 3

New Look Loko Share the Spoils

A new look Loko team took to the field in this game with Ismail (pictured below) in goal, a back four of Adrian, PJ, Dale and Ivan with Tom and Chris C in centre midfield and Peggy and Joe on the wings. Dave K made his debut up front and Chris Z.

Loko started well and took the lead after 10 minutes when the ball broke lose in the box and Chris Z bundled the ball over the line just into his debut.

It didn't take long for Bloods to equalise and then shortly after they tok the lead, both times with avoidable goals when the ball wasn't cleared. Five minutes before half time Loko's possession told when Peggy jinxed his way into the box after being played in by Dale and was chopped down. PJ took the penalty and hit the bottom corner.

Half-Time Loko 2 v London Bloods 2

Loko started the second half strongly and bossed possession and territory, Tom was dominating midfield both defensively and attacking and was making some strong runs forward. Loko had two or three great chances but were hit on the counter ten minutes after half time and a long range soft shot, should have been gathered by Ismail but his air shot saw it finish in the back of the net.

Loko started again and were dominating the game despite being behind, the equaliser came in the 70th Minute when the ball was played across the box by Joe for Peggy to run into the box and slot past the keeper into the bottom corner.

Both sides had chances to win it, Bloods had a goal disallowed when their player was a good 2-3 metres offside from a through ball and with seconds remaining Chris C was one on one with the keeper but shot wide with just the keeper to beat.

Final Score Loko 3 v London Bloods 3

Manager Dale Mellor's comments:
"A good performance from everybody, especially when we had debuts and others who have only played a couple of games for us. Well done."

Team Line Up
1. Ismail
2. Adrian
3. Ivan
4. Dale
5. PJ (c)
6. Chris C
7. Peggy
8. Tom
9. Dave K
10. Chris Z
11. Joe

Goals
Chris Z (1)
10th Minute - Joe ran into the area and hit a shot against the inside of the post, and Chris followed in to score the rebound.
PJ (1 Pen)
40th Minute - Peggy was tripped in the box and PJ stepped up to score low to the keepers left.
Peggy (1)
70th Minute - The ball came into the box from the left wing, was only half cleared to Peggy on the edge of the box and he drilled it into the bottom corner.

Man of the Match
Tom - He completely dominated the middle of the park and was by far and away the best player on the pitch for either team. Good passing, awareness and strong in the tackle. Fantastic.

Match Report by Dale Mellor.