Sportsmans League Division 3
Wee Hoose Celtic 3 v Lokomotiv Londres FC 1
No Show's Cause Loko's Downfall
This week’s game against Wee House Celtic, a physical but fair team that gave us two good league and cup matches this season was a game to look forward to…until Saturday 6pm. This is when things started going wrong with three players pulling out, followed by two no-shows on the Sunday morning. As a result, Lokomotiv had to kick off with only ten players including one player on painkillers due to a damaged rib.
On a surprisingly smooth Riverside Lands pitch and despite the odds being stacked against them, Lokomotiv held their own for the first twenty five minutes. True, some of our players were overcomplicating things and going for the odd extra dribble instead of passing the ball to their unmarked teammates. However, the Railwaymen were rather composed despite a few Wee House Celtic incursions which were being relatively well handled by the defence.
Eudimar, Diego and Dave were combining well in midfield whilst Steve was as commanding in defence as ever. However, a la Arsenal, Lokomotiv were not taking their chances and didn’t shoot enough, preferring to go for intricate passed in the box.
Meanwhile, Wee House Celtic were beginning to develop their games and from a cross zipping in from the left, their number ten headed a cannonball just a few inches over the crossbar. On the half hour mark, a loose ball that didn’t get picked up by Aaron got intercepted by one of their midfielders out on the right and he slammed the ball home from twenty five yards out into the roof of the net.
Lokomotiv heads dropped for a very short while but, just before half-time, DAVE went on a mazy run from the left hand side of their box, past two players, and shot in the direction of their static keeper. The ball came off his shin and into the net for what can arguably be referred to as Loko’s softest goal of the season.
Lokomotiv now sensed that they were in with a shout… ...until the last seconds of the half, when fate would have it that it wasn't meant to be our day after all. Greg (pictured above) was chasing a loose ball on the edge of their box when he had to stop dead in his tracks and hopping in pain with all the tel-tale signs of a hamstring injury.
Yet, Loko didn’t let this setback dent their confidence and were containing the opposition relatively well until half time.
Half-Time Wee House Celtic 1 v Loko 1
It was decided that, instead of Greg standing in the middle of the pitch on one leg, he would be better used as a goalkeeper. This turned out to be a fatal error. Our new recruit was in deep pain and almost immobile.
Just at the beginning of the second half, a rather innocuous long Wee House Celtic punt from out wide landed on Greg’s left hand but he wasn’t able to deal with it and the ball trickled into the back of the net.
Greg subsequently went off with Ismail back in goal thus leaving the Railwaymen struggling with only nine players on the pitch. Yet, again and again, Lokomotiv were being adventurous and hoping for an equaliser. Aaron on the right wing was causing their defence problems with his speed.
On seventy minutes, Diego cut their defence open from the middle of the park with a through ball for Aaron who found himself clear on goal on the right but his shot from the edge of the box hit the side netting. Diego and Dave were being encouraged to shoot from all angles because of the recognised weakness of their keeper but their shots were either scuffed or not targeted enough.
Wee House scored again when their forward headed the ball into the net from five yards out and to the right of Ismail whose view was being blocked by Ivan and the things got a bit heated on the pitch with Eudimar complaining to the ref about Wee House’s physical challenges.
However, the most notable incident as the game was winding down was an altercation between a Wee House defender and their forward who ended up spitting on his own player and being escorted off the pitch.
Lokomotiv were still trying but clearly, at nine against eleven, they never stood a chance.
Final Score Wee Hoose Celtic 3 v Loko 1
Club Secretary Ivan Rahal's comments:
“Never ever in the history of the club have we had five players drop out within twenty four hours of a game. Some of these no-shows were unavoidable but I wish these players had given some thought about their timing.
Telling us you cannot make it so late in the day is the equivalent of a team hara kiri and leaves us with no realistic chance of finding a replacement. Think about how the other players feel when they turn up and realise that their efforts on the day are all going to be in vain.
On the positive side, I cannot praise today’s attitude of our players high enough. We really gave it a go and never let our heads drop for too long. Even Wee House gave us credit after the game for our hard battle. Well done guys.”
Team Line-Up
1. Ismail
2. Stefano
3. Ivan
4. Steve (c)
5. Aaron H
6. Eudimar [Y]
7. Marton
8. Diego
9. Dave
10. Greg (Injured 50th Minute)
Goal
Dave (1)
40th Minute - A mazy run and shot off his shin trickled into the net.
Man of the Match
Steve - As imperial as ever with his trademark sliding tackles and rallying cries. Special mention to Diego, Dave, Eudimar and Aaron for their tireless efforts.
Match Report by Ivan Rahal Edited by Dale Mellor.
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