Low Key Lions Through To Quarter Finals
- Phil Davis / Photos: Ian Judd
- Jun 29, 2016
- 2 min read
Southside Eagles 0
Lions FC 3 (Butters 22', 25'; Jomanday 75’) HT 0-2
Played at Memorial Park
Lions FC did enough to get through to the next round of the Canale Cup with a low-key 3-0 win over a plucky Southside Eagles at Memorial Park on Wednesday evening. Twice Michael Butters got behind the defence in the first half and both times got the better of Matt Tubbs in goal for the home side. The first helped into the back of the net by a desperate lunge to clear the ball from Roger Hunter and his his second goal a sublime strike fro 25 yards out into the top left corner.
A 2-0 lead was deserved at half time and they never looked like losing from then on. With fifteen minutes to go, Sekou Jomanday split the defence and fired home the final goal, ending any slim hopes of a comeback. Eagles rested almost their entire first team squad, effectively playing with a reserve side including coach Hunter playing in an unfamiliar centre back role, whilst Lions played almost their entire available first-team so the final scoreline was more impressive than appears on first inspection.
Southside Eagles Josh Falco with a rare chance for his side that narrowly went wide. Eagles had their chances to score as well. Josh Falco went close, beating Phil Zabaks but narrowly missed the target and Michael Cahut, coming off the bench late on, had the single best opportunity of the game but was unable to slot the ball past the Lions keeper one on one. It would have been a memorable moment for a player with nearly half his games this season in City League 1. On a chilly night with a sparse crowd in attendance at times it felt, and looked, like a training run for the Flight Centre Premier League leaders which was more the result of a choppy surface than a lack of effort on their part. Slick passing moves were hard to get going with no confidence in the bounce. Possession was seriously lop-sided so it’s difficult to discern stand-out players for either side but it’s worth noting the team effort put in by the home side. They worked really hard all night and never dropped their heads even when the game got away from them. If they get promoted, depth will be important in the the Flight Centre Premier League Club Championship. Lions will probably be content to get through without any injuries and it was good to see Peter Gaffney get a solid hit-out after his recent injury woes. This game was the first in a hectic schedule and they’ve had more than enough troubles for this season.
FB Media Player Of The Match: Kenny TAKAHASHI - Lions FC (above) In a game which didn’t reach any great heights, Takahashi was at his industrious best. Team line-ups Southside Eagles: Tubbs (gk), Roulston, Falco, Barlow, Lopez-Vito, Burley, Warren, Robson, Rucker, Hunter, Garate Zea, Peach. Subs: Cahut, Croall, Eliem, Warren (rgk).
Lions FC: Zabaks (gk), Butters, Fetahagic, Cosgrove, Takahashi, Gaffney, Kenyon, Shepherd, Jankovic, Morgan, Cokell, Subs: Jomanday, Diaz, Piper, Fujitani, Murphy (rgk). Referee: Anton Schcetinin
