Uxbridge thriller wrecks Lion's dream of title
In an amazing game at Redwood Park where Uxbridge and Lion shared 12 goals the slight chance Lion had of winning the title disappeared in a defensive display riddled with a flurry of errors.
As early as the 2nd minute Lion went behind when a scramble in front of goal led to an Uxbridge striker poking the ball in. Three minutes later a cross from the right was headed in with the Lion defence all at sea. More uncertainity and errors by the defence almost led to more goals until the 23rd minute. Then DJ produced a lofted pass for Paul Dutton to head in and reduce the arrears. Almost on the half hour a Billy Rollins pass was volleyed in by Pitchy to level the scores. A minute later a delightful volley from outside the area by Steve Hill put the Lion into the lead which they held until half time.
Almost immediately after half time Uxbridge equalised through a well worked team move dwn the left. Lion were now beginning to dominate and and after 65 minutes Pitchy was brought down in the area for Lion to gain a penalty. The spot kick was duly despatched by Matty H to give Lion a 4-3 advantage. After 73 minutes a Matty H cross was handled in the area by the defender to give Lion another penalty which Matty H again converted. At 5-3 it would have been expected for Lion to shut up shop for the last fifteen minutes. Uxbridge had other ideas though and straight from the restart the ball was fed to the midfielder on the right flank who fired an unstoppable shot past Arch via the post to make the score 5-4. Then with 3 minutes left on the clock another move down the left led to Uxbridge levelling the score with a neat header into an unguarded net.
One would have wxpected the scoring to abate after this but again in the 89th minute following good work down the left by Pitchy Steve Hill volleyed in the 6th for Lion. Even then there was enough time for more drama. A free kick on the left for Uxbridge was handled in the area for Uxbridge to score the equaliser from the spot with virtually the last kick of the game.
A game where Lion's back four was disrupted due to work or injury. An exciting game to watch but one which destroyed Lion's hope of the title due to the defensive frailties
