GARSTON VETS LEAGUE
MACCABI LONDON LIONS 2 GARSTON 2

Lions’ brave bid to add the league title to their County Cup triumph fell agonisingly short as a 2-2 draw with rivals Gaston in the end served neither side well, both likely to finish a point behind Winchmore Hill who will take the title with victory next week over bottom club Greenford.

Both teams knew only a win would do, so the match was, as expected, played at a high tempo and a great credit to the league.

Lions were undoubtedly on top – a fine MAx Radford cross was met on the run by Tony Gold but his header flew over before Saul Conway attempted an awkward volley when perhaps a header would have been the better choice. Gold again had a headed chance, but the attempted pull back was cut out by the keeper, Craig Pearl and Dan Piler both had fizzing efforts narrowly off target.

Garston had their share of possession, but Lions’ well marshalled back line restricted their sights of Brad Lee’s goal to the minimum. It was thus no more than the hosts deserved when thye took the lead, after great work by Hadley Silver it was the unlikely boot of Rob Glass who hooked the ball into the roof of the net from close range.

The lead was almost doubled, Silver’s cross diverted goalwards, cannoning back off the underside of the bar before being hacked to safety, and so it was just a slender one goal lead Lions took into the break.

The game however turned on its head as Lions briefly lost theirs in the opening 15 minutes of the second period. Almost from the kick-off a long clearance saw Adam Myeroff misjudge the bounce, and with Andrew Myers unable to exact the challenge that would have got his partner out of jail, the Garston forward calmly stroked his shot past Lee.

Lions suddenly stopped playing – Garston were the side on top. They had a couple of good chances that they blazed over, but when they over-hit a long ball there seemed no danger. Lee, however, fumbled the routine collection, the ball bouncing off him to concede a corner. And there was a sense of inevitability that this would prove costly, the whipped ball deceiving the Lions stopper and defenders as it curled in direct.

This Lions side, though, deserve huge credit. At the turn of the year they were virtually bottom, but a run that saw eight wins and a draw in their last nine games tells you of the character in the squad. They picked themselves up and, barely three minutes later drew level. Excellent work by Gold down the left and a fine cross saw Paul Lenchner get in front of his man at the near post where he executed a quite brilliant flicked finish – game on.

Lions threw everything they had at Garston, all the while thankful for some fine last-ditch defending by Myers, Myeroff and Piler and a fine save from Lee. Lions had shots blocked, headers off target, goalkeeping heroics and waved away penalty claims but the breakthrough simply wouldn’t come so when, in the last minute, one last Gold cross was headed an inch wide by Myers the draw that served neither side was confirmed.

So barring a miracle, the expunging of the Bushey results has presented Winchmore Hill with the return of the dropped points that will see them crowned champions. For Lions a second placed finish, comfortably their highest ever, and the knowledge that they had the best offensive and defensive record.

A slow early season start where they dropped points in games they should have won eventually proved costly, but they’ll hope to put the disappointment behind them and add the Invitational Trophy to the cabinet when they play Amersham Town in next Sunday’s final at the Alpha Stadium at 11am.