13/02/11: The Victory Club (2) v (3) The Golden Lion FC
Scorers: Harding, Smiles
Team: Swan (GK), Lewis, Hudson, Bunyan, M. Dryden, Mountford (Fisher), Collins (Davison), Lamb (c), Robson, Harding (Hunter), Smiles
Unused Subs: Jackson, Rodgers, Stores
Yellows: Lewis, Collins
Reds: None
A second half rally from a spirited Golden Lion FC condemned the Victory to a 3-2 league defeat in a match that Lee Hermiston’s men should never have lost.
The Victory gaffer tinkered with his formation and opted for a return to 4-4-2. Lewis Swan remained in goal and the back four from last week also all kept their places. Some thought that was a surprise decision given that usual captain, Greg Davison, was back available for selection but he was forced to settle for a place on the bench. In midfield Graham Lamb and Anth Collins were chosen to play in the middle with Simon Mountford and the recalled, Stephen Robson, deployed on the two flanks. Regular forward, James Smiles, was joined up top by Peter Harding. Joining Davison and the other subs on the bench was Scott Hunter who had finally overcome a problem with his appendix.
Once again the pitch passed a late inspection with referee, Jeff Thompson – the Duke of Deptford, happy that the surface would hold up for the duration of the match. The Golden Lion seemed less convinced as they turned up short on numbers and were forced to start the game with only nine men.
Unsurprisingly given their two man advantage the Victory bossed the early stages but on the tricky surface struggled to pass the ball around at any great pace.
Five minutes in and another Golden Lion player turned up meaning they were now up to ten men.
The Golden Lion defence were playing an extremely high line and the referee was being kept extremely busy when it came to judging offside decisions when the Victory forwards ran in behind.
The first real moment of note was a controversial one as the Victory thought that with twelve minutes played that they had taken the lead. A cross was delivered into the Golden Lion area and one of their defenders sliced the ball towards his own goal. The keeper, who went down in stages, saw the ball squirm underneath his body and across the line before he dragged it back. Everyone in close proximity including Golden Lion players could see that the ball had clearly crossed the line but the referee saw it differently and waved play on. The Victory were clearly incensed and rightly so by the decision and a couple of minutes later, Jonny Lewis, was cautioned for dissent, as he somewhat unwisely implied that the referee was a cheat.
The Golden Lion then almost snatched the lead themselves but Swan, who injured himself in the process, made an excellent save to deny a fiercely struck close range effort.
The Victory continued to press however, and they were starting to get some joy. Robson, Lamb, Collins, Harding and Smiles all shot either straight at the keeper or wide of the target when presented with decent shooting opportunities but you could sense that the goal was coming.
Then, with twenty five minutes on the watch the goal duly arrived. A brilliant through ball from Lamb saw Peter Harding this time beat the offside trap and bearing down on goal. As the keeper came out to close him down he coolly slotted the ball past him and into the back of the net.
Hermiston’s men buoyed and relieved no doubt by going ahead, started to knock the ball around well and Smiles was proving very tricky to handle for the Golden Lion back four.
However, despite still being a man light, the Golden Lion managed to dig in and at the break the Victory had failed to add to their solitary goal.
At half time the advice to the Victory players from their manager was simple – more of the same and more goals would come. The Golden Lion were given a boost at half time with the appearance of another one of their players meaning they were now up to their full complement of eleven players.
The second period began disastrously for the Victory as inside the first couple of minutes, Golden Lion dragged themselves level. A Golden Lion player scampered clear down the left and his pull back was cracked home by a team-mate past Swan at his near post. The shot took a little nick of Mark Dryden which possibly hindered Swan’s chances of keeping it out.
Just before the hour mark and the Victory deservedly regained their single goal advantage as James Smiles notched his sixth goal of the season. Simon Mountford’s beautifully weighted slide rule pass put Smiles’ through on goal and he walloped a right foot past the keeper high into the net.
That was to be Mountfords last action of the game as a couple of minutes after the goal he was replaced by Chris Fisher.
More chances came and went for the Victory – Robson fired over when he got on the end of a cross from right and Harding also shot wide when the ball fell to him on the edge of the box.
Despite now having the same number of men on the pitch as their opponents, Golden Lion were struggling to make an impression on the Victory goal and up to this point Swan was enjoying one of his quieter mornings.
However, that all changed as the second half reached its midway point as for the second time in the game Golden Lion levelled proceedings although this goal was a terrible one to concede from a Victory point of view. An aimless long punt downfield from the keeper saw Hudson and then Bunyan both make a complete mess of trying to deal with it. This allowed a Golden Lion player to collect the ball and advance goal wards. He cleverly sidestepped Swan before slotting the ball into the net. Jonny Lewis, who had got himself back on the goal line almost kept the ball out but sadly for the men in red he just wasn’t quite able to.
Golden Lion now had something to work with and they started to try and break up play at every given opportunity be it by fair means or not. Stephen Robson found himself on the end of a bad tackle as three opposition players sought to stop him getting clear down the left.
With around twenty minutes to go, Hermiston made his second alteration bringing on the fit again Scott Hunter for Peter Harding.
The match was turning into a feisty affair with challenges flying in all over the pitch but the referee seemed quite happy to let the game flow. Then came a major flash point. A Golden Lion player fell on the ball about twenty five yards from the Victory goal. Mark Dryden came over to try and win the ball but only succeeded in kicking the player about four or five times. Anth Collins also joined in and the Golden Lion player took exception to the attempted tackles and squared up to Collins. It was handbags stuff really but both players had to be dragged away by team-mates before things got more out of hand. Once things had calmed down the referee dragged both players to one side and issued them with cautions. From the resulting free kick Swan was at his magnificent best making a save right out of the top drawer when he clawed away the left footed shot right out of his top corner.
The Victory were still making most of the running and from a set piece the ball fell to Mark Dryden but his attempted overhead effort cleared the ball quite comfortably.
James Smiles, the Victory’s penalty winning specialist, went down just outside the edge of the box and appealed for a free kick but Jeff Thompson, clearly now wise to the players diving reputation, waved play on and told the Victory player to get on with it. A minute or so later and the referee did award the Victory a free kick when Scott Hunter attempted to outfox a Golden Lion player but seemed to, like the clumsy person he is, trip over his own feet. Hunter had obviously been taking lessons from Smiles in the art of simulation and it paid off. However, the free kick came to nothing as Golden Lion cleared the ball into the area.
As the game entered the final ten minutes, the sucker punch came as Golden Lion, against the run of play, went ahead for the first time in the game. A corner was delivered into a crowd of bodies at the near post and a Golden Lion player glanced on a header. Agonisingly for the men in red the ball squirmed under Robson on the goal line and Swan just couldn’t react quickly enough to claw the ball back out. Unfortunately unlike in the first half, the referee was well placed to see that the ball had indeed crossed the line and once again the Victory were left to rue the concession of a goal from a set piece.
Hermiston threw Greg Davison on for the last few minutes with Anth Collins making way and the Victory skipper almost had an immediate impact when the ball fell to him just outside the area but his shot was saved.
The Victory now forced to push for an equaliser almost got one through Jonny Lewis but his rasping thirty yard drive was palmed over the cross bar by the Golden Lion keeper.
A succession of long throw-ins from Davison rained into the opposition final third but the ball wouldn’t fall kindly for the Victory and Golden Lion held on to complete an undeserved comeback win.
At the final whistle the Victory players were all extremely disappointed as there is no question that the game had been there for the taking and one which they should definitely have won. Lee Hermiston, will face a tough job to pick his side off the floor in time for next week’s game at the Fulwell Mill Arena against Oddies.
