Division 4
Sunday 1st April 2012
Loko 2 v Bec United 4
SUPERB LOKO PERFORMANCE GOES UNREWARDED
A few of the lads had been looking forward to this one for a while. Bec beat us – just – at their home last Autumn and Loko were due for a win after a long, barren spell.
The first few minutes of the game were in stark contrast with the previous week’s spineless performance. Despite panic stations a few minutes into the game where the Bec team made a mockery of the Loko defence and should have scored from 2 yards out, Loko were in it right away. Movement. Energy. Desire. Confidence. All the ingredients were there for the Railwaymen to cook up a famous victory.
Interim captain Terry had decided to go for a sensible 4-2-3-1 formation with Luke and Dave F entrusted with the role of shielding the defence. True, many of the Loko players were, again, played out of position but with many of the regulars not available, there was little alternative. Luke in particular was picking loose dangerous balls up in midfield whereas Terry and Lawrence were playing a solid game and passing the ball up to speedy James P in particular for him to run at their defenders.
Loko’s efforts didn’t pay off though as, with only 17 minutes on the clock, their nippy left winger outflanked the defence and, with Ivan trying to shield the ball out of play, their forward managed to outflank him and cross the ball into our 6-yard box to their centre forward who outwitted the rest of the defence to score Bec’s opener.
Despite this setback, Loko’s heads didn’t drop and the hard work materialised very soon. A pass by Dave F through the middle saw JAMES P beat the offside trap, outrun everybody and despatch a fierce shot from the edge of the box that cannoned off the upright and into the net for our equaliser.
Loko were now more than holding their own but, with only 13 minutes before half time, Bec restored their advantage when Marcel failed to clear the ball along the touchline. Their left winger had been pressing hard and he went for the byeline and crossed into the box for their number 10 to slam the ball into the net to the left of Ismail.
Half time: Loko 1 v Bec 2
Loko were still up for it and very much so because Bec are a good team but are not unbeatable. Loko were now threatening more and more and the whole team could feel that the equaliser was within reach.
On 55 minutes, Bec conceded their first corner of the match and Dave F’s weighted cross connected with Ivan’s bald head but the ball flew just over the crossbar.
On 61 minutes through, a long cross by Terry saw JAMES T control the ball in the air on the left hand side of their box and curl the ball past their keeper and into the net from 20 yards out.
Loko 2 v Bec 2
Loko were now flying high and Bec looked visibly shaken and so was their crossbar when James P once again lost his defender and fired a long shot that could have made the difference.
Terry decided to shake things up, replacing Marcel with Sam who pushed forward with Luke, who was now tiring , slotting into defence.
Unfortunately, Loko were found wanting when a free-kick on the edge of our box saw our defence remain statuesque as their tiny midfielder was first to snatch the ball from us and drill the ball past our packed defence.
Loko 2 v Bec 3
With only 11 minutes to go, Loko went all out for an equaliser with a 3-man defence and the two James on a mission to spread panic in Bec’s usually solid defence. Because Loko were playing so well, this gung-ho approach could have paid off but Loko got punished when a counterattack down the left saw their left winger head for our box but he whipped a cross in that was met by their centre forward who punished us despite Terry’s last attempt to deflect the ball. Bec were now out of sight with no chance of a Loko comeback.
Final score: Loko 2 vs Bec United 4
Club Secretary Ivan said: “A tough game, not only on the legs but also a hard one to swallow. Although Bec showed great skill and presence and were always dangerous, we matched them in many areas of the field. We were in with a shot and could have won the game today in what will remain the performance of 2012. A draw would have been a fairer result so this shows that we have great potential. So far this season we have used 49 players so we need more stability in the team to start winning again, starting with our next game on 15 April…
Man of the Match (as awarded by Terry): Luke for his hard work in the first half mainly. Special mention to James P and James T for their beautifully taken goals.
Line-up:
Ismail
Morris
Ivan
Kevin
Marcel (then Sam, 67 mns)
Luke
Dave F
Terry
Lawrence
James P
James T
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