Match Report: Loko v Mass

Sunday 25th October 2009
Sportsmans League Division 3

Lokomotiv Londres FC 3 v Mass 2

Loko Avoid Mass Destruction

Things looked promising when the kit and most of the players (except Peggy) turned up bang on 9.30am and everyone was changed and doing the warm up thirty minutes before kick-off. This should have meant a fast start to the game but for some reason this had the opposite affect.

With Dale away having already picked the team, left Steve in charge of proceedings who made an enforced change and the team lined up in an attacking 4-4-2 formation with Ismail (pictured above) in goal, a defence of Stefano, Ivan, Steve and Paul K, in midfield Terry, PJ, Morris and Marc, with Roger and Thomas up front.

During the pre-match talk, vice-captain Paul Kelly warned against underestimating a team that is currently propping up the table with no points to show for their efforts. How prescient this warning turned out to be.

Kick-off was delayed by fifteen minutes due to the opposition turning up late but for the first twenty minutes, it could be argued that Loko didn’t turn up at all and were having a nightmare. No composure on the ball, countless misplaced passes, a porous midfield and a hesitant defence, Lokomotiv were panicking and producing a shocking display. Captain Steve was desperately trying to rally the troops but it all fell on deaf ears. By this time we were already behind.

We got a corner after ten minutes that was cleared by their defence up field and should have been dealt with as we had three on two, but the pace of their strikers was too much for an aging Loko backline and with Ismail failing to narrow the angle they slotted the ball into the corner and took a shock 1-0 lead.

Loko had a chance to pull one back almost straight away when Roger broke into the box and saw his effort loop up and over the keeper straight to Thomas who had an open goal to aim at, only to head wide!

The whole of the first half was dominated by the team at the bottom of the league and despite their constant arguing and lack of team spirit we could do nothing to turn the game around. Steve switched the formation back to the regular 4-5-1 moving Thomas into midfield but it had little effect and a free kick harshly awarded against Morris was headed into the roof of the net by their midfielder whose aerial challenge on Ivan from the edge of the box produced a looping header that flew over Ismail and into the net.

Although play was predominantly taking place in the opponents’ half, Lokomotiv were jittery and lacklustre. Danger was only created on a few rare occasions with Thomas and Steve in particular heading the ball over the bar or straight to the keeper.

Half-Time Loko 0 v Mass 2

Adrian and the late arriving Peggy (and his boots) were brought on at half-time in place of Paul K and Marc, and the team talk by Steve stressed the same things that Dale says every week that we need to be more composed on the ball, win the midfield battle and show some desire to win the game. Former captain Roger, however, predicted that just one goal could do the trick of unsettling Mass, who had not been used to leading by two goals at half time this season.

Despite these encouraging words, the second half started just as bad as the first one with poor positioning and lack of commitment both in defence and midfield. With yet again a Mass forward clear on goal, Ismail managed to lunge forward and save what looked like game, set and match. But this proved the match’s turning point.

Sixty minutes was on the clock and still no Loko breakthrough and if anything it looked like the next goal would be theirs until Steve chipped a ball over the left back for Peggy to run on to and cross for ROGER to tap into the net.

That goal finally spurred us on and their defence started to wobble, within five minutes the score was 2-2 after some great play from Thomas got Peggy in behind again to cross for PJ to head us level. Then just two minutes later an almost identical move saw PJ with another great chance only for his side foot effort to fly past the wrong side of the post.

We should have taken control of the game from this point especially as their whole team was once again at logger heads with each other but it was them not us who had the chances to retake the lead and except for the woodwork and a couple of great saves by Ismail we would have found ourselves behind once again.

With fifteen minutes left on the clock and a big push from Loko we somehow took an underserved lead, Terry crossed into Peggy who’s shot was deflected onto the post, the ball then fell for Roger who crossed it back in for THOMAS to slot home from six yards. The remaining minutes were nervy to say the least, PJ swapped with Adrian at right back who moved into a defensive midfield position along side Morris which just about did the trick.

Clearly piqued by this turnaround, Mass launched some final attacks on a re-invigorated Loko defence who somehow managed to repel the danger, with Ismail in particular pulling off more saves and securing Lokomotiv’s third league win on the trot and a get out of jail three points!

Final Score Loko 3 v Mass 2

Team
1. Ismail
2. Paul K
3. Stefano
4. Steve
5. Ivan
6. Morris
7. Marc
8. PJ
9. Thomas
10. Roger
11. Terry
12. Adrian (Replaced Paul K 45th Minute)
13. Peggy (Replaced Marc 45th Minute)
14. Andy (Replaced Stefano 65th Minute)

Club Secretary Ivan Rahal's comments:
“To be fair, we were rubbish for most of the game today and probably didn’t deserve to win. However, we showed great character in the second half and our attacking play redeemed our defensive and midfield shortcomings. Last year, we more than often played well but had nothing to show for it. This season, we are sometimes playing very poorly but showing steely determination and producing wins. So today was certainly not one for the purists but I would suggest we are all feeling relieved we managed to grind out a result.”

Goals
Roger (1)
60th Minute – Peggy crossed for Roger to tap it home.
PJ (1)
65th Minute – Thomas sent Peggy away who crossed for PJ to head home.
Thomas (1)
75th Minute – Peggy hit a post, Roger crossed the loose ball for Thomas to slot home from six yards.

Man of the Match
Ivan Rahal - Peggy’s introduction in the second half created the danger and directly produced two goals but the award would have to go to Ismail on account of his selfless contribution to the team and his decisive saves at a time when we were on the point of collapse.

Steve Haley - Peggy. Despite forgetting his boots and only playing the second half he made a big difference and had a hand in all three goals, he linked up well with Thomas who also had a good second half.

Match Report by Ivan Rahal & Steve Haley. Edited by Dale Mellor.