Just like last season, the Lions fell at the first hurdle in the Senior Challenge Cup, making it three years since we last won a game in this competition. An unfortunate own goal started off what finished as a bit of a hammering from our co-residents at our former home, with Dan's first goal for the Lions being the one small bright spot.
Incidentally, the last time we played in this cup, was also the last time we had this particular ref, although this time we finished up with the same number of players on the pitch as we started it. Our main concern today though, was another slow start on the pitch. Yet again, we gave the ball away with weak, inaccurate passing in the middle or over-hit through balls that gave our strikers no chance of getting on the end of them.
Playing Ashford is always a tough game and they kept puting long balls to their big lone centre forward who was getting more joy than we would have liked against our defensive line in the air. They liked to play it around on the deck too and stretched our defence a few times whilst the Lions were still trying to find their feet in the first half.
However, their opening two goals had a touch of fortune about them. The first was a waist high ball from our right that had a bit of pace on it but was going across the six yard line until Nath in trying to stop the forward from getting a touch, inadvertently got one himself that diverted it just inside the post.
The second was a cross from our left that their forward and our keeper (yours truly once more), got to at about the same time. The ball pinged off his knee, off my hand, off his head, then off the underside of the bar and in. Irritatingly unlucky goals to concede, but the third was just down to a long goal kick and quick reactions and movement by the centre forward to get to it and hit the ball on the half volley to loop over the keeper.
We only had one actual shot on target in the first half, a low effort that the keeper had all the time in the world to get behind.
We moved things around in the second half and with Ed in defence, at least started to nullify the aerial threat of their attack on the long balls. We also started to build up some sustained pressure on the Rangers goal, not creating much in the way of clear-cut chances but definitely more cohesive as a team and attacking unit. Ben B had the clearest chance in that period but blazed over from inside the box.
Any thoughts of a stirring comeback for the Lions were effectively quashed when we got hit on the counter from our own corner. One long clearance put us on the back foot and their forward was first to react to it, getting away from the two players marking him and laying a pass on for his mate to run onto and finish low just inside the near post.
A raft of changes followed and Oscar nearly made an instant impact in his debut but he couldn't quite connect with a through ball to test the keeper. Ben P and Harry battled gamely in the midfield but it was looking like one of those days when nothing was coming off. We did finally manage to pull one back when Dan got on the end of a through ball from Harry to slot the ball through the keeper's legs.
Rangers had the last word on the scoring though, when a pass from their midfield sliced through our defence and found their man onside and alone on our right. He squared it for an easy tap-in to seal another miserable Cup non-run for the Lions.
One half-decent save from a fierce shot when one-on-one in the dying minutes was the sole goalkeeping highlight and we had a header go narrowly wide, but we were well beaten in the end. A small consolation that it was a cup game so doesn't hit our goal difference, but the Lions need to step it up after these two losses. We have to be on it from the first whistle to the last as poor starts are costing us games.
