The Lions came back from an early goal down then a man down to start the new season with a hard-earned victory. An equalising goal from Ben in the first half then two goals from Max in the second were enough for the 10 men to take all the points at our new home on the opening day of the season.
Those of us who remember the last and only time we made it to the top tier of the CDSFL back in 2013/2014, will not remember it fondly. 5 points from 11 games played and our season ended in February because we couldn't get a team out. The club nearly folded and it was apretty grim time all round.
That was then and this is most definitely now. Despite the loss of several key members of our double winning squad, we still have a solid core and have supplemented our ranks with new players. Four of the new guys - Dan Cunnett, Dom Belcher, Ed Milne and Joe Greenwood - made their competitive debuts today and they all made a contribution to an eventful game that in the end, resulted in a hard-won victory.
With our regular keeper not around this week, it was up to yours truly to step between the sticks for the first time since the 7-0 drubbing by Epsom Albion last season. Things didn't start too well this time either as within ten minutes we got caught out looking for a non-existent offside against their right winger who then drove into the box and squared the ball for his mate to guide home from about a yard out.
It wasn't against the run of play but we weren't getting battered either. The first twenty minutes or so, we looked like a title winning team that was playing its first game of the season. Some obvious quality there, but also a lot of slack passing and the final ball, be it a through ball or a cross, was particularly poor. Our new home pitch is also a little on the short side and with the wind behind it, the oppo's goal kicks where raining down in the dangerous area just in front of our box. Nath, Ryan and Ed had their work cut out battling for headers against their big guys up front but did an excellent job. For all the long balls, their players were never able to latch onto one round the back of us and be in a one-on-one situation with the keeper.
Even before their goal when we were still looking off the pace, the Wanderers defence had to put in a couple of last ditch blocks in to keep Max and Ben from getting on the scoresheet and Max was denied by the keeper when put through one-on-one. Ben set up another chance for Max when he went on a fantastic run right through the middle of their midfield and defence, evading tackles from all over the place, before laying it off to Max on the right. Unfortunately, Max couldn't complement the build-up play by finding a way past the keeper, who was quick off his line all game.
Wanderers had a decent free kick saved, with the rebound just too hot for their forward to control for a shot on goal. They also had a lot of corners in the first half, with the ball regularly fizzing over the penalty area and for the most part evading everyone. One corner was half cleared and returned with interest in a shot that absolutely flew into the top corner. Luckily for us though, the whistle had already gone just before that strike for some infringement that was unseen by everyone except the ref. That sort of thing would come back to haunt us in the second half.
From another of their corners, a close-range header had to be diverted past the post and from the resultant corner for that, we made a quick break down our right. Max carried the ball a long way at pace to the edge of their box where he found Ben in the middle with a square pass. Ben's first time shot was hit hard and true, with the goalie unable to do more than flick his leg at it as it went past him for our equaliser.
And one last bit of action to mention as the half drew to a close was a half-decent stop by our keeper (yes me!), diving low to his right to turn the goal-bound shot around the post.
Fully deserved to be level at the break, as we'd ended the half much better than how we'd started it, so it was all about keeping that momentum going into the next 45 minutes. Nelson and Mussa came on for Dan and Joe, but it was one of the new guys still on the pitch who lit up the second half with what would have been a spectacular debut goal.
Ed got hold of the ball in a somewhat advanced position for a centre back up in the middle of the pitch, shifted it out of his feet and smacked the ball goal-wards, arrowing right to left, looking for all the world like it was in, right up until it pinged off the left-hand upright. Then it still looked like it was going in as it flew right across the face of the goal. Sadly, it didn't hit either the other side of the net or even the other post, but Nelson followed up on the loose ball and pulled it back for an unmarked Max to sweep low into the left hand corner.
Ben managed to get himself booked for coming back onto the pitch without permission but the referee's biggest influence on the game came after a free kick into our area caused no small amount of havoc. Keeper came out to block their winger at the near post, didn't get anything on the ball, which was poked backwards to another Wanderers player, who tapped it goal-wards. Nath slid in on the line and made the block with his back turned and then the whistle blew. Even the Wanderers players looked confused when they turned around to see the ref pointing to the spot.
Penalty given and despite numerous protests, a red card for Nath as the ref saw his block as handball and therefore the denial of a goalscoring opportunity. To cut quite a long story short (the arguments went on for a good five minutes at least) some of the Lions players didn't exactly adhere to the Respect code and a couple were rewarded with yellows for their troubles. When the penalty was eventually taken, despite guessing correctly, the low shot to the keeper's left was just agonisingly out of reach (that's what the keeper tells himself at night - probably nowhere near it in reality).
Understandably a little deflated and annoyed, our heads could have gone down, but if anything we were the better team. Apart from the penalty and the shot that caused it in the first place, Wanderers didn't have a single strike on target in the second half. Long balls over the top were either headed back by Ryan or gathered up by the goalie. When crosses and corners came in they were always met by a Lions head or boot to turn them away from danger.
In contrast, Nelson alone had 3 or 4 good chances to get off the mark for the season. He was denied a couple of times one-on-one by the keeper, including one instance when the keeper just tackled him cleanly to dispossess him. Another chance came when he ran onto a long ball and lobbed the keeper this time, but the ball bounced wide of the far post. Harry had a free kick just left of centre come off the top of the crossbar with the keeper rooted. A goalmouth scramble from a corner looked certain to end with the ball in the back of the net for us, but a combination of a point blank save and body-on-the-line defending prevented Max from sending the ball home.
With just under fifteen to go though, Max got his second and the game's winner when he was found with a long ball down the left by Ryan. Running at their defence and into the box, he saw enough of a gap between the keeper and his near post to send a low shot past him and sneak the 10 men back into the lead.
We should then have been getting battered in the last ten minutes, but Wanderers just couldn't make their man advantage count. Still not able to get a shot on target, they relied a little too much on balls over the top and hopeful through balls that overran into the keeper's grateful arms.
For our part, our game management after we scored was probably the best I've ever seen from the Lions. We held our nerve in defence, kept the ball well and crucially, made the ball stick up top, to the point that the last five minutes were played almost entirely in the opposition half. Max - who had an excellent game even aside from his two goals - and Ben did superbly to see the game out by keeping the ball only a few yards from the opponent’s box for much of this time.
It's a big win to start the season with, showing not just character in adversity but the quality and determination to get through it. Next up are fellow promotes (no it’s not a word, who cares), Epsom Albion, which even this early in the term looks like a massive game. Our record against them last season was woeful but we can take a lot of self-belief and positives from this Sunday, into not just the next game but the rest of the season.
