It was meant to be a spirited response to their recent defeat by Dazeone. However, Zion suffered a hangover from that result as they were beaten comprehensively by Premiership newboys Rogue Traders. Player-Manager Tommy Powell opted for an attacking line up, as Zion looked to get their title bid back on track. This offensive approach turned out to be their downfall as the Traders counter attacked their way to all three points. Steve Winter was left exposed by his non-existent defence on several occasions in the first half, and as a result Zion went three goals down. All three goals were a result of them commiting all four of their attacking players forward, and then being caught out by Rogue Trader's quick counter attacks. Zion did pull one goal back before the break through David Jones. The second half was a similar story with Zion showing no improvement in their shape at all. Within minutes of the restart they were 4-1 down, as they were guilty of overcommiting offensively. A fantastic team move culminating in a neat Tony Dain finish should have sparked a comeback, but ill-discipline was seized upon once more by Rogue Traders. Zion poured forward gung ho style and with far too many bodies and far too little space in the Traders final third the Rogue's were able to force the mistake and then pounce on the break to make it 5-2 and dispell any hope of a Zion win. David Jones added nothing more the a mere consolation before the final whistle condemned Zion to a second successive defeat. The players were clearly frustrated at the performance and the result. Steve Winter had every reason to be upset as he had pulled off some great saves and didn't deserve to be on a losing side. Player-Manager Tommy Powell was honest in his assessment of the game "We were beaten by a poor side tonight. I didn't feel we lost because they were good, instead I think we lost because we were poor. For that I must shoulder the blame as Manager. I picked a side that lacked balance. Instead of picking four good players, in future I must pick the four right players for our system." Zion found that having four players in offensive positions cramped the space and therefore, they were making defenders jobs easy. They also made the strikers jobs easy because on countless occasions there was no last man. So when a move broke down due to the lack of space, Rogue Traders frequently found themselves through on goal. Normally we associate Zion with creative passing and good use of space, but far too often there were too many players in the final third and therefore finding pockets of space became difficult for their creative players, and as a result the man in possession of the ball was often forced to play difficult intricate passes or take on their marker. The Rogue Traders were closing down and battling very well, but that is nothing Zion are not used to from their other Premiership opposition. The way to create space for the team to efficiently use their passing style of play, is to spread out and maximize the room in which people can move. Zion did the opposite against Rogue Traders and were made to pay for it. Hopefully they will learn from this rare mistake, and the Zion FC that take on current Champions, The G.A will give a better account of themselves.
