After a delayed start due to the (unsurprising) ineptitude of the Powerleague organisers (no free pitches), Olympique LMB had to push through the pain and reality barriers to obtain their first Division One point against Rose, who were yet another quick and fit team with plenty of attacking verve. After Rose had taken the lead inside two minutes, when their man was given the time to shoot with his left foot, LMB began to defend fiercely and marshalled the opposition well, with Swithers, Chibbert and Pete nipping at their heels. After a sustained period of LMB possession, Pete was able to feed Spence (the ball), who tucked away the chance for the equaliser. With the competition finally heating up, an innocuous challenge saw Pete fall to the floor after his head clashed with an accidental flailing arm, and after Steels had halted play (the useless referee failing to stop the game mid-play) Pete’s bleeding nose appeared to be slightly wonky (later confirmed to be broken at A&E). Rose retook the lead with a quick finish from a wide position, before Spence grabbed his second equaliser after Luke’s presence discombobulated the defenders. Despite Paul keeping Rose at bay with some good stops, LMB also had opportunities to add to their tally as Patto produced several delightful through-balls, but Luke, Spence and Sicky all missed their one-on-one chances.
With tired legs setting in and the lure of Champions League football distracting Chibbert, Rose increased the pressure for most of the second half and were able to take a 4-2 lead as a quick counter-attack and a very fluky solo goal from a tight angle were converted. Although LMB still marked their men well, they did have Paul to thank on several occasions for some crab-like saves with his legs. Up front LMB still had opportunities and the constant running of Swithers almost paid off as he was able to spread the ball to Sicky, Luke, Patto or Chibbert, but the shots were usually charged down. LMB were offered a lifeline when Sicky rolled home a direct free-kick while the opposition were complaining, and then Patto was denied the equaliser by a last-ditch tackle as Pete played him through on goal. With one minute remaining, Sicky played a beautifully-weighted ball through to Man of the Match Spence, who lost his marker and toe-poked in an equaliser from the edge of the area to complete his hat-trick. The referee, who was mates with the opposition and had a shocker all evening, decided to disallow the goal as Spence was allegedly in the area, but a unanimous vote within the LMB squad confirmed that the goal was valid, so the referee must’ve been wrong!
