No glorious end for U11 Lions

It was a glorious morning at Titchfield Recreation Ground but not, alas, a glorious ending to the Lion’s League campaign. It didn’t start well when the Lions were only able to field 11 players, so there was nobody on the bench. The first half was end to end but playing down the slope Locksheath always looked the more dangerous side. Going forward the Lions were hampered by some loose passing and were often caught in possession, which didn’t help the cause. It took hard work by the Lions defence to keep Locksheath at bay and they really should have been at least one goal down at the break when Locksheath missed from no more than six feet in front of goal. It had been an ominous let-off for the Lions and one hoped for better things when it was the Lions turn to play down the slope.
 
They did indeed press much more in the second half and forced a succession of corners, but were unable to capitalize on some decent balls in. It was now Locksheath Lions turn to defend well – and so they did. The Lions did break through the Locksheath defence on a number of occasions, but the final ball was often wayward and they never really looked likely to score. Locksheath themselves did get the ball into the net, but it was another let-off for the Lions when the flag went up for offside. A few moments later Locksheath deservedly took the lead. And it was a very soft goal to boot - a tap-in at the far post. Two minutes from the end a disastrous error in front of the Lions goal allowed Locksheath to stretch their lead and the Lions were never going to come back from that. The Lions had fought hard and tried hard without much luck. They had chased and harried but no doubt suffered for being players short. Nevertheless, they were bested on the day by a team who were quicker to the ball and won most 50/50s. The loss leaves them anchored in third place in the league with the top spots being fought out between Whiteley Wanderers Lions and Gosport Arrows – good luck to both of those teams. Next Saturday the boys play their Mid Solent Youth league U11 semi-final against AFC Portchester Castles. If they try that hard again, use the ball better and get the breaks, then I’m sure they can make amends for this unfortunate defeat.