London Lions went top of the Herts Senior County League Premier Division table with a battling 3-1 win over Wormley Rovers.
September 22, 2008 11:02ByDanny Caro, Danny Caro
London Lions 3
London Lions went top of the Herts Senior County League Premier Division table with a battling 3-1 win over Wormley Rovers.
Manager Tony Gold named an unchanged side for the trip to Wormley following last week's empathic 10-0 win over Bovingdon, which meant skipper Rob Glass who was back from suspension could only manage a place on the Lions bench.
On a relatively hot day for this time of year the Lions started the game with a high tempo and real purpose. It was clear from the first whistle that Wormley were more intent on kicking players rather than trying to play football but Lions stood up to the bully boy tactics showing how far they have come as a team.
Keeper Danny Berliner kept Rob Abrahams out of the team after the latter went away on holiday and had another solid game between the sticks. The Lions back four of Eddie Manson, Guy Morris, Adam Myeroff and Adam Lauffer excelled throughout with the latter producing a terrific man-of-the-match performance.
Ben Lauffer, Ben Lampert and Danny Castle once again showed a mixed bag of football, battle, work rate and composure as they drove the Lions midfield supported by the hard working and effective Guy Helman and Nick Goodman in the wide areas. Adam Stolerman led the line intelligently and maturely.
The game in all truth should have been over after 25 minutes with the Lions missing several good opportunities. As it was, they surged into a strong two-goal lead thanks to a marvellous Morris header and a sweet Goodman finish.
On the stroke of half-time the referee handed Wormley a lifeline, awarding them a penalty for an apparent foul. It was a dubious decision to say the least but to Wormley's credit they accepted the gift and pulled a goal back.
The half-time teamtalk was revolved around the Lions not hitting the panic button and to keep playing the way they were.
Wormley came out a different side in the second-half with their tails up and the Lions went through a tough 25 minute period. To their credit the blue boys showed great resolve and soaked up everything the home side threw at them.
With 20 minutes remaining Lions began to regain control of the game and had a couple of decent chances to kill it off, firstly Stolerman going close and then Castle missing when well placed.
The free-scoring Ben Lampert wrapped matters up seven minutes from time with his sixth goal in seven games."
Lions: Berliner, Manson (sub: Glass), Morris, Myeroff, A. Lauffer, B. Lauffer, Lampert, Castle, Helman, Goodman (sub: Schwarz), Stolerman (sub: Fieldgrass)