Tring Athletic 3 - 2 London Lions

NEW KEEPER MAKES A BIG IMPRESSON

Due to the awful wet weather we were one of only four games played in the South Midlands Premier Division on Saturday. Our opponents wanted to have our game postponed and whilst the pitch was soft it was perfectly playable and the Referee’s decision to go head was fully vindicated because this was a cracking game full of goals, incidents, changes in fortune and a superb save from our new goalkeeper Dan Gould.

London Lions are based in Barnet and this is their first season in the Premier Division having previously played in the Combined Counties League. They had not played at the Michael Anthony Stadium before and this was only the third time we have played them. We drew the away game 0-0 just before Xmas and prior to that we played them at their ground in the Herts Senior Cup in September 2022 losing 5-4. One of our goals that day was scored by Frankie Hercules (the other scorers were Ethan Goulding, Godlove Oppong and Max Deschamps).

The old cliché of “a game of two halves” is sometimes over used but in this game it was entirely appropriate as we dominated the first period and Lions then came on strong after the break. We started well and with only 4 minutes on the clock Noah Butler showed great dribbling skills in the away area to set up a chance for new signing Ben Kakembo who will surely, once he has settled in, stick these type of chances away. When the ball was cleared Lee Stobbs picked it up and from outside the area he cracked a terrific shot off the top of the bar.

We were playing some great football despite the difficult surface and we made a good positive attacking start to the game. However, in the 22th minute we gave the ball away and Lions quickly seized on the opportunity and we were a bit fortunate that their big midfielder Max Kyte stabbed his shot wide when in a good position.

In the 33rd minute Max Hercules dusted himself off after being fouled just outside the penalty area and then struck a superb free kick that evaded the keeper’s despairing attempt to keep it out to give us a deserved lead. Score 1-0.

A few minutes later Frankie Hercules flicked on a clearance from Dan Gould to send Ben Kakembo away and although his shot went wide of the post the 19 year old was not to be denied and in the 42nd minute he grabbed his debut goal for the club. Frankie Hercules was the creator with a lovely defence splitting pass and although Ben had two defenders on him he muscled his way through and coolly slotted the ball past the keeper. Unfortunately Ben had to go off early in the second half with an injury but in the short time he has been with the Club he has shown a lot of promise. Score 2-0.

Our guests pushed forward in an attempt to get a goal back before the break and Jesse Tapnack went on a good run before striking a firm shot which forced Dan Gould to get down quickly to save. But after a very good performance we went in with a merited two goal advantage. HT Score 2-0.

Our opponents came out for the second half intent on getting back into the game with Oscar Wagner and Jesse Tapnack having efforts that failed to hit the target. Lions are a good side and they enjoyed a lot of possession but in the 55th minute we could have put the game to bed when a quick break by the Hercules brothers saw Frankie set up Max but he stabbed his shot just wide of the post. Soon afterward Harry Shepherd burst forwards but saw his shot go wide.

We were defending well and it was going to take something special to break us down and that moment came in the 58th minute with a strike out wide from Max Kyte. It was either a world class shot or an over hit cross but no matter what the arguments are it got Lions right back in the game. Score 2-1.

The game now swung in favour of our opponents and in the 66th minute they equalised when a corner was flicked on and went in off one of our players for an own goal. Score 2-2.

We were now facing an uphill battle but we showed a lot of character and reclaimed the lead in the 77th minute. Liam Smyth got away up the right wind before crossing to the far side of the oppositions area to pick out Max Hercules who beat the keeper at the near post with a well placed shot for his 15th goal of the season to cement his place as the Club’s leading scorer. Score 3-2.

The game now entered its tense phase as the Lions poured forward desperately looking for another equaliser and they must have thought that the gods had come to their rescue when with just a few minutes to go an attempted shot hit the elbow of Jack Harvey who had his back to the player. A penalty was awarded and up stepped the Lions Captain and leading scorer (with 22 goals) Austin Lipman who struck the spot kick well but Dan Gould produced a magnificent save to get his hand to the ball which then hit the post and bounced across goal to safety. It was a great way for Dan to start his career with the club. We managed to hold out for the last few minutes to secure a very good win. FT Score 3-2.

After the disappointing performance and result against Potton United the previous week it was great to get back to winning ways against a very good team who had only lost 1 of their last 6 games and recently got a creditable draw away at high flying Leverstock Green.

The 3 points moved us up three places to 9th level on points with London Lions but with 2 games in hand. Next week we have 2 home games against Shefford Town & Campton on Tuesday night then Arlesey Town are our guests on Saturday. It would be nice to see more our supporters at these games.

Team:

TA: Dan Gould, Lee Stobbs, Harrison Cornick, George Carbery (Capt), Greg Deer, Jack Harvey, Harry Shepherd, Noah Butler, Max Hercules, Dan Kakembo (Liam Smyth 50), Frankie Hercules (Adam Sawyer 79). Subs not used: Harrison Mead, Dave O’Conner.

Scorers:

TA: Max Hercules (34, 77), Ben Kakembo (42)

LL: Max Kyte (58), Own Goal (66)

Crowd: 87