Zion FC won to claim top spot in the league after a decent 6-3 victory against Real Portslade.
Games against Real Portslade have recently been prosperous for Zion, having not been beaten by the Whites in multiple meetings. This game looked to be slightly tighter than previous clashes, partially due to the fact that the referee turned a blind eye to some robust challenges and ankle swipes. Zion stood up to be counted and took the lead. A mesmeric one-two by David Jones and Tommy Powell allowed the former to tap the ball home into an empty net. The lead was doubled when Dan Shotton's throw in allowed Jones to turn and strike the ball into the net. Powell then provided a moment of magic. He latched onto Jones' through pass and then nonchantly chipped the ball over the onrushing keeper and into the net. Portslade hit back as numbers in the defence grew sparse allowing them to tap home. Steve Winter was also forced into several saves which he made with comfort. No sooner had the Lions conceded than they restored the three goal cushion. Alex Ternouth found Tommy Powell down the right, and the striker gave the keeper the eyes, and from distance squeezed the ball into the near post. 4-1 was a healthy half time advantage.
Real Portslade came out fighting in the second half. They continued to be allowed to kick Zion and made the most of the leniancy. The referee however, did spot a handball in the area by a player in white and the referee gave Zion a penalty. David Jones dispatched the penalty into the bottom corner to add to the lead as the game looked beyond Portslade. Then came the goal of the game. Jones clipped the free kick over and Alex Ternouth unleashed a ferocious volley which almost broke the net. It was an amazing strike that gave Zion a comfortable 6-1 lead. The scoreline perhaps led Zion to take the foot of the gas and this allowed Real Portslade to grab two goals of hope. Steve Winter provided some great saves to prevent Zion fans from experiencing further pressure as Zion saw out the game and went three points clear at the top.
Zion player/manager was pleased with his sides display when he spoke with Match of the day's John Motson after the game, "We played some good football today, some of the link up was nice on the eye. I don't think we were helped by the officials today who allowed Portslade to kick us a bit, but we showed good resilience and outplayed them. Maybe we took our foot off the gas at the end but we always had enough in the locker to get the three points. It's nice to be top, now we need to focus each game and make sure we stay there." David Jones heaped praise on Tommy Powell when he spoke with John Motson, "It is never an easy game against Real, and they didn't hold back physically, but we have the character to deal with that and we won the game. Tomo in particular was class today, showed great strength and vision. That cheeky finish was just the cherry on top. It was going to be a goal of the month winner, until Alex smashed that amazing volley in. What a strike!" Zion will be hoping to score more goals next week when they face Close FC at Stanley Deason.
