SPARTAN SOUTH MIDLANDS LEAGUE DIVISION ONE
WELWYN GARDEN CITY 4 LONDON LIONS 1

London Lions gave a brave account of themselves against table-toppers Welwyn Garden City before succumbing to a 4-1 defeat.

In truth the league leaders were fortunate to be level at the break. Lions had created the better chances in the first 45 minutes, and with a bit more luck going their way could easily have been two goals in front.

However, the hosts are top of the table for a reason and although not pretty to watch, they are extremely effective and efficient in the way they play.

In the final 25 minutes Welwyn grinded Lions down and punished them for a couple of individual errors. Lions also had Mario Cenolli to thank in that period for keeping the score respectable, making a host of fine saves including a penalty.

For the first time in 33 games, Lions had a plethora of players and strong squad of 16. One couldn't help but feel the if only syndrome. If only Lions could have had this commitment and consistency over the previous 32 matches, they would arguably be a team competing in the top eight. For the management team it is like having a Bentley but not having the keys or engine to drive it.

The only disappointment before kick-off was the fact Guy Morris failed a late fitness test and his presence eventually was sorely missed. For 45 minutes it would have been impossible to tell which team was top and which team was in the bottom five. Lions more than matched their hosts physically and any real footballing quality was coming from the visitors on what was a pretty poor playing surface.

Charlie Kasler was pulling Lions strings and with David Soutar deployed upfront alongside Leor Sidle the three Lions men continually asked Welwyn's defence questions. Kasler had a rasping shot which deserved far better than smashing the crossbar and being cleared from danger, as did Soutar's disallowed goal from a dubious off-side decision.

In true Lions fashion, and completely against the run of play, Welwyn went in front on 30 minutes with the most bizarre of goals. A header back to the keeper fell short and with the home side striker reacting quickes,t he pounced but failed to connect fully with his shot. What looked like a pass back to the keeper suddenly became a nightmare, as the ball took a horrible bobble off the uneven pitch deceiving Cenolli and rolling past him into the goal. It was a hard goal to take, but Lions rolled up their sleeves and were straight back at it.

A few minutes before half-time Kasler hauled Lions level. A terrific ball from Soutar got Kasler in behind the Welwyn defence, his first shot was saved, but from a tight angle he found the composure to smash home the rebound.

For the first 15 minutes of the second half Lions remained equally competitive and still very much in the game. However, some "interesting" referring decisions which went completely against Lions compounded with some unfortunate individual mistakes in the Lions defence turned the game in Welwyn's favour.

The final 4-1 scoreline was somewhat harsh given Lions contribution to the game but in truth given the saves Cenolli made in a crazy 10 minute period towards the end of the game, Lions couldn't have any complaints.

Lions boss Tony Gold said: "Welwyn are top of the table for a reason. The table doesn't lie and I sincerely hope they go on and win the title - they are a good club and always treated me well when I was a player there, Fish is a great guy and deserves the success.

"The football in this league has deteriorated massively; virtually every team in this league, with the exception of maybe one or two, now just look to smash the ball long and pick up the pieces. It's all much of a muchness.

"I certainly could never condone any side I'm involved with playing that way, but with poor pitches and teams that just rely on brute strength and physical intimidation, most of the time we have to adapt to a different game plan in order to compensate.

"We had a go tonight and I believe in the first half we had Welwyn rattled. I don't like blaming officials and making excuses, but tonight I feel we were let down in that respect.

"Something eventually has to go our way and hopefully on Saturday away at Codicote in the majestic Olympic stadium in Gosling on a carpet of a pitch it will!"

LIONS: Mario Cenolli, Zac Rose, Charlie Kasler, David Soutar, Nicky Landesberg, Beresfor, Andy Glynne, Rafi Soccairello, Adam Lipman, Omri Brinner (sub: Adam Hakimi), Leor Sidle