Zion FC bounced back from last weeks defeat in emphatic fashion with a 9-1 victory over Scarletfusion. A Brett Joyce hat-trick and two goals for David Jones, Tommy Powell, and Dan Shotton guided Zion to the win.
Slippery conditions threatened to spoil good football in the opening stages, with players from both sides struggling to control the ball and put the correct weight on their passes. Zion coped best with the problem and scored three first half goals. Brett Joyce shot past the keeper after a quick David Jones throw. Jones then profited from a great run and cross from Tommy Powell to double the lead. Powell then set up Dan Shotton who finished well. Steve Winter had a good night, keeping his concentration when called upon, despite the slippery ball and long periods of being a spectator.
The rain came down harder in the second half, adding to the difficult playing condition. It was strange therefore that Zion's performance massively improved and they slowed the game down and picked off their opponents. Joyce finished after good work from Powell, who had run at the Scarletfusion defence before chipping the ball onto the bar. Joyce pounced on the rebound. Dan Shotton then tapped home after Jones had smashed the ball across the box. Powell then got his goal, calmly slotting home a Jones pass. Scarletfusion got their consolation pouncing on a brief lapse in concentration at the back. It was Powell who then tucked home after a Joyce through ball. Joyce then completed his hat-trick when he dribbled dwon the right and powered a shot past the motionless keeper. Jones wrapped up the scoring driving the ball home after great work from Shotton, who nodded the ball into his path. 9-1 was a thrashing, but it was not undeserved and had the Lions taken more of their chances it could have been more than twenty, and that is not an exaggeration.
The much talked about midfielder Alex Ternouth was spotted in the stands, but Tommy Powell was keen to put the record straight when he spoke with FourFourTwo magazine, "There was no suspension, but I did feel that after such a media circus surrounding him, Alex could do with a rest from the emotional strain that this has put on him. He will come back stronger after this issue has been put to bed." Powell then went on to express his delight at such a great performance, "It was the response I was looking for from the lads and we thoroughly deserved to win after such a good performance, it sends the message that we are not going to give up in this title race." Steve Winter broke his media silence when he spoke with BBC Radio 5live after the game, "It was a great win for us, shame we didn't get a clean sheet, but to score nine was pretty phenominal. Hopefully we can push on from here." Alex Ternouth was then mentioned by the reporter and Winter reacted positively about the situation, "Alex meant no harm by it, we are good mates and I believe him when he said he meant the comment he made in jest, but he's young and maybe the comment he made was naive as the press pick up on these jokes and twist them, it's a learning curve but we are a united team and that is what matters." Zion will be hoping to perform in a similar manner to this display when they face Real Portslade next week.
