Match Report: Loko v Invictus

Sunday 21st March 2010
Sportsmans League Division 3

Lokomotiv Londres FC 0 v Invictus 1

One Long Ball Wins Game

Twelve Loko souls turned up this morning with yet another no show letting the team down. The team included Stefano and Adrian in the starting line-up in place of Vincent and Roger, with Nelson coming back on the bench.

It was disappointing to see a slow start by Loko after such a good performance the week before, and we were on the back foot early on. They got in down the sides a couple of times but didn`t threaten to score.

The only goal of the game came after fifteen minutes and it was such a sloppy goal to concede, one long ball from the back was misjudged by both Steve and Chris, there still didn`t look to be any danger as they were both goalside but the striker ran past them on to the loose ball without a challenge and slipped past Terry.

Loko finally came back into the game and created some chances, when from a corner the ball fell kindly for Steve who drilled the ball back and it was cleared off the line by the defender, then Peggy hit the crossbar directly from another corner.

Towards the end of the half, Dale got a shot away at the back post which appeared to be blocked by the defender with his hand above his head and Dale had a shot which hit the side netting.

They had a lot of play in midfield but didn`t test Terry again for the rest of the half, and he commanded his area well.

Half Time Loko 0 v Invictus 1

Loko again did not start too brightly in the second half and we were defending deep early on, and struggled to get control of the ball in our opponents half. We were putting challenges in and they were crying like little girls every time, but unfortunately the referee was falling for it.

They had a free kick from outside the area, again from another free kick that should never have been, which hit the post and bounced out to safety.

We changed to a 4-4-2 with Peggy going up front and Adrian switching to the right wing and we started getting forward much more, shortly after Dale got a throw in from Peggy and from the touchline hooked the ball to the penalty spot where Nicolas was free but miskicked his volley when he only had the keeper to beat. Nelson replaced Stefano with about twenty minutes left.

Heading into the last ten minutes, we went 3-4-3 with Steve going up front and pumped a few balls into the box but were unable to create many chances. Invictus counter attacked on a couple of occasions but only really looked like scoring once when the striker got goal side of Steve but hit the ball over the bar. Nelson came on and did well at right back putting in some good headers and tackles.

There was another penalty shout when Dale outmuscled the defender at the back post on a high cross and as he chased the ball away from goal, had his heels clipped by the defender but the referee failed to give Loko much throughout the game and this was no different.

Final Score Loko 0 v Invictus 1

Manager Dale Mellor's comments:
"I'm very disappointed that we've got players who are unable to pick up a phone and send a text to let us know they can't play. It's not difficult and I had Andy on standby who wanted a game and I'm disappointed that people can be very selfish at times. Please only say you can make it if you intend to, and let me know the moment that changes.

On the game, we battled for the full game and were always in it, but failed to create enough chances and it was sloppy defending of a long ball that gifted them the winner. Neither team deserved a win and I thought a draw would have been a fair result. On to next week...!"

Team Line Up
1. Terry
2. Stefano
3. Ivan
4. Chris
5. Steve (c)
6. Dale
7. Peggy
8. Morris
9. Adrian
10. Nicolas
11. Rhyce
12. Nelson (Replaced Stefano 70th Minute)

Man of the Match
Terry - It was a battling display from us all but no one really stood out. Terry was nice and composed in goal, was not at fault for the goal and put in a decent performance. Well done.

Match Report by Dale Mellor.