Sportsmans League Division 3
Kew Antigua 'C' 0 v Lokomotiv Londres FC 0
Scoreless Draw For The Railwaymen
It was a full compliment of players for Loko and everyone who said yes was there and ready to go well before kick off. Catalin was again in goal, the usual back four of Stefano, Steve, Chris and Ivan. In midfield we had Ismail and Vincent in the centre with Terry on the right and George on the left, and Dale and Dave were paired up front. Morris, Aaron and trialist Kalmel were on the bench.
The team started relatively slowly and Kew were on the front foot inside the first ten minutes, they got down the right a couple of times and got the ball across the face of goal but Steve and Stefano were on hand to clear the danger.
Loko gradually started winning the midfield battle and Ismail and Vincent were working together extremely well with the two of them hunting in a pack. With Terry (pictured above) and Dave also putting lots of pressure on the left back we pinned them in their half for a considerable amount of time but only had tame shots from Dave and George to show for the pressure.
Their striker was very tricky with the ball and Chris got booked for a late tackle from behind, the resultant free kick went straight into the arms of Catalin and he was having his usual commanding game in goal.
George and Terry were working the wings well and the latter particularly, kept at the left back and produced numerous good runs and a couple of pull backs that Dave and Dale should have done better with.
The final action of the half saw the ball come from Ivan through Vincent to Dale and he turned and hit a weak shot which the keeper easily saved.
Half-Time Kew Antigua 'C' 0 v Loko 0
There were two changes at half-time with debutant Kamel replacing George on the left, and Dale who was clearly still carrying his knee injury, was replaced by Aaron who took up residence on the right wing with Terry moving up top. Dale asked his players to get on top for the first fifteen to twenty minutes and take it from there.
Loko came out strongest early in the second half and were winning what had become very much a midfield battle with neither team creating very much. The railwaymen won a couple of early corners but couldn't connect properly from decent deliveries. Dave almost jinxed past three or four players and was about to unleash an effort but the defender slid in and blocked.
Terry was working hard to challenge and close down every ball and would have been clear on goal but for a shocking offside flag from the oppositions linesman when Tel was five yards onside. Unfortunately, the raised flag trend continued throughout with many dubious decisions that the referee was content to blow for, once again we encountered a referee that didn't give Loko it's fair share of decisions.
Morris came on for Ivan, with him going right wing and Aaron dropping into full back, where he played very well in getting us driving forward down the left.
Terry and Dave broke through the backline a couple more times during the seond half but took early shots wide from the edge of the area when they could have continued into a one on one with the goalkeeper.
The opposition had a few free kicks around the edge of the area that Catalin dealt with easily and their best chances of the half were created by our own indecision between the keeper and Steve, that saw Catalin make quick reaction blocks too ensure that we did not concede any own goals.
A corner into the box was cleared and the ball back in saw Steve in the clear six yards out but his header was tipped round the post by the keeper, even though the never ending flag was raised again.
The best and final chance of the game fell to Terry when Steve floated a ball to the back post over the defence from the half way line and Tel hit it on the volley from six yards out with only the keeper to beat, but blasted it over the bar.
Final Score Kew Antigua 'C' 0 v Loko 0
Manager Dale Mellor's comments:
"It was a brilliant peformance from numbers one through fourteen today. We were up against a team on a good run who had won a few games in the last few weeks and were up to third, and I thought we were the better team over the ninety minutes.
Apart from the first ten minutes when we struggled to settle, we gradually took control of the game and in the second half especially had numerous chances to take the lead. We struggled to get any meaningful efforts on target, with the best of the bunch a six yard volley from Terry, with just the keeper to beat which unfortunately went over the bar.
If we keep getting the same players and put in the same effort every week then I'm positive that we can string a few results together and start moving up the table."
Team Line Up
1. Catalin
2. Stefano
3. Ivan
4. Chris [Y]
5. Steve (c)
6. Ismail
7. Terry
8. Vincent [Y]
9. Dale
10. Dave
11. George
12. Aaron (Replaced Dale 45th Minute)
13. Kamel (Replaced George 45th Minute)
14. Morris (Replaced Ivan 55th Minute)
Man of the Match
Terry - This was probably his best game for us since he joined at the start of last season, he had the left back panicking throughout the first half and broke through their defensive line on numerous occasions in the second. Good energy, control and gave us a valuable outlet throughout.
Special mention to the whole back four who were solid today but especially Stefano and Ivan at full back who played extremely well and kept their wingers quiet.
Match Report by Dale Mellor.
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