Sportsmans League Division 3
Cultural 1 v Lokomotiv Londres FC 3
Loko Outplay Unbeaten Cultural
It was a bright sunny morning that greeted the teams in south London and Loko's players all arrived early and were eager for the match against a team that had won every match they had played before today this season.
There were thirteen players here this morning and we welcomed back Steve, Chris and Adrian who haven't been around recently. Loko started with Terry in goal, a back four of Vincent, Chris, Steve and Ivan, Dale sat in defensive midfield with a bank of four across the middle in front of him, which were Peggy, Roger, Morris and Rhyce. Nicolas was up front by himself with Stefano and Adrian starting on the bench.It was a lively start by both teams with tackles flying in left, right and centre, and finally Loko started winning those tackles and headers right from the first minute which gave us a platform to win the ball, get momentum and push forward.
The game was a scrappy affair for twenty minutes with neither team creating too much, Loko had the first chance with Nicolas having a long range effort which the keeper comfortably held and then from a corner the ball fell to Roger who turned in the area and drilled the ball a yard wide.
The goal came after twenty five minutes and what a goal it was, Dale brought the ball down in midfield, turned past two players and laid the ball into MORRIS (pictured above), who advanced and hit a screamer from 35 yards over the keeper into the top corner.
Cultural were not able to get a foothold in the game as Loko were staying in formation and showing excellent discipline and as the half went on they resorted to long ball after long ball which were easily dealt with by Steve and Chris, with the exception of two occasions when they managed to get past the defenders but on both occasions, whilst under pressure, could not hit the target.
They did win a couple of free kicks just outside the box, one which was floated to the back post and Steve rose highest to clear the ball away and the second saw Terry get across and punch the ball clear.
Loko should have extended their lead when a ball over the top saw Nicolas go one on one with the keeper, go round him but get pushed wide and Loko just had a corner when they should have had a second. Then from a Dale free kick, Morris flicked the ball up and Steve won the header which went a yard wide of the post with the keeper stranded.
The second goal deservedly came when Roger won the ball in midfield, toe poked to Morris in our own half, he played the ball down the line where Nicolas ran his man towards the area, and VINCENT who had ran 80 yards from his own penalty area got goal side of the defender on the edge of the box and as the ball came across he lobbed the keeper for a two goal lead.
Half-Time Cultural 0 v Loko 2
Stefano came on for Ivan at half-time and the team talked stressed that this game was by no means yet won, it was important to come out and carry on where we left off and continue to play with organisation, discipline and commitment.
It was a similar start to the second half with Loko holding their deep formation, allowing Cultural the ball in their own half and on the half way line and leaving no gaps for them to play through. As they grew more frustrated they started once again with the long balls and these were easy for the big lads at the back for the Railwaymen who never once let them goalside in the second half.
Loko kept hitting them on the counter-attack and Nicolas, Peggy and Rhyce did an excellent job holding up the ball, winning throw-ins and allowing us to take the pressure of the defence and attack with patience and precision. Loko had a couple of long range shots and didn't really test the keeper too much, and then Adrian came on for Morris who had been warned by the referee that another foul would result in a booking, and after such a good game it was thought better to make a quick sub for the last twenty five minutes.
The game was won when Peggy won a throw-in next to their penalty area, he took a quick throw into Roger who turned on the corner of the six yard box and forced the keeper to save with his legs, the ball came back to Roger and he chipped the ball to the edge of the six yard box where NICOLAS scored with a brilliant over head kick into the bottom corner.
Cultural started to press more and more and Loko were happy to sit back in formation and soak up any pressure, as they were unable to get in behind. They had a couple of crosses that flashed across the area without them really looking like getting on the end of them and with about ten minutes left they got a somewhat fortunate consolation.
The left winger did really well to get past two challenges as Loko did not want to jump in and give a penalty away, Dale came across to the near post to cut out the cross but he could only deflect it into the centre where they shot, it hit two players in the six yard box and sat again for a further effort on goal which appeared to be saved by Terry but slipped through his hands to bring them back into the game.
The defence of Loko continued to hold firm and they didn't look like scoring again, the most they had was a scramble from a corner which resulted in a mass of bodies at the back post but Terry collected the ball excellently and a scuffle flared up when one of their players hit out at Chris, but why you would choose our biggest player to start a scrap with is beyond all of us.
It was resolved quickly and Loko fully deserved the victory which was gained through discipine, hard work and some intelligent play when counter attacking. Cultural, who had won every game this season before today, had no answers on a morning which belonged to the Railwaymen.
Final Score Cultural 1 v Loko 3
Manager Dale Mellor's comments:
"That just goes to show what we can do as a team when we are disciplined, organised and intelligent in our play. Eveyone played exactly how I asked them to perfection and it allowed us to be solid, controlled and able to break concisely when we had chance.
Let's use this result as a springboard to move back up the table and start a run going. We need to get consistency in our team selection and in our play and we've shown that with our full squad we can beat the best this league has to offer, but we need the same players week in and week out which we haven't had for the majority of the season.
Very well done boys and enjoy your week."
Team Line Up
1. Terry
2. Vincent
3. Ivan
4. Chris
5. Steve (c)
6. Dale
7. Peggy
8. Morris
9. Roger
10. Nicolas
11. Rhyce
12. Stefano (Replaced Ivan 45th Minute)
13. Adrian (Replaced Morris 65th Minute)
Goals
Morris (1)
25th Minute - Dale won the ball and skirted two tackles in midfield and laid it into Morris who turned, advanced and hit a screamer into the top corner from 35 yards.
Vincent (1)
40th Minute - Roger played the ball to Morris just in our own half who knocked the ball up to Nicolas, he ran his man and picked out Vincent, who had ran 80 yards, with a teasing cross along the edge of the box and he lobbed the keeper.
Nicolas (1)
75th Minute - Peggy took a quick throw in, Roger turned his man in the box and shot, the ball came back off the keeper and Roger crossed for Nicolas to score with an overhead kick from six yards out.
Man of the Match
Morris - He finally showed us he can play intelligently and listen to instructions. He held his shape superbly and never gave the opposition a moment to breath with some great tackling, and topped it off with a screamer into the top corner.
Honourable mention to every player who were all superb, but well done especially to Chris who played excellent alongside Steve and Nicolas for his work up top by himself.
Match Report by Dale Mellor.
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