Sunday’s match was again at home as yet another away match was switched to Loxwood to ensure it would have the best possible chance to go ahead, thanks to our fabulous pitch which continues to stand up so well to the endless rain. The significant investment last summer and the regular mowing, thanks to Danny, are really benefiting the club. Even better to hear one of the many appreciative visiting supporters describe our ground as, “the nicest we have ever played at!”
Sunday’s welcome visitors to Loxwood were Midhurst and Easebourne, including one-of-our-own Keegan, and also George and Ollie plus dads Kiley and Paul who were all with us in the early days at Kirdford.
The combination of the Lions at the top of the league, and Joe and Eron being at school with many of the opposition players ensured that the pre-match banter was in abundance. Hopefully the Lions wouldn’t let Eron and Joe down!
The Lions squad for the day was Eron; Rory, Joe, Magnus and Daniel across the defence; Louis, Fraser, Harry, Max and Josh in midfield; Hamish up front; and Ben, Brodie, Tom L and Freddie to come on.
The Lions were encouraged to make a fast start again this week to establish an early rhythm of play. The message was certainly heeded by Max as he burst through the visitors’ defence in the opening 2 minutes to find himself clear on goal, with only the keeper to beat; Max fired low, the keeper parried the ball to his left, but Max reacted quickly to follow up and knock the ball home with his left foot; 1-0 Lions and the perfect start!
The boys continued to drive forward and the visitors were struggling to withstand the continual early Lions pressure as the Lions played smartly through midfield and into the channels with passes left and right. On 7 minutes Max‘s slick pass inside found Hamish on the edge of the box; Hamish dummied to hit, waited for the defender to buy it, then slotted in to the keeper’s right; 2-0 to the Lions.
Five minutes later Josh hit a fabulous pass from the right to left to send Max free; Max reached the by-line and pulled the ball back for Hamish; Hamish smashed it first time, super reaction save from the keeper, but again Harry, playing at the top of the midfield, reacted fastest to roll the ball home with the keeper stranded; 3-0 to the Lions with only 12 minutes gone..
After being stunned by the early goal blitz Midhurst rallied and began to threaten the Loxwood defence with long balls forward to the strikers. First a great snap-shot from the edge of the area was tipped round the post by Eron at full-stretch, then a searing drive from inside the D was again saved brilliantly by Eron with a full-hand to his right.
The Lions defenders were blocking shots, making tackles and chasing down the runners. Joe won key headers and vital tackles in the middle, Magnus tore into tackles and with Daniel patrolled the flanks well, and Rory was absolutely superb with his work-rate and recovery to repeatedly close down strikers, make last-ditch challenges and nick the ball off the strikers’ toes just before they could shoot.
In one particular moment, the Midhurst striker picked up the ball to the left of the area, moved it to the right, passed one player, then another, and was winding up to shoot only for Rory to come from nowhere to steal the ball again and wriggle past 2 more players to launch another Lions attack.
Full credit to Midhurst they managed to score from a chance created from their left which the Lions really should have shut down much quicker at the start of the move.
The Lions responded to losing a goal by immediately wrestling back control of the match. Another flowing move through midfield to the left sent Max clear; the radar found Hamish again on the edge of the penalty area, who stepped round one defender, then a second, before stroking the ball into the bottom right hand corner for another tremendous team goal; 4 - 1 to the Lions.
At this point Ben, Brodie, Freddie and Tom L replaced Josh, Max, Hamish and Fraser. Great to see Freddie returning after a long injury lay-off and his eagerness to get on the ball was terrific. The match then flowed back and forth with Louis exerting his physical presence to win and shield the ball in midfield.
The half ended with no further goals and the Lions retreated to enjoy their well-deserved Lucozade and Jaffa Cakes. The message was to step up momentum again and not concede any further goals in the second half.
The match resumed in a similar way to just before half-time with both sides looking to create chances. The Lions lost some width for a period which condensed play in midfield, and some passes were delayed momentarily which allowed Midhurst vital time to block and make challenges. Harry and Freddie were opening up spaces by beating players and Tom was looking to thread passes through the gaps for Ben on the right and Brodie left.
