Andy Landesberg saluted London Lions’ young guns as Nathan Bloohn, Louis Lazarus, both 18, and 16-year-old Eytan Millan helped them return to winning ways at Codicote on Tuesday night.
April 3, 2019 09:22
SPARTAN SOUTH MIDLANDS LEAGUE DIVISION ONE
CODICOTE 1 LONDON LIONS 3
Beaten 3-1 by Rayners Lane last weekend, the Lions were determined from the off, with the inclusion of youth giving them great energy and hunger.
In a match played in testing conditions, Lions had control throughout the first half. They were rewarded for a strong start when a raking pass from Jake Furman allowed Max Kyte to break free and produce a clinical finish.
The visitors doubled their lead when an excellent four-man move resulted in Adam Arnold finding the head of Adam Bolle with a clever lofted pass to make it 2-0.
Whilst Codicote never threatened, the uneven surface kept the Lions defence on its toes going into the second half. Lions took time to settle after half-time and a bad bounce allowed Codicote to get in behind the Lions defence to pull one back.
Codicote gained momentum and it took some good goalkeeping from Bloohn and defending by Lions to settle things down again.
With 20 minutes left, Millan came on to partner Adam Bolle up top, with Kyte dropping into midfield, and then Lions welcomed back onto the field of play Harry Hatchwell for the first time this season. Hatchwell nearly scored from his first touch, with his header just going over the bar.
This steadied the ship, and Lions seemed to push on again with Millan and Bolle combining well. Another good pass beyond the Codicote back four set Bolle free again for him to score his second and Lions third goal.
Lions looked the fitter and sharper team in the final 10 minutes and manager Andy Landesberg was pleased to see his team return to winning ways, moving them back up to seventh in the division.
Landesberg said: “While it was good to get the three points and head back down the A1, it was so good to see two 18-year-old’s and a 16-year-old out there tonight, playing and competing with real quality.
“Also to see Harry Hatchwell, back playing again is a massive plus for the squad, Max Kyte played another 90 minutes, and it’s on to Hatfield this weekend.”
The win over Codicote followed a lacklustre 3-1 defeat at Rayners Lane, which Landesberg described as Lions’ “worst performance” of the season”.
The HSCL cup winners opened the scoring after 10 minutes when a short corner was worked to Jake Furman who fired home. But that was as good as it got for the Lions.
Rayners Lane dominated thereafter, as Lions continually conceded possession and showed a distinct lack of heart throughout,” according to Landesberg in a game where Lions conceded three times in the first half.