A shocking second half performance by Zion FC saw them embarrassingly defeated by rivals Deer Park Rangers. Despite leading at half time the Lions self-destructed with misplaced passing and generous defending, resulting in a 6-2 defeat.
The game started well for Zion who controlled much of the first half with neat passing, tight marking and some creative play. David Jones gave the Lions a deserved lead when he tucked home after a neat pass by Dan Shotton. The goal could have been followed by others as Zion worked themselves into some great positions only for a poor final ball or a wayward finish to halt their dominance on the game. At the other end Zion worked well to reduce a frustrated Rangers side to half chances and long range efforts. Steve Winter was equal to their half attempts and Zion looked fully in control heading into the break.
The second half was one for the Lions fans to forget as their side under-performed and were at times made to look silly. An early Deer Park goal galvanised their side and they followed that with another. Questionable positioning and marking contributed to the turn-around, but Rangers were definately a much improved outfit after the break. Zion responded to draw level when Tommy Powell passed the ball through the keepers legs and into the net to make it 2-2. Game on. However, it was only a contest for a matter of minutes as poor passing and a reluctance to get tight to their men resulted in two quick-fire goals that put Deer Park in complete control of the game. Then came the humiliation for the Lions. Deer Park were reduced to four men after a player chose to kick the ball away petulantly. Despite the extra man Zion looked far worse as breaking players in yellow were able to walk through the defence and simply tap the ball home or round a helpless Steve Winter to extend the Rangers lead. 6-2 and Zion had some soul searching to do ahead of a new season they must prematurely look to.
The Zion side looked divided and dejected at the final whistle and the post match comments by the players also showed a lack of sycronisation. Dan Shotton claimed that his side were beaten by the better side "They played better than us today and they deserved to beat us. I don't think we can say anything more than that. I disagree with the suggestion that we weren't tight enough to our men and that we caught too high up the pitch, I just think that we didn't play well in the second half and that they outplayed us and deserved to beat us." While David Jones also felt that Deer Park deserved the win and the title, he also believed that their was more to Zion's loss than that when he spoke to the media, "The first half was ours, we were tight to them we didn't give them time on the ball to pick a pass and we looked good going forward. We could have scored a couple more and the game would have been all but over. Second half we were rubbish, we gave them space and time on the ball, we didn't pass calmly and confidently and when we needed to be tight and compact we were open and vulnerable. Against some teams that is fine as we are confident that if we concede we can then go and score more. Against Deer Park though, that mentality is naive and it cost us today." Manager Tommy Powell is now left to pick up the pieces of his side who go another season without a trophy. He believes that his side are not all that far away from success, "The title was a long shot even if we had won today, so we can't focus too much on today's poor performance. Consistency is what cost us over the whole season and we must look to improve that. In regards to results like this one, we need to learn lessons from them and come back stronger. They seemed to want it more today and that is why they won. They are always tight to us and give us no time on the ball, and while we did that in the first half, we didn't in the second and they destroyed us. But with a more consistent teamsheet and performance level, we can bounce back from this next season." Zion will be hoping to start their road to recovery when they play out the last game of the season against Scarletfusion next week.
