Zion's winning run came to an abrupt end against Bike Track Cosmos on Monday night. A scrappy game finished narrowly in Bike Track's favour, as they won 3-2.
Zion fielded a very different looking side for thye clash of the rivals. This was reflected in their play. Passes were not finding their men, and the synchronisation was just not evident throughout the match. Players had been asked to play out of position and as a result Zion never really produced any fluidity, nor attacking momentum. It was Bike Track who took the lead. They adopted sufficating tactics with little in the way of possession. However, they pounced on a defensive lapse and took the lead early on. Paul Muzzall in goal made several saves after that, as The Cosmos played a counter attacking style that complimented their tight marking. Few chances came Zion's way, with Nathan Wriglesworth coming close on those occasions. Then came the equaliser, late in the first half. David Jones ran at the Bike track defence drawing two defenders to him. This left the breaking Kyle Knowles with acres of space. The ball was in his path, and the strike was emphatic. Knowles' long range effort was too powerful and two accurate for the keeper to get near it. The half time whistle blew soon after, and Zion started their soul searching, as they looked to improve their performance.
The same pattern continued in the second half. Tight and scrappy, not pleasing on the eye. Bike Track continued to keep all their men behind the ball, and ensure that Zion were limited to long range efforts. Chances came and went for Zion, including Wriglesworth having a shot tipped onto the post. Then came another blunder at the back, as Knowles was caught in possession and the Cosmos player took advantage with a neat finish. Zion kept working hard, but continued to struggle to create. A real lack of continuity in the attacking positions didn't help their cause. Players were changing positions, and the change of personel in those positions halted the development of attacking rhythm. They did however, equalise again. Jones threw the ball into the path of Tony Dain who made the finish look easy, with a calm re-direction of the ball. The bitter blow for the side came when Bike Track broke forward. The lack of tracking back allowed a three on two situation that was worked well, with the shot beating Muzzall. The game finished 3-2, which was perhaps harsh on Zion who had enjoyed the Lions share of possession. However, when you don't make the most of the possession you get, you leave yourself open to being stung on the break, and that is what happened.
Manager Tommy Powell was dissappointed at the end of the unbeaten run, "It's a shame, eleven wins on the trot to then lose is gutting. Bike Track knew they had to adopt those negative anti-football tactics to defeat us, and they did that well, and it worked. We will have to come back stronger from that." Man of the match Tony Dain felt his side were not on top form in the match, "We were not great tonight, it was a real lack of sharpness I think and that cost us. We createsd a few chances, probably more than they did, but with the possession we had, I think we should have created more and scored more. We will look to improve that in our next match." Real Portslade await a clash against Zion in next weeks big match.
