Wednesday 31 March 2010
Disappointing draw piles pressure on Lewisham
Lewisham 2 – 2 FC Juventus
Bitter disappointment for the Lewisham team after they failed to beat their Californian rivals in the second game of the tournament. Despite dominating the play throughout the first half and creating numerous chances, Lewisham were unable to capitalise on their abundance of possession and some highly skilful passing football. In the end Lewisham battled to a tough draw over ninety minutes, having been behind twice and courtesy of a bizarre own goal at the death.
Unlike the Solar game, where Lewisham had to deal with an organised opponent, awkward conditions and their own first match nerves, this game was there for the taking and as a result the boys are understandably disappointed with the performance. While FC Juventus were promising going forward they had weaknesses across the defence and midfield. However despite playing some excellent possession football Lewisham lacked the urgency or the quality of execution in the final third to see them off.
Several Lewisham players looked noticeably sluggish, and you have to question a tournament committee that asks teams to travel over 5000 miles and play back to back games against fresh local opponents. In 80 degree heat, on a fast – perfectly manicured – pitch and for once without a breath of wind, this was always going to be a stiff test for our boys after the bruising encounter with Solar.
The opener came against the run of play and was the result of a lack of concentration in the Lewisham defence. However the boys reacted well and increased the intensity of their efforts and within five minutes of conceding, Ishmail Henry finished off a move started by Theophanous driving hard down the left. The score line stayed even until minutes before the end of the first half when Lewisham again gifted their opponents with a soft breakaway goal.
The second half became a punishing affair as both sides took advantage of the referee’s leniency with contact, and as the heat and nerves started to take their toll. James Golding pushed his side forward relentlessly, and on more than one occasion FC Juventus were forced to wrestle Lewisham players to the ground in their efforts to prevent an equaliser.
Dan Thomas brought fresh legs on in the diminutive shape of Zak Colaluca and he immediately made an impact. However the equaliser – with only minutes to spare – came from a calamitous mix-up between the FC Juventus keeper and his defence. To Lewisham’s great relief the ball trickled across the line, keeping their hopes of progressing from the group stages alive.
* Updated results leave everything to play for. With Solar beating Houston, FC Juventus losing to Houston, Lewisham need a win today against Houston with Solar either losing or drawing with FC Juventus to progress from the group stages.
Bitter disappointment for the Lewisham team after they failed to beat their Californian rivals in the second game of the tournament. Despite dominating the play throughout the first half and creating numerous chances, Lewisham were unable to capitalise on their abundance of possession and some highly skilful passing football. In the end Lewisham battled to a tough draw over ninety minutes, having been behind twice and courtesy of a bizarre own goal at the death.
Unlike the Solar game, where Lewisham had to deal with an organised opponent, awkward conditions and their own first match nerves, this game was there for the taking and as a result the boys are understandably disappointed with the performance. While FC Juventus were promising going forward they had weaknesses across the defence and midfield. However despite playing some excellent possession football Lewisham lacked the urgency or the quality of execution in the final third to see them off.
Several Lewisham players looked noticeably sluggish, and you have to question a tournament committee that asks teams to travel over 5000 miles and play back to back games against fresh local opponents. In 80 degree heat, on a fast – perfectly manicured – pitch and for once without a breath of wind, this was always going to be a stiff test for our boys after the bruising encounter with Solar.
The opener came against the run of play and was the result of a lack of concentration in the Lewisham defence. However the boys reacted well and increased the intensity of their efforts and within five minutes of conceding, Ishmail Henry finished off a move started by Theophanous driving hard down the left. The score line stayed even until minutes before the end of the first half when Lewisham again gifted their opponents with a soft breakaway goal.
The second half became a punishing affair as both sides took advantage of the referee’s leniency with contact, and as the heat and nerves started to take their toll. James Golding pushed his side forward relentlessly, and on more than one occasion FC Juventus were forced to wrestle Lewisham players to the ground in their efforts to prevent an equaliser.
Dan Thomas brought fresh legs on in the diminutive shape of Zak Colaluca and he immediately made an impact. However the equaliser – with only minutes to spare – came from a calamitous mix-up between the FC Juventus keeper and his defence. To Lewisham’s great relief the ball trickled across the line, keeping their hopes of progressing from the group stages alive.
* Updated results leave everything to play for. With Solar beating Houston, FC Juventus losing to Houston, Lewisham need a win today against Houston with Solar either losing or drawing with FC Juventus to progress from the group stages.
