Phoenix Lions were in Selkent Cup First Round action this week against newly formed YFC Vista from B West division.
It was a chilly morning and a long journey over to Downham, near Bromley for Phoenix but it looked a decent pitch again. Phoenix were coming into the game after an encouraging 5-1 London Cup win the previous week but a disappointing training session against an effervescent U10 Phoenix side the day before.
Jai and George were away so Phoenix would only have 10 available this week.
Kick Off
Despite having some able players, it was clear that YFC Vista were fairly new as their organisation wasn’t the best. Phoenix were given time on the ball and found space along the flanks in Oscar and James.
Breakthrough came after about 5 mins when a good shot from Oscar went in off the keeper. 1-0.
As Phoenix continued to set the tempo, it was clear there would be more opportunities with the likes of Henry and Cameron finding space up front.
A second goal from Phoenix came from a corner. Vista failed to clear the ball and Charlie was lurking on the edge of the 6 yard box. Despite the crowded area, Charlie managed to thread a left foot shot through the melee and into the corner for 2-0.
It had not been all one way traffic with a decent midfield battle ensuing between Ben and the no.9. Vista also won a dubious free kick in a dangerous position but justice was done as the wall did its job and the danger cleared.
After the scare, Henry got a third for Phoenix with a good finish to continue his excellent scoring form. 3-0
And shortly afterwards Cameron finally got his first official goal for the club with a neat finish from inside the box. 4-0
Half Time – YFC Vista 0 Phoenix Sports Lions 4
Jack came on for the second half replacing Oscar wide on the right and was determined to prove he was worth his place. He was played in several times by some good passes from Henry and Cameron but couldn’t find the finish.
His reward eventually came from another set piece where another corner was not cleared and Jack found space to squeeze an excellent finish past the diving keeper for his first of the season. 5-0.
James had been Mr Consistent all afternoon, always available and running riot down the left hand side. He also wanted in on the scoring act and after some superb work on the right from Cameron had it laid on a plate to make it 6-0.
2 quick-fire goals followed from James to make it 7 and Henry to make it 8 and it then became a battle for who could score their hat-trick first.
James managed it first with another excellent run and finish to make it 9-0.
Henry – who missed a glorious chance about 5 minutes before – was now becoming frustrated as he also wanted his third. It finally came with another attack and good finish as Phoenix got themselves into double figures – something they never achieved in the whole of last season.
Full Time – YFC Vista 0 Phoenix Sports Lions 10
Another excellent and morale boosting cup victory for Phoenix Lions. They played some excellent football again and were complimented by the opposition fans for their organisation. Although YFC Vista were a new team, they are in a B league and had won a couple of games so were no pushovers but they were outclassed on the day.
Second round of the Selkent League Cup will see Phoenix play Orpington FC (from B North) or Real Gima (from the same league as Phoenix - B East) on Sunday 16th November. Both will provide a tough test.
They will be back in League action this coming weekend – Sunday 19th October - against Junior Reds Sabres which will be a real challenge for the boys. Both results against them last season were close – a 3-3 draw and a 2-3 defeat and they have a couple of big strong players which the Lions need to learn how to play against to avoid a repeat of the first league result against Parkwood.
Come on you Phoenix!