Midhurst were still creating danger at this point with some direct passes for runners, and on another attack up the right the Midhurst striker unleashed a blistering drive from 20 yards which Eron dived full-stretch to fist over the bar. Fabulous shot and save and the applause crackled round the pitch from both sets of supporters.
In the final third of the match Fraser, Hamish, Max and Josh replaced Joe, Louis, Harry and Daniel to utilise the full squad of fifteen on the day.
Freddie picked up the ball and tied his opponent in knots before looking up to find Ben who beat his man easily before firing over a dangerous cross which just eluded the runners.
On 55 minutes Hamish dropped deep to pick up the ball centrally 25 yards out; his speculative shot somehow found its way through the unfortunate keeper for his second hat-trick in 2 matches: 5 -1 to the Lions.
With the game now won Fraser began to surge forward from deep carrying the ball past players to open up opportunities and play passes. On 60 minutes Fraser charged forward again, slaloming past 2 players into space, before firing at goal again from 25 yards. Same spot, same gap, same goal; 6 - 1 to the Lions.
With 5 minutes to go Freddie cut between two players and again shot from distance only for the ball to take a wicked deflection off the last defender to leave the poor keeper wrong-footed; 7 - 1 to the Lions and super for Freddie to seal his comeback with a goal.
There was time left for one more superbly crafted team move from Freddie to Hamish to Brodie but unfortunately the Lions couldn’t quite finish the move off but nonetheless it was another example of how the Lions finish matches strongly.
The referee blew his whistle and the Lions had secured a seventh consecutive victory and 3 more points to open up the points gap at the top of the league. Well done to Midhurst who created some good chances and who were very unfortunate with the way some of the goals were conceded but that’s football sometimes. Special mention to Keegan in particular, who had a very good match with a very composed performance at left back.
Finally thanks again to the wonderful Lions supporters who cheered all the action loudly and proudly as usual and also to the Midhurst support who were also credit to their club - all contributed to a fantastic, inspirative atmosphere.
Player of the match: Honourable mentions to Eron and Hamish for his hat-trick, but PoM this week goes to Rory who was absolutely outstanding in defence - time and again his speed and skill prevented the opposition players from shooting on goal. He had no right to make up the ground on some challenges and then, after winning the ball, he retained possession by accelerating past players to find space to play passes to teammates . A privilege to watch.ick here to edit.
Sunday’s welcome visitors to Loxwood were Midhurst and Easebourne, including one-of-our-own Keegan, and also George and Ollie plus dads Kiley and Paul who were all with us in the early days at Kirdford.
The combination of the Lions at the top of the league, and Joe and Eron being at school with many of the opposition players ensured that the pre-match banter was in abundance. Hopefully the Lions wouldn’t let Eron and Joe down!
The Lions squad for the day was Eron; Rory, Joe, Magnus and Daniel across the defence; Louis, Fraser, Harry, Max and Josh in midfield; Hamish up front; and Ben, Brodie, Tom L and Freddie to come on.
The Lions were encouraged to make a fast start again this week to establish an early rhythm of play. The message was certainly heeded by Max as he burst through the visitors’ defence in the opening 2 minutes to find himself clear on goal, with only the keeper to beat; Max fired low, the keeper parried the ball to his left, but Max reacted quickly to follow up and knock the ball home with his left foot; 1-0 Lions and the perfect start!
The boys continued to drive forward and the visitors were struggling to withstand the continual early Lions pressure as the Lions played smartly through midfield and into the channels with passes left and right. On 7 minutes Max‘s slick pass inside found Hamish on the edge of the box; Hamish dummied to hit, waited for the defender to buy it, then slotted in to the keeper’s right; 2-0 to the Lions.
Five minutes later Josh hit a fabulous pass from the right to left to send Max free; Max reached the by-line and pulled the ball back for Hamish; Hamish smashed it first time, super reaction save from the keeper, but again Harry, playing at the top of the midfield, reacted fastest to roll the ball home with the keeper stranded; 3-0 to the Lions with only 12 minutes gone..
After being stunned by the early goal blitz Midhurst rallied and began to threaten the Loxwood defence with long balls forward to the strikers. First a great snap-shot from the edge of the area was tipped round the post by Eron at full-stretch, then a searing drive from inside the D was again saved brilliantly by Eron with a full-hand to his right.
