Sportsmans League Division 3
London Rangers 8 v Lokomotiv Londres FC 0
Poor Display By Scratch Loko Line Up
It was a disappointing week for numbers available and just an hour and a half before the game we only had ten players who were on their way, luckily we managed to get an eleventh at the last minute.
The game was pretty even for the first twenty minutes and the play was mostly around the middle of the park, they kept going long to their front two and Loko did the same. It was looking promising when Aaron got in down the right but couldn't play a ball across the backline and then Daniel almost got a good shot away after being played in by Dale but the defender slid in well.
Unfortunately, a scrappy first goal for Rangers saw Loko heads drop and with players out of position throughout the park, the organisation and discipline from the week before was missing. They scored so simply, a long throw, a flick on, Gary didn't come in his own penalty area and two defenders didn't jump, they headed against the crossbar and for the third time no challenge ment a tap in from two yards.
The second goal wasn't much better, no one closing down the cross and nobody within ten yards of the striker who headed in, the Loko players were ball watching. A third came from a keeper error as Gary let the ball through his legs and gifted the third and a player got a yard of space in the box and his shot deflected into the bottom corner for the fourth.
Half-Time London Rangers 4 Loko 0
Dale couldn't really do much at half-time with no subs available and told the team to try and tighten up and just keep going. With five players missing from the starting line up the week before, it was too much of an impossible task.
Loko started the second half ok and had some possession in and around the box, Rhyce (pictured above) was fouled and Aaron hit his shot a yard over the bar, then Daniel was taken out completely from behind nowhere near the ball and the defender was lucky to get away with a yellow, Rhyce hit his shot over the bar as well.
The fifth came on the counter attack through their right wing and should have been saved at the near post but found a way through. The sixth was a very well taken free kick into the top corner and the seventh was a shot from outside the area that again should have been saved, it went in about two yards under the bar but Gary didn't really move for it. The eighth went straight through Gary's hands again at the near post.
In reality the Railwaymen had given up at half time and stopped battling, didn't hold any kind of shape and stopped putting the tackles in. They were not made to work for their goals, no challenge for the first, a keeper error for the third, two from outside the box and two at the keepers near post, which should never be hitting the back of the net.
Rhyce kept picking the ball up and skinned two and three at a time but he was unable to do it himself. We did create some half chances from the edge of the area on four or five occasions but couldn't find the target with shots. They were up for it more than us but we couldn't cope with too many regulars missing and had no organisation. Aaron performed well and kept going to the end but the centre of midfield disappeared after sixty minutes and too many players stopped tracking back.
The big lad up front for them stamped studs first on Dale's leg and left a four inch gash just above the ankle and was his usual mouthy self, which is a shame because the best players in sunday league play with sportsmanship even when they are winning but he fails in that respect. You have to be gracious in victory as well as defeat and he has shown that he isn't in either situation. The rest of his team are a good bunch of lads who play the game in the right way, someone needs to have a word.
We will hopefully have the bulk of our regulars back next week and should be able to raise our level to where we have been playing. Today was always going to be a struggle.
Final Score London Rangers 8 v Loko 0
Manager Dale Mellor's comments:
"I knew coming into this weekend that we were struggling to get a team out, let alone one that could compete to the standards we have set in recent weeks. We only managed to get eleven an hour before kick off and had players playing all over the place out of position.
We gifted them too many easy goals and didn't make them work for almost all of them. Keeper mistakes and goals from outside the box and in at the near post should be being saved and we can't defend on the half way line in case they take long range shots. Too many heads went down too early and that was the biggest disappointment, people gave up and lost discipline and you cannot do this in Sunday league, you have to be organised.
Unfortunately this was like Loko of old, no consistency with player availabiity again, some people have already missed two or three games out of six, and unless our regulars commit we won't achieved what we are capable of, especially with our back up squad who unfortunately showed today that they were not up for the battle."
Team Line Up
1. Gary
2. Stefano
3. Ivan
4. Vincent
5. Chris (c)
6. Morris
7. Aaron
8. Dale
9. James
10. Daniel
11. Rhyce
Man of the Match
Rhyce - He was far and away our best player, he battled for the whole 90 minutes and they struggled to get the ball off him, he was skinning two and three at a time, but unfortunately cannot do it all himself and wasn't ably supported by his teammates.
Match Report by Dale Mellor.
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