The neutrals watching Zion's match against Embassy would have enjoyed an exhilerating display of gung ho type football, culminating in an incredible 5-5 draw. While both sets of fans left the stadium discontented with the draw, this enthralling match will go down in the Premiership archives and live long in the memory.
The match started positively as passing football was on display for the first 5 minutes of the game. Both sides were keeping the ball well, with Zion perhaps shading the lions share of possession. However, the quality of play soon deteriorated into a mellay of chaos that lasted until the end of the match. Embassy found the net first when a lack of defensive authority allowed their striker to give them the lead. That lead was soon doubled with an identical reason and result. It seemed that Embassy were showing far more desire and work rate and this reflected on the amount of chances they were allowed, compared to Zion's relatively few. Thanks to some good saves from Steve Winter and some equally poor finishing Embassy couldn't extend their lead further. They were made to feel uncomfortable when David Jones exchanged passes with Ben Harwood and found the net with a left foot strike. The 2-1 half time Embassy lead was a fair refection of the first half, and left Zion with some soul searching to do at half time.
The half time teamtalk Manager Tommy Powell gave didn't seem to have the desired effect. Embassy scored two quickfire goals to extend their lead to 4-1. Both goals were caused by lacklustre tracking and poor defensive play. The game looked beyond Zion, who were still frantically trying to get back into the match. Eventually Harwood again found Jones who smashed the ball home. It was then Harwood who gave Zion renewed hope when he latched onto a Powell through ball. Just minutes previously, when they were 3 goals behind, it hadn't seemed possible for Zion to mount an incredible comeback, but soon after the restart Harwood pounced on Jones' through ball to grab an equaliser. The Embassy players and fans seemed crestfallen, and their misery was set to be complete when Harwood found Powell, who's composure was majestic as he rounded the keeper and tapped the ball home. 5-4 seemed a sereal scoreline and the Lions fans were on cloud nine. However, they were soon muted when Embassy grabbed an equaliser. It was they that seemed the more likely to grab a winner in the final minutes of the match. If not for some good defending from Tony Dain and a last minutes save from Winter Embassy might have nicked the points. As it was 5-5 was a fair result after an entertaining match.
Tommy Powell was dissappointed with his sides recent form and this latest match that he felt his side should have won. "It's hard to identify exactly where we're going wrong. Perhaps we are too rushed and need to settle on the ball before having some explosive interchange. We are too predictable when we are playing at the same pace thoughout the game." Zion goalkeeper Steve Winter felt that his side lacked the desire to win. "It seemed that they (Embassy) wanted it more than us. We didn't seem to be up for it, in the future we need to match our opposition in effort, and then let our quality shine through. Things like tracking back and getting tight to our men, the basics, need to be done before we play our pretty football." Zion go into the final few matches of the season, 5 points off leaders Dazeone, who they play next after the easter break. Perhaps they should be more concerned about the relegation battle that they may be dragged into if their form doesn't improve in the coming weeks.
