Match Report: Northcote Falcons vs Loko

Sunday 26th February 2012

Sportsman's League
Division 4

Northcote Falcons 4 v Lokomotiv Londres FC 4

Loko Draw in Epic Second Half

Loko turned up with a full complement of 14 players on a sunny Sunday morning at ILEA. Northcote Falcons are currently propping up Division 4, a position that belies the quality of their passing game, and they only lost by one goal to South West Wolves the week before so Loko knew there was no room for complacency.

Although the first minutes of the game were rather slow, Loko were spending a great deal of time in the Nortchote Falcons half and carving chances from all angles but most of our shots went wide.  On 11 minutes, James did find the back of the net from inside the box but his goal was disallowed for offside. Then followed the usual harrying of defenders by James, Terry and Greg who were combining well whilst Dave K was going on his trademark mazy runs and causing panic in their defence.

Unfortunately, on 20 minutes Greg pulled a hamstring and Luiz came on for him upfront. Loko’s attacks continued unabated though. On 25 minutes, Steve - who had gone up for a corner - got fouled in their box and the Hungarian ref blew his whistle instantly. With Imants not playing this week, Terry knew his chance had come to make up for his penalty miss earlier in the season, which he did by crucifying their keeper.in confident fashion.

Northcote Falcons 0, Loko 1

The last 20 minutes of the first half continued with the same tempo and Northcote’s attacks didn’t threaten much with Ismail having very little to do whilst our defence were closing them down and leaving very few gaps. From Lokomotiv’s side, a clear chance saw Dave F attempt an overhead kick which was cleared on the goal line

Half-time: Northcote Falcons 0, Loko 1

As the second half got underway, Loko were being the dominant force and in full control despite the occasional Northcore foray.

On 65 minutes, an accurate Luiz cross from the left saw KEVIN unmarked in the Northcote box and the man from Limerick’s superb volley hit the spot and their bototm corner from 5 yards out.

Northcote Falcons 0, Loko 2
 
5 minutes later, Dave K found himself dribbling in his own half but he lost control of the ball as he was heading back towards our goal on the edge of our box and fouled their forward. The resulting free-kick was a beauty as it flew past the wall into the roof of the net leaving Ismail no chance at all.

Northcote Falcons 1, Loko 2

Northcote equalised 5 minutes later when a cross from the left connected with Steve’s hand and their number 10 converted the penalty.

Northcote Falcons 2, Loko 2

Loko’s heads dropped to the floor when they scored their third goal with a sweet volley from inside the box.

Northcote Falcons 3, Loko 2

Fortunately, TERRY came to the rescue when he scored from a long through ball where he ran down the edge of the box and drilled the ball past the keeper for his second of the match. Cue shirt-off-here’s-my-spray-tanned torso-Mr-Referee celebrations but the ref put a swift end to it all by showing Terry a yellow card.

Northcote Falcons 3, Loko 3

Two minutes later, it was Steve’s turn to come to the rescue when he cleared the ball off his line following a mix-up with Ismail.

Yet, with 10 minutes on the clock, Northcote scored what looked like a sure winner when their playmaker danced past the defence, sidestepped Ivan and curled the ball into the empty net from the left hand side of the box.

Northcote Falcons 4, Loko 3

To their credit, the railwaymen never gave up. From a corner from the left, Luiz found himself clear 1 yard out on the right hand side of their goal but he skied the ball past their crossbar from a very tight angle.

Great things come to those who can wait. With the clock ticking ominously,   TERRY sprinted past one, then two, then three, then four, then five Northcote players and his shot from inside the box flew past their keeper and into the net for arguably the goal of the season.

Final score: Northcote Falcons 4, Loko 4

Club Secretary Ivan Rahal said: “This was yet another very enjoyable, edge-of-you-seat game - shame about the draw. We do have the players to score goals and to defend but cannot finish our opponents off at the moment. Roll on next week for hopefully our first win of 2012“.

Man of the Match: No contest, a hat-trick including a sensational solo effort, well done Terry. Special mention to Dave J, Steve, Marcel and James.


