Gower Phoenix – 4 BVH – 2Gower Phoenix (4-4-2) Joe – Dens, Wall, Loz, Treen – Sav, Muffdog, Lucas, Bolu – Mike, Jon H
On a cold and windswept Regents Park afternoon Gower Phoenix showed depth of character, spirit and ability to come from a 2-0 deficit at half time to win 4-2 in a thrilling exhibition of Camden League football.
In response to several injuries Phoenix gave first starts to three players, Joe ‘Bison 2’ Paley between the sticks, Sav at left-mid and Loz at right back.
The Red and Maroon men started slowly and struggled somewhat playing into a strong wind against a fairly physical BVH side that were happy to play dirty. Nevertheless the first real chances went Phoenix’s way with Kelly and Hanna both looking dangerous up front. Suddenly out of nowhere ten minutes in, a route one goal kick was flicked on high up the pitch – bisecting the central defence and leaving the BVH striker one on one with Joe, the tricky forward finished to make it 1-0.
Hammer. Phoenix reacted well, good work from Bolu on the right unleashed Kelly whose perfect cross deserved a better header from an unmarked Hanna six yards out. Sav and Dens were combining well on the left and half chances were coming and going. However BVH were playing the more confident football in midfield with the wind on their backs. A ball out to the right saw their striker beat the Phoenix defence and cut it back for a long range strike that just beat the finger tips of Joe, 2-0.
And 2-0 it remained at half time. Cue a Glyn-inspired tactical shift which saw Bolu push up front and Jon Hanna move into the midfield trenches, Lucas went right.
The second half was a different ball game. Right from the off Phoenix showed spirit and desire in the tackle and creativity in the attack as they poured forward. The pressure told when an early free kick was curled in by Lucas through a Bolu star jump. 2-1.
The next ten minutes were all Phoenix. Sav hit the crossbar and a Lucas follow up drive was saved well by the decent BVH keeper. Bolu then missed a couple of sitters after doing all the hard work after long balls over the top from Dens and Hanna. Several Phoenix corners went close and it seemed that Phoenix were doing everything but score. A moment of class was needed and Sav provided it, winning the ball just outside the BVH area, skipping into space before spanking the ball in from 20 yards. Joy. 2-2.
The Phoenix pressure continued despite efforts by BVH to spend hours getting the ball back from off the pitch. Fleshie, fresh from a backgammon tournament, had the ball in the net but was ruled out for offside. Then a BVH attack was stopped dead by a crunching Dens tackle, the ball fell to Hanna who quickly curled a pass to Lucas sprinting on the right wing, the nimble midfielder then finished from a tight angle to make it 3-2 Phoenix and him the top scorer for the team. Cue lots of celebrations.
Yet as is the nature of these games BVH came back into it and started to attack in droves. A ball over the top saw a striker lob the ball over Joe only for Dens to clear off the line. Meanwhile Henry De’ath showed amazing pace to clear the lines on the right after BVH had broken through and Muffdog was seemingly everywhere on the pitch all at once, Hanna was showing his indomitable lion spirit winning the physical battle of the midfield with strength to spare. With minutes to go Joe pulled over the save of the game from a strong BVH shot. After the resulting corner Bolu beat the keeper on the half way line and with the goal at his mercy… passed to Jon, who got tackled, Bolu won the ball back, beat the keeper for the second time (taunting some would say) before hammering it in. 4-2. Fantastic.
So 6 league games out of 14 gone – won 5, lost 1. We must stay focused but for the moment let us enjoy a game of football that reminds us that despite the weather this is what we play for.
Teamwork, comradeship and steely determination.
Am proud of all 13 Gowers involved.
MOTM: Bolu – Terrorised the defence with strong running and decent passing. Interesting finish too….
