After a flamboyantly prosperous meeting with The Embassy and positive results from elsewhere, Zion have been granted a Visa back into this seasons title race. 10-2 was the correct result for a game of finesse and style. Regularly Embassy found themselves mere spectators of the flair and passing prowess of their counterparts.
The game started brightly with both teams looking to play attractive football. Steve Winter was called upon in the early moments of the game and produced some fine saves. His form of late has been brilliant and it gave Zion a platform to build an impressive expansive style. Zion were causing problems for their opposition, however, it was Embassy that struck first blood. A sweeping move forward gave them a guilt edge chance which they didn't squander. It was the attacking double team, Tommy Powell and David Jones that brought Zion back into the match with some great combination play. Powell found Jones who swerved onto his left foot and beat the keeper with a low drive. Then came a passing move of magnificent proportions. Jones and Powell exchanged passes no fewer than five times before Jones applied the finishing touch. It was the audacity and sublime timing of both run and pass that made the goal so special, and left the Embassy players, (all five of them) chasing the shadows of the Zion strikeforce, (just the two of them). Zion were on form all over the pitch. Dan Shotton and Tony Dain were braking up the Embassy attacks and distributing the ball excellently to the morwe attacking team mates. Powell then got on the scoresheet when another incredible passage of one touch passing culminated in Jones hitting the post before Powell tapped in the rebound. Just before the break Zion increased their lead further when a Dain corner was finished comfortably by Jones.
The Lions were enjoying themselves as were their passionate fans. They weren't made to wait long to cheer again after the break. Dain played the ball forward to Jones who had Powell offering his support from the opposite wing. As he advanced on goal he looked certain to pass the ball across to his team mate until he spotted the Embassy goalkeeper edging towards Powell. Jones then shot the ball into the gaping near post area completely dumbfounding the Indonesian stopper. Shotton then joined the party by dispossessing an Embassy player before lobbing the goalkeeper from a considerable distance. The Jones and Powell combination then worked its magic again when Powell latched onto a Jones through ball and finished with consumate ease. Jones then produced a neat flick into the path of Shotton who's first attempt rebounded off the post, before he gobbled up the second. Jones the added to his tally when some good interplay with Dain gave him an open goal to shoot at. Shotton finished the Zion scoring after good work from Powell with a neat finish completing his hatrick. Worth mentioning is one of Winters outstanding saves. He produced many moments of agility throughout the match, however, it was a flying acrobatic save tipping the ball round the post that astounded everyone at Stanley Deason. The ball was heading for the top corner and it was a Gordon Banks-esque style save. Embassy did eventually score a late consolation after a defensive mistake, but that wasn't enough to unsettle Zion's impressive 10-2 romp of a result.
Manager Tommy Powell was delighted with his sides response to the previous two dissappointing results, "The kind of football we played tonight sets us apart from other teams in this league, that extra pass that extra bit of magic, we know that when we play well, we will undoubtedly win the match because our passing style is unlike any other in this league. Lets hope we can push our rivals to the end by playing to the best of our ability in the last two games of the season." David Jones praised his team mates after his impressive performance, "All over the pitch we were fantastic tonight, Defensively we coped well, and as an attacking force we were uncontainable. It was good to see every outfield player contributing to the teams goalscoring." Hatrick hero Dan Shotton was also in buoyant mood after the teams display, "We were brilliant tonight, if we continue playing this way we could potentially cause an upset. We know we're up against it with just two games to play, but we're only three points behind and our goal difference is looking good after this result." Zion currently ly in fourth spot just three points off the leaders in an exciting end of season run in. Realistically their fate is out of their hands and using the headlines metaphoric use of language, Embassy have only granted Zion a short term Visa back into the title race, and their success of crossing the title winning border depends largely on external influences. However, they will hope to add even more heat to the title race next week when they play Premiership new boys Bramble FC.
