Probably the most painful report I've had to write as a battling display by the Lions against the top team in the division was totally undone by goalkeeping that was beyond woeful and which gifted four soft goals and victory to the Eagles.
Line-up
Phil (GK)
Adam (RB), Matt P (CB), Mike G (CB), Julian (LB)
JP (RM), Mark (CM), Gary (LM)
Kyle (RF), Lee (CF), Jon (LF)
We were missing a lot of our regular defenders and Brett our usual captain who's just found out that he has a broken foot, but the players on the pitch were more than capable of taking the game to the Division 7 leaders.
However, we got off to the worst possible start in the first minute when Jon played a simple back pass to me and I inexplicably swung at it with my left foot which in every which way is not my right foot. I miscued it into the path of the attacker who put it into the empty net.
Mike G, forming a new centre-back pairing with Matt P, made a foray up the field and very nearly delivered an audacious lob on the half-volley which went over their keeper but just over the cross-bar as well. He then had a spectacular, acrobatic volley come off the post.
At my end of the pitch, things got worse with a high ball into the area and a lack of communication from me to Matt P resulting in the ball bypassing me and being headed into another empty net by the Eagles striker.
Two absolute gifts and the worse thing was, they were the only decent efforts on target that the oppo managed in the first half. Tyhe back four did a great job Julian handling their pacey and skillful winger especially well, getting in a number of well timed challenges to win the ball and clear the danger. Mike and Matt were heading everything clear in the middle and denying the oppo shots and Adam was breaking up the play on the right. In the middle, Mark and JP were getting tackles in and getting the ball out wide to Gary and Kyle to put in some good crosses which unfortunately weren't getting a Lions head or foot at the end of them.
Kyle saved us from going further behind when an in-swinging corner was curling in and he did his man-on-the-post job by brilliantly heading the ball clear.
We were matching them for effort all over the pitch and when we got the ball down and played, we went right through them as our first goal showed. From our goal kick, it was worked out to the right where Jon fed a great through ball to Lee who struck it low across the keeper to finish inside the post. We thoroughly deserved that and despite the keeping gaffes, felt we were well in the game at half time.
As we have tended to do these recent games, we started the second half very strongly and Lee and Kyle did good work in pressuring the back four into nervy and clearances. We played the game in their half for a bit, but when they broke, they just put the long ball over the top for their strikers to flick on and chase. Mike and Matt found themselves busy in running with their forwards but always got in a touch to steer the ball to safety.
The resulting corner from one such occasion found their striker with a free header that went straight up and then down over me right on the goal line. As it was that kind of day, I flapped at it and it bounced out to the oppo player who managed to steer it in despite the best efforts to clear it off the line.
Credit to the players, they kept battling on and despite the scoreline, chances were few and far between at either end. I can only remember a couple of tame shots on target that I had to deal with in the second half.
My day went from terrible to worse when it was capped off with a own goal. Their tricky little sub on their left wing got a cross into the near post which should have been no problem as there was nobody near me. However, I made the bad mistake of letting the ball bounce up to me and it pitched up at an angle off the bobbly surface and went in off my right shoulder.
They came close again when their left winger again got to the byline and pulled the ball back for their striker who hit it low past me and off my right hand post. It rebounded straight back to him and he then hit it first time wide of the left hand post. They also had a chance when another long ball evaded Matt and Mike, but the striker put his shot just wide.
We had a great chance in the last few minutes when Gary worked the ball down the left and pulled it back for Lee but he finished just wide. The scenario was repeated a few minutes later when Gary's square ball found Kyle who tapped in from a few yards.
It was a relief for me when the final whistle went and I can only apologise to the rest of the players for a wretched performance in goal that undermined the great effort put in by the team today. I think we actually played better than we have done in recent matches and given the scarcity of chances, we could well have won this game by the odd goal were it not for my mistakes. In the whole game, they had maybe three or four efforts on target aside from the gifted chances. The Lions deserved better than this today, but can take heart from the knowledge that we can compete with the best in our division.
