BARRY GOLDSTEIN TROPHY SEMI-FINAL REPLAY
NORTH LONDON GALAXY 4 MILL HILL DONS 3
The original tie, a fortnight ago, was abandoned after Dons’ goalkeeper Sam Singer broke his arm in extra-time with Galaxy leading 3-2.
Despite starting very strongly, dominating possession and creating numerous chances, Galaxy found themselves 2-0 down as the Dons made a dream start, with Zach Cohen converting a penalty and Ryan Kramer tucking away a rebound after a one-on-one, which following an excellent save by Galaxy no. 1 Zack Nathan.
From then onwards, it was complete Galaxy domination - the Dons gave it their all, however Galaxy's quality, resilience and character shone through.
The Dons battled valiantly to hold on to their two-goal advantage, as Galaxy talented ballers grew into the game, with their footwork too quick for them at times.
Josh Shack helped instigate the comeback after pouncing on a lapse of concentration in the Dons' defence, taking a quick free-kick to release Tyler Smith who calmly slotted past the keeper to make it 2-1.
The goal to make it 2-2 came from a superb Tyler Smith ball to find Zac Rose at the back post who slotted into the back of the net.
The comeback was completed with Galaxy's third, when Josh Cohen, who also scored the third in the original tie, converted.
And they sealed the tie with a fourth came after a defensive error allowed Jack Mattey a simple tap-in, before Cohen scored his second and a third for the Dons but it was too little, too late.
Delighted Galaxy boss Luke Lewis told JC Sport: "Ultimately we much deserved the win, especially after the first game.
"God works in mysterious ways - Tyler Smith instrumental yet again, with both a goal and assist to get us back into the game, before Josh Cohen gets the third - coincidence or karma?
"We know we can’t start like we did this time against Raiders in the final - they have a lot of quality and will punish us if we do the same.
"Silverware determines success - we’ll do everything we can to make sure it's one season one trophy."
Dons boss Brandon Hamme told JC Sport: "We gave it our all and it just wasn’t to be. We went toe to toe with them and showed how much we have improved since the turn of the year, just our second loss all year.
"We had very much a depleted squad and had players filling in different positions, for us to have kept it as tight as it was is a real testament to how well the boys did."
