Woodwork saves the Lions

Locksheath Lions 4-2 Chandlers Ford Youth

Friendly – 5th April 2008

The last time these two sides met, Chandlers Ford played some of the best football they have shown all season in an excellent 4-1 win against a side a division higher than themselves.

Chandlers Ford started the game very brightly with Jozef Montigue and Michael Sawbridge in attack, coming very close. Montigue struck the cross bar with a decent looping effort following good link up play from Sawbridge. Michael threatened several times as well with some stinging long-range efforts.

It was the home side who took the lead however with a quickly taken free kick from the left catching the CFY defence off guard, despite some debate as to whether the ball had crossed the line for a throw in on a very poorly marked out pitch. The Locksheath forward raced through to fire past Michael Wall.

Sawbridge soon found the equaliser from close range having linked up neatly with Joe. David Kilcoyne was also instrumental in the goal with a powerful run out of defence and up the left flank as he once again put in a solid display to demonstrate his potential for next season.

Ford continued to create chances with Tom Ashton and David Bromhead winning the ball well in the middle of the park to thread passes through, but the Lions undid a lot of the hard work from the visitors with two similar goals in quick succession. The same striker beat the offside trap twice more to outsprint the Chandlers Ford defence before finishing past the helpless Michael Wall.

HALF TIME: Locksheath 3-1 CFY

In the second half, the Blues kept plugging away and were largely the better side.

Superb vision from Ashton and an inch perfect lofted pass from deep picked out David Bromhead, who had been pushed up front at the break due to Michael Sawbridge having to rush home to see Saints play. Bromhead did all the rest with a wonderfully taken goal planting an unstoppable shot across goal and into the far corner past the despairing dive of the Locksheath goalkeeper.

At 3-2, it looked as though Ford might go on to draw level which their general possession and play probably merited. Sadly the hosts went on to restore their two goal cushion with a long ball forward that the same goalscoring striker from the first half ran on to. His shot went underneath the body of stand-in goalkeeper Alex Evens, who took the gloves at half time to replace Wall.

Towards the end Jozef Montigue was extremely close to pulling a goal back as he shrugged off the challenge of his marker to bear down on goal and launch a 25-yard drive that crashed against the woodwork.

Tom Ashton also came close with an effort that dipped just over the cross bar but it was Locksheath who came away with a narrow win on this occasion, though Richard can be proud of his sides effort throughout.

FULL TIME: Locksheath 4-2 CFY