Sportsmans League Division 3
Lokomotiv Londres FC 4 v London Rangers 5
Twenty Mad Minutes & Game Lost!
Loko started relatively well, with Paul (pictured below) captaining the team in the absence of Steve H, and despite missing some key players we got on top, winning some challenges around the park and looking comfortable at the back with Dale organising.
It took twenty minutes for Loko to take the lead after ROGER chased a Morris ball over the top and ran through on goal after holding off the defender to round the keeper and score.London Rangers had a few long range efforts but Terry was relatively untroubled in goal and the defence were holding much more solid than recent weeks and Roger and Nicholas worked their socks off up front.
On the half hour mark, NICOLAS again chased a ball that looked comfortable for the defender and keeper and toe poked it past the keeper and rolled the ball into the empty net. It was five minutes later that NICOLAS did the same thing again, getting beind the defence and drilling the ball past the keeper at the near post, the opposition claimed side netting but the referee checked the net and there was no gap!!?!
Rangers scored a soft goal with the second to last kick of the half when Loko failed to clear a corner and an unmarked player hit a hopeful shot past Terry to give them hope.
Half-Time Loko 3 v London Rangers 1
No changes were made at half-time and what should have been a composed first ten minutes, doing the simple things, easy passing, getting in your challenges and slowing the game down just didn't materialise.
Rangers brought one back almost immediately when tackles failed to be made in the middle of the park and the winger ran Dale and played a simple ball into the near post but once again we scored an own goal when the ball deflected off Ivan and wrongfooted Terry.
Almost immediately it was 3-3 when Stefano gave away a needless free-kick on the left hand side of the box and their centre back ran to the back post and headed home completely unmarked, it was now becoming a shambles and people seemed to have given up even when we were still level.
Their fourth came with a simple through ball where Dale tried to close down the defender who had ran all the way from his own penalty area without the hint of a tackle, and nobody thought about covering the simple through ball to the striker who was completely unmarked to get there just ahead of Terry and lift it over him.
What had become an awful twenty minutes got worse when Ismail chested the ball down in his own six yard box and Terry could have just picked up the ball but chose to clear with his feet despite several shouts. The ball only made the edge of the penalty area where they shot straight back into the right side of Terry's goal.
Dale brought Steve M on for Stefano and replaced Morris with Andy, Ismail moving to centre back, Dale into centre midfield and Andy on the left.
Loko continued to be disorganised at the back and Dale tried to push everyone forward and started putting some tackles in where we had failed before, but their was little desire to get back in the game and they were winning most of the 50/50's as they had for most of the morning.
The Railwaymen found a way back into the game with five minutes left when Roger ran his man at full back and pulled the ball back for DANIEL to side foot home from six yards.
Loko tried to get forward on a last couple of occasions to no avail as Rangers adopted an anywhere will do mentality.
Final Score Loko 4 v London Rangers 5
Manager Dale Mellor's comments:
"I think my end of game team talk told you all how I felt about our lack of desire to win the ball and our inability to use some intelligence to make the right decisions out there on he pitch."
Team Line Up
1. Terry
2. Paul (c)
3. Stefano
4. Ivan
5. Dale
6. Nelson
7. Daniel
8. Morris
9. Nicolas
10. Roger
11. Ismail
12. Steve M (Replaced Stefano 65th Minute)
13. Andy (Replaced Morris 65th Minute)
Goals
Roger (1)
20th Minute - Beat the defender and keeper to the ball and rolled into an empty net.
Nicolas (2)
30th Minute - Toe poked past the keeper and slided home.
35th Minute - Got behind the full back and drilled past the keeper into the bottom corner.
Daniel (1)
85th Minute - Roger beat the full back and pulled back for Daniel to side foot home.
Man of the Match
Nicolas - Two games and two fantastic man of the match performances, him and Roger who came a close second, never stopped running. Nicolas put in tackles and was in the right place again to score two good goals. He even had the desire to track back and get in the thick of the action when we were chasing the game.
Some people should look to Nicolas as an example of how you should approach the game, lots of desire to put in tackles, win the ball and to play some nice easy football. Keep it up.
Match Report by Dale Mellor
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