MGBSFL DIVISION TWO
FC TEAM C 2 SCRABBLE FC 7
Ray Abrahams praised his players after a Zak McLeod-inspired performance earned Scrabble FC an impressive 7-2 win over FC Team C.
The absence from their midfield of in-form playmaker Elliot Espinoza did not dampen Scrabble's resolve to close in on the Division Two crown as they swept aside FC Team with an impressive 7-2 victory at The Harefield Academy.
In Espinoza's absence, Scrabble added steel in midfield and as last week attacked FC Team from the kick-off and were a goal up inside three minutes. Danny Sherman latched onto a through ball and fired in past the FC Team goalkeeper from just inside the box.
It was 2-0 on twenty as McLeod set off on a mazy run drifting past three players and the keeper to fire low into the net from close range.
Three minutes later the game was effectively over as Sherman grabbed his second firing in low after a great through ball from pacy winger Josh Sheridan back after a two-week absence from the Scrabble side.
McLeod's second was as last week a contender for goal of the season as he again hit a dipping ball from 40 yards which sailed over the keeper and into the net on 35.
McLeod then completed his hat-trick just before half-time with another run into the box and then firing low past the keeper.
With the half time score at 5-0, FC Team had spent the half chasing shadows but to their credit they kept fighting and stemmed the tide in the second half somewhat with some excellent defending.
However, with the second half only a minute old, Scrabble skipper Josh Tiano, playing out of position on the left side of midfield, beat a couple of players and ran into the box to fire low past the keeper to make it 6-0.
Scrabble's scoring was completed on 55 as McLeod added his fourth and Scrabble's seventh with a tap-in from close range after a four man passing move in the FC Team penalty area.
Keen to give long-term injury absentee Tom Prevezer his first appearance of the season in midfield and Andrew Charles up front, Scrabble manager Ray Abrahams made a double substitution with 25 minutes left.
With Scrabble throwing everything forward in pursuit of more goals they were twice caught on the break in the final seven minutes as a shot and a header went in past keeper Ben Law in the Scrabble goal.
Eddie Sternberg and Freddie Marks scored in the last five minutes to salvage some pride for FC Team.
Scrabble manager Ray Abrahams told JC Sport: "Our first-half performance today was superb with the guys being clinical in the final third and dominating possession. It was a little disappointing to concede two late goals but we were always comfortable.
"I still don't want any title talk from my team as we still have work to do and with the Lions winning again today we know they can get to 58 points.
"We need two wins to be certain or four points then it's possibly down to goal difference but we will keep focused on the job in hand and take each game one at a time. The lads know what is required and we go again next Sunday.
"There were some huge performances out there again today and I thought our skipper Josh Tiano had one of his best games of the season.
"We've had some injury problems in recent weeks but it was good to see Tom Prevezer back after a horrendous injury and with him and Andrew Charles stepping in after a few months out we showed that we have tremendous strength in depth.
"Full credit to FC Team today who kept going to the end and gave us a few problems late on."
FC Team's David Gordon told JC Sport: "It was a disappointing morning but we had a patched up team and only 11 available players, one of whom hadn’t played since November and another who hadn’t played since December and was injured in the warm-up.
"We started very slowly, and found ourselves five down at half-time but we restored some pride in the second half and never let our heads go down.
"We were also playing a pretty excellent Scrabble team who will deservedly go up and play in a much better division next year.
"We won’t let this result affect us and we’ll go again next week.”
