Tommy Powell stole the show as his Zion team made light work of Bramble FC, comfortably defeating them 5-1. Powell scored 3 and assisted 2.
The Lions desperately needed to notch up another victory if they had any hopes of winning the league, and from the start they looked confident and assured. The good link up play between Zion players continued from previous performances and it wasn't long until that play impacted the scoring. David Jones and Powell combined nicely to see Powell finish with confidence to give Zion the lead. Powell again profited from Jones' creative vision when he latched onto a neat Jones back heel and steered the ball into the bottom corner of the net. Tony Dain, Dan Shotton, and Steve Winter seemed to have complete control whenever Bramble made a rare move beyond the half way line. It was their two team mates that were ripping the Bramble defence apart time and again. Powell completed a first half hatrick when he and Jones exchanged passes, setting him clean on goal. The finishing seemed a mere formality for the clubs top goalscorer, as his 2009 tally rised to 31. Bramble managed to score with a breakaway effort, but they never seemed likely to spark a revival. The half time whistle was welcome relief to them in the humid conditions.
Zion continued to dominate possession and chances in the second half. Early on it was Jones and Powell again who breached the Bramble defence. Powell uting a fantastic pass across the box, which allowed Jones to tap home with ease. Defensively Zion were coping well. Shotton and Dain were comfortably dealing with bramble attacks and Winter was producing fine saves when called upon. Dain completed the scoring late on to rap up the victory after some good work from Powell. As a result of Zion's win, the final day of the season has been set up to be the most exciting for quite some time. The league title could potentially be won by the top four teams who are all within 3 points of leaders Dazeone.
Zion Manager Tommy Powell was pleased with his sides display, but admitted that the title race is completely out of the teams hands, "We have really hit some good form recently and that is a massive positive for us. You ask me about the title, and I have to say its a longshot to say the least. It's not impossible, but it is very unlikely. That can be a good thing because it means the pressure is off us and most definately on Bike Track and Dazeone. We have to make sure that we win our game next week so that in the event that both teams slip up, we can take advantage." Powell's quotes have been given the tag of "mind games", but he refused to admit he was going to get embroiled in a war of words with any oposing Manager's, "I'll leave the talking to them, I have no interest in mind games at all, the comments I make are only my take on things, nothing more. I mentioned the pressure that the two sides above us might feel, only because of past experiences when we have had final day title deciding matches. Players can really be affected by the pressure in crunch matches, that's my opinion, not a mind game."