The Lions defenders were blocking shots, making tackles and chasing down the runners. Joe won key headers and vital tackles in the middle, Magnus tore into tackles and with Daniel patrolled the flanks well, and Rory was absolutely superb with his work-rate and recovery to repeatedly close down strikers, make last-ditch challenges and nick the ball off the strikers’ toes just before they could shoot.
In one particular moment, the Midhurst striker picked up the ball to the left of the area, moved it to the right, passed one player, then another, and was winding up to shoot only for Rory to come from nowhere to steal the ball again and wriggle past 2 more players to launch another Lions attack.
Full credit to Midhurst they managed to score from a chance created from their left which the Lions really should have shut down much quicker at the start of the move.
The Lions responded to losing a goal by immediately wrestling back control of the match. Another flowing move through midfield to the left sent Max clear; the radar found Hamish again on the edge of the penalty area, who stepped round one defender, then a second, before stroking the ball into the bottom right hand corner for another tremendous team goal; 4 - 1 to the Lions.
At this point Ben, Brodie, Freddie and Tom L replaced Josh, Max, Hamish and Fraser. Great to see Freddie returning after a long injury lay-off and his eagerness to get on the ball was terrific. The match then flowed back and forth with Louis exerting his physical presence to win and shield the ball in midfield.
The half ended with no further goals and the Lions retreated to enjoy their well-deserved Lucozade and Jaffa Cakes. The message was to step up momentum again and not concede any further goals in the second half.
The match resumed in a similar way to just before half-time with both sides looking to create chances. The Lions lost some width for a period which condensed play in midfield, and some passes were delayed momentarily which allowed Midhurst vital time to block and make challenges. Harry and Freddie were opening up spaces by beating players and Tom was looking to thread passes through the gaps for Ben on the right and Brodie left.
Midhurst were still creating danger at this point with some direct passes for runners, and on another attack up the right the Midhurst striker unleashed a blistering drive from 20 yards which Eron dived full-stretch to fist over the bar. Fabulous shot and save and the applause crackled round the pitch from both sets of supporters.
In the final third of the match Fraser, Hamish, Max and Josh replaced Joe, Louis, Harry and Daniel to utilise the full squad of fifteen on the day.
Freddie picked up the ball and tied his opponent in knots before looking up to find Ben who beat his man easily before firing over a dangerous cross which just eluded the runners.
On 55 minutes Hamish dropped deep to pick up the ball centrally 25 yards out; his speculative shot somehow found its way through the unfortunate keeper for his second hat-trick in 2 matches: 5 -1 to the Lions.
With the game now won Fraser began to surge forward from deep carrying the ball past players to open up opportunities and play passes. On 60 minutes Fraser charged forward again, slaloming past 2 players into space, before firing at goal again from 25 yards. Same spot, same gap, same goal; 6 - 1 to the Lions.
With 5 minutes to go Freddie cut between two players and again shot from distance only for the ball to take a wicked deflection off the last defender to leave the poor keeper wrong-footed; 7 - 1 to the Lions and super for Freddie to seal his comeback with a goal.
There was time left for one more superbly crafted team move from Freddie to Hamish to Brodie but unfortunately the Lions couldn’t quite finish the move off but nonetheless it was another example of how the Lions finish matches strongly.
The referee blew his whistle and the Lions had secured a seventh consecutive victory and 3 more points to open up the points gap at the top of the league. Well done to Midhurst who created some good chances and who were very unfortunate with the way some of the goals were conceded but that’s football sometimes. Special mention to Keegan in particular, who had a very good match with a very composed performance at left back.
Finally thanks again to the wonderful Lions supporters who cheered all the action loudly and proudly as usual and also to the Midhurst support who were also credit to their club - all contributed to a fantastic, inspirative atmosphere.
Player of the match: Honourable mentions to Eron and Hamish for his hat-trick, but PoM this week goes to Rory who was absolutely outstanding in defence - time and again his speed and skill prevented the opposition players from shooting on goal. He had no right to make up the ground on some challenges and then, after winning the ball, he retained possession by accelerating past players to find space to play passes to teammates . A privilege to watch.ick here to edit.