Line-up:
Ismail - Dave J, Steve, Ivan, Marcel – Dave F (then Hakim 73’), Dave K, Alejandro (then Kevin, 46’) – Greg (then Luiz 20’), James

Match Report - Lokomotiv Wimbledon - Loko

Sunday 19 February 2012

Friendly

Lokomotiv Wimbledon 1 v Lokomotiv Londres FC 1

Draw is good Loko-motivation

Records shows that there are only 3 FA-affiliated Lokomotiv teams in London so Loko made history by challenging Lokomotiv Wimbledon to a friendly following the Railwaymen’s 3-week football-free spell.

Unusually for Loko, 50% of the squad comprised forwards - a windfall under normal circumstances but a tricky situation on this occasion. This meant that acting Manager Ivan had to play several players out of position and in a more defending role that their natural instinct dictates.

Following the heavy downpours the day before, you would have expected the pitch to be in a terrible state but the surface was relatively smooth. This enabled Loko to play the ball on the floor through the midfield where Dave J was darting backward and forward, Imants was pulling the strings whereas James was harassing their defenders. Upfront Dave K and Greg were going on numerous mazy runs dribbling past their defenders at will.

However, very few chances were created. This also applied to Loko’s end where stand-in keeper Ismail (pictured) was on top form and handling shots coming his way assuredly. On 27 minutes though, following constant firing in the general direction of the Loko goal, Wimbledon saw what looked like a sure winner head towards goal only for Ivan to save on the goal line.

Our defence was often stretched - one of the reasons being the lack of defensive cover from the generally attack-minded midfield, who, credit to them, were playing in roles that didn’t come naturally to them but were acquitting themselves well.

On 38 minutes, Imants found himself on the left hand side of their box and his rasping shot missed the target by only a few inches. Luiz was showing some very nice touches upfront and Kevin was getting stuck in and was combining well with his fellow midfielders. In defence, Serik also came to the rescue and cleared a few minutes  later in what looked like another sure goal. All in all, this was an even first half.

Half time: Lokomotiv Wimbledon 0 – Loko 0

Despite numerous - and potentially destabilising -  substitutions intended to give every squad player at least three quarters of the game, Loko were still doing brilliantly, passing the ball around crisply. This might also have to do with Wimbledon not pressing too hard. Yet, it was a joy to watch and in sharp contrast to some of our performances over the past 2 months. 

On 60 minutes though, their forward got fouled by Morris in the box and the easy-going referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot. Their number 10 dispatched the sphere capably to the right of Ismail for what looked like the opener. However, the ref disallowed the goal for encroachment in the box. Take 2 and, predictably, the ball clipped the cross bar to the jubilation of the Loko team.

Five minutes later, a Wimbledon attack saw their forward dribble past two of our defenders and his shot hit the outside of Serik’s foot and ended up in our net.

Lokomotiv Wimbledon 1 – Loko 0.

Then ensued a series of attacks and counter-attacks where the stars included Ismail who pulled off some magic saves, Marcel who cleared a deep ball that was destined for their winger who was about to outflank him and James whose speed must have surely sent defenders in a blind panic.  With less than 15 minutes to go and the clock ticking ominously, the crossbar and the upright also came to Loko’s rescue. Was this going to be Loko’s day?

Indeed, on 82 minutes, James passed to Imants who took his chance from the edge of the box but his shot was deflected by one of their defenders only for ALEJANDRO to spin and tuck the ball to the right of their keeper and into the net from 5 yards. Point saved and mission accomplished! 

Club secretary Ivan Rahal said: “Sounds like everybody enjoyed themselves today. We were all composed and encouraging each other and many of our players were prepared to sacrifice their attacking flair in favour of a much needed defensive display. Plus the two newcomers Kevin and Luiz slotted in seamlessly. Thank you to Lokomotiv Wimbledon who contributed to a friendly encounter played in a very good spirit. A very motivating team performance all around, well done to everybody!

M.O.M: With their speed, determination and marathon running-like ability, Dave J and James did particularly well today. However, M.O.M goes to Ismail who saved us on many occasions with his instant reflexes and excellent ball handling.

Line-up:
Ismail
Stefano (then Marcel, 46 mns)
Morris (then Ivan 80 mns)
Ivan (then Stefano, 65 mns)
Marcel (then Serik, 20 mns)
Dave J (then Greg 60 mns)
Alejandro (then Kevin 20 mns)
James (then Alejandro 46 mns)
Imants (then James 65 mns)
Dave K (then Imants 65 mns)
Greg (then Luiz 20 mns)