Monday 29 March 2010
Lewisham survive nail-biting opener
LCFA 2 – Solar SC 2
Lewisham faced a tough opening to their 2010 Dallas Cup campaign, drawn against Solar SC a local side coached by a former Charlton Athletic pro, and finalists in the division last year. With only one team to progress from our four team group, mistakes couldn’t afford to be made at this early stage of the tournament and both players and management were well aware of the pressure.
It was a nail-biting affair from start to finish, with tactics for both teams determined by the strong winds. Playing against the breeze in the first half Lewisham looked settled and composed in possession despite the difficult conditions, and happy to sit deep when Solar had the ball. Keeper Matt Bailey dealt with a few awkward hanging balls, but other than that Solar looked unlikely to score until an uncharacteristically sloppy mistake from Lewisham’s defence gifted the Solar centre forward with a clear run on goal, which he calmly slotted home.
Despite the disappointment, Lewisham picked themselves up and continued to play solid passing football until the break. As the tension increased in the second half both sides picked up the tempo, and some fierce challenges resulted in yellow cards for Collins and Golding, while Richard Morgan went wide with a diving header. Both Solar and Lewisham had further chances to change the score line, but it wasn’t until the 75th minute when Solar orchestrated a powerful set-piece with runners arriving late to the far post that the score line changed once again. At first it appeared that it had been headed superbly off the line by substitute Fabio Saraiva only for the linesman to rule that the ball had entirely crossed the line. With less than 15 minutes to play, Lewisham were staring down the barrel of a 2-nil defeat and an early exit from the tournament.
The turning point came in the 81st of the game when the constantly influential Omar Folke’s low shot from the edge of the box beat the unsighted Solar keeper. Buoyed by this, Lewisham bounced back on the attack and only minutes later Louie Theophanous broke down the right, cut back and found Richard Morgan outside the box to stab the ball home from 20 yards.
It was a physically and mentally draining encounter, and both players and coaches were pleased with the overall performance, the player’s ability to adapt and in particular the spirit shown by the squad when the odds were stacked against them. Post-match evaluations took place between icy plunge pool and jaccuzzi as fitness coach Django Lagnado endeavoured to reduce muscle fatigue with the second group game coming in less than 24 hours.
Lewisham faced a tough opening to their 2010 Dallas Cup campaign, drawn against Solar SC a local side coached by a former Charlton Athletic pro, and finalists in the division last year. With only one team to progress from our four team group, mistakes couldn’t afford to be made at this early stage of the tournament and both players and management were well aware of the pressure.
It was a nail-biting affair from start to finish, with tactics for both teams determined by the strong winds. Playing against the breeze in the first half Lewisham looked settled and composed in possession despite the difficult conditions, and happy to sit deep when Solar had the ball. Keeper Matt Bailey dealt with a few awkward hanging balls, but other than that Solar looked unlikely to score until an uncharacteristically sloppy mistake from Lewisham’s defence gifted the Solar centre forward with a clear run on goal, which he calmly slotted home.
Despite the disappointment, Lewisham picked themselves up and continued to play solid passing football until the break. As the tension increased in the second half both sides picked up the tempo, and some fierce challenges resulted in yellow cards for Collins and Golding, while Richard Morgan went wide with a diving header. Both Solar and Lewisham had further chances to change the score line, but it wasn’t until the 75th minute when Solar orchestrated a powerful set-piece with runners arriving late to the far post that the score line changed once again. At first it appeared that it had been headed superbly off the line by substitute Fabio Saraiva only for the linesman to rule that the ball had entirely crossed the line. With less than 15 minutes to play, Lewisham were staring down the barrel of a 2-nil defeat and an early exit from the tournament.
The turning point came in the 81st of the game when the constantly influential Omar Folke’s low shot from the edge of the box beat the unsighted Solar keeper. Buoyed by this, Lewisham bounced back on the attack and only minutes later Louie Theophanous broke down the right, cut back and found Richard Morgan outside the box to stab the ball home from 20 yards.
It was a physically and mentally draining encounter, and both players and coaches were pleased with the overall performance, the player’s ability to adapt and in particular the spirit shown by the squad when the odds were stacked against them. Post-match evaluations took place between icy plunge pool and jaccuzzi as fitness coach Django Lagnado endeavoured to reduce muscle fatigue with the second group game coming in less than 24 hours.
Sunday 28 March 2010
Talking to the team before the tournament opener against Solar SC
Louie on our chance of success in the group
Shane and Femi on life, the universe and everything...
James Golding on sport in America
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