Zion fell to their first away defeat of the year against reigning champions Dazeone. In a game where Zion played the far superior football, they were punished for wasteful finishing.
Zion had a depleted squad as Manager Tommy Powell and Defender Dan Shotton were serving bans. However, despite this The Lions unfamiliar line up looked every bit as comfortable with each other as the regular side. The passing and movement all over the pitch was a joy to watch. Watching was exactly what Dazeone were limited to in the opening minutes of the game. Zion carved the defence open on several occasions, forcing good saves from Dazeone's goalkeeper. The deadlock was broken when Brett Joyce spotted David Jones' forward run. Jones was through on goal and looked set to finish, when Nathan Wriglesworth racing forward in support. His untracked run was found, and the striker calmly found the empty net. Zion had numerous opportunities in the first half to increase their lead, however, they where often thwarted by good goalkeeping and their own lack of composure in front of goal. It was almost inevitable that their missed opportunities would come back to haunt them. It was with Dazeone's first clear opportunity that they found their way back into the game. Steve Winter was left helpless as the striker rounded him and placed the ball into an empty goal.
Dazeone had been at each others throats throughout their unconvincing first half performance. An undeserved equaliser so close to half time seemed to galvanise them and make them harder to expose. However, Zion still made light work of creating opportunities, but as in the first half most of them were squandered. It was another rare attack from Dazeone that impacted the scoreline first. They managed to work the ball into a shooting opportunity which led to a scramble in the Zion box. The ball found its way through several players and nestled in the net. Zion should have been out of sight but were staring down the barrel of a title denying defeat. Despite the set back Zion continued to dominate with some great passing moves involving Tony Dain, Jones, Joyce, and Wriglesworth. The equaliser came as little surprise to the fans. Jones dribbled through the defence, again finding himself with only the keeper to beat, he gently played the ball to Wriglesworth who had burst forward in support. The striker side footed the ball into the net to give Zion the impotess. Wasted opportunities including a two on the keeper fluffed situation cost Zion dearly, when a hopeful rather than measured chip seemed to beat two blocking defenders and the bemused Winter. The ball clipped of the post and in, much to the surprise of the Dazeone player himself. As Zion pushed forward they continued to create, then waste chances. Winter was outstanding on several occasions when the Zion defenders exposed him as they adopted a gung ho style of play. The final whistle was met by cheers from the relieved Dazeone supporters. Outplayed, yet unmoved from their perch at the top of the league.
Man of the Match Tony Dain was pleased with the performance but not the result when he spoke to our match reporter, "It's a strange feeling we have at the moment, our performance was reminiscent of our recent 8-1 victory against this lot, in fact I think we played some of the best football in quite some time tonight, yet we've lost the game. Hopefully we can get both the performance and the result right in the final few games of the season." Midfielder Brett Joyce was a bit more critical of the teams lack of clincal finishing, "You can play beautiful football and create all the chances in the world, but if you don't take those opportunities you always run the risk of losing the match, and that happened tonight. We created so many chances and just lacked that composure and confidence in front of goal." Zion now look less than unlikely to get themselves back into the title race, while Dazeone are very much in the Premier League ascendency heading into the final three games of the season.
