Bert Gaby Challenge Cup Round 1
London Rangers 2 v Lokomotiv Londres FC 2 (AET) (Pens 1-3)
Victory in Battle of Riverside
It was a glorious autumn Sunday that greeted the teams at Riverside Lands in Chiswick, the sun was shining in clear blue skies and the scene was set for a cracking game of football in the first round of the Bert Gaby Challenge Cup. Unprecedented numbers for Lokomotiv meant that we had three players on standby and we had 17 out of 18 players wanting to play.
The game started with Loko on the back foot after the team failed to take in the managers warning that they would come at us early, in the first ten minutes we did not come to terms with the pace of the game and they had a couple of early chances.
First one of their players turned Chris and got in on the angle but drilled a yard wide when he should have done better, then they did take the lead when they turned Chris again and drilled a good shot into the top corner. Steve (pictured above) didn't have a chance with their goal and was his usual excellent self, marshalling the defence and ensuring that he provided great cover for the rest of the back four.
Loko finally started competing and putting in challenges, Rhyce was giving us good width on the right and he was linking well with Roger up front. He got down the wing and put good balls over on two or three occasions but there was nobody in the box in time to get on the end of them. Then Roger ran his man and got to the by-line but was unable to cut the ball back with both Dave and Dale attacking the box.
The game started getting very scrappy and both teams were committing fouls and getting upset with each other, the referee wasn't helping matters whistling for shoulder barges then letting full on challenges go. It was a shame because you could see that both teams liked to get the ball down and play, however, the continual words and petty fouling spoiled the flow of the game.
Loko finally got into the game and won a corner when Aaron played the ball to Rhyce, he held the ball up and played it in to Dale who touched it past the defender and won the race with the defender and keeper on the edge of the six yard box but saw his shot deflect wide. The corner came in but was cleared back to Rhyce, he floated a ball in and it dropped for Ivan to shoot, his shot was deflected and it landed to DALE at the back post eight yards out and he volleyed in to the roof of the net.
Half-Time London Rangers 1 v Loko 1
George had picked up an injury and along with Ivan, they were replaced by Morris and Stefano for the second half. Dale asked everyone to pick up their game as we were second to too many first and second balls during the first half.
The second half was much more even and there were few clear cut chances for either team, with both teams reduced to a midfield battle and the whistle being blown every few seconds. Rangers were appealing for fouls every challenge and it became a bit boring after a while, as they were giving just as much as they were getting but in the end it was a contest that both teams did not want to lose and it was a competitive game.
Dave and Roger were holding the ball up well and Roger almost got on to the end of a Dale ball over the top but their centre half, who had a really good game, managed to slide in and stop a certain one on one. Morris was his usual self winning lots of tackles and doing the basics much better today and was starting to find his short passes.
The defence was much more solid and in the second half Chris had their tall striker in his pocket and stopped allowing him to turn so easily, with his back to our goal he was much less effective and Rangers were reduced to long range efforts from distance which never found the target. The referee tried to help by continually giving them soft free kicks outside the box but they never threatened to score another.
Dave was struggling with an injury and we were out of outfield substitutes so he had to play on but this made things more difficult getting forward as Roger was effectively playing up front by himself.
Rangers took the lead once again and they won't be gifted an easier goal all year, Steve and Terry failed to communicate between themselves as the ball rolled towards the area, Terry got there but the ball squirmed loose and their striker had an empty net to tap home.
The ball should have been cleared and the gaffer made it clear that from now on the ball must find the pitches at the other end of Riverside Lands. To make matters worse, Terry was injured in the follow through and had to be replaced by Leigh for the remainder of the half.
Loko started to press and swung numerous balls into the box that Rangers were struggling to clear, they kept hitting the ball into touch and couldn't get out of their penalty area for five minutes, eventually the equaliser came when Aaron took a long throw into Dave's injured feet, he turned his man and floated a ball onto the six yard box where ROGER wrong footed the defender and keeper and headed back just inside the near post to take the game into extra time.
Full-Time Score London Rangers 2 v Loko 2
Extra time started and ended with nothing much of note happening other than Dale swapping with Leigh in goal as his ankle was hurting from a crunching challenge.
There came great relief from both teams when the referee blew his whistle to signal that this battle of a cup tie would be settled by a penalty shoot out, which neither team could argue was the fairest way to find a winner.
Final Score AET London Rangers 2 v Loko 2
Roger stepped up first and hit the corner for 1-0, Rangers stepped up and did likewise to make the game evens at 1-1. Dave came next and hit the same corner, which was followed by their big striker hitting his penalty over the bar, 2-1 Loko.
It was down to Rhyce to consolidate the lead but he shot wide, luckily Dale saved the next penalty with his legs, making the score 2-1 to Loko after three pens each.
Aaron stepped up and calmly found the corner for a 3-1 lead and with only two penalties remaining they had to score, but the next Rangers player also hit his shot over the bar and Loko finally prevailed to take their place in the second round.
Loko's next league game is once again against London Rangers, at Riverside Lands, so lets prepare for another humdinger of a contest and one hell of a battle.
Final Score After Pens London Rangers 2 v Loko 2 (1-3 Pens)
Manager Dale Mellor's comments:
"This was the sort of game we were losing last season but as I said before play started, this is the best squad we have had in my eight seasons with Loko and you showed me how fantastic you can battle and keep going when you need to.
We played well in spells and battled when we needed to, and it showed in the second half as they didn't hit the target with their long range shots and we gave them their goal. If Dave hadn't been restricted by injury I feel we could have created much more, but this restricted us somewhat, especially having no more subs and the ball didn't stick up top enough.
We still need to communicate more, too many times two players went for the same ball or people weren't marking correctly and organising, and in future the ball gets cleared and we don't take risks with our keeper. But it was a fantastic result and we can look forward to Round 2 in November."
Team Line Up
1. Terry
2. Aaron
3. Ivan
4. Chris
5. Steve (c)
6. Vincent
7. Rhyce
8. Dale [Y]
9. Dave [Y]
10. Roger
11. George
12. Stefano (Replaced Ivan 45th Minute)
13. Morris (Replaced George 45th Minute) [Y]
14. Leigh (Replaced Terry 70th Minute)
Goals
Dale (1)
40th Minute - Our corner was cleared back to Rhyce who played a ball into the box, Ivan shot and it deflected to Dale at the back post eight yards out who volleyed home.
Roger (1)
80th Minute - Aaron's long throw was controlled by Dave, he turned his man and chipped into Roger who headed into the bottom corner from six yards.
Man of the Match
Steve - It was a captain's performance at the back from chopper, great tackling, organising and he was really up for it. Special mention for Roger who battled hard up top, especially after Dave was injured.
Match Report by Dale Mellor.
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