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Misato Sunday 27th April,
Lions were going into the game against Barbarians with determination to seal their promotion with a final push against a team that can be rendered as the only true rival from events in the past.
Lions already had a 100% record against Barbarians from friendlies and with the last TML meetings finishing 2-0, and 3-0 to Lions.
Lions were missing a couple of players through injury and work, but with new talented players being added to the squad, depth was evident.
With Somi and Hussein having been ex-Barbs players, they were both in the starting line-up, with Somi leading the midfield as usual.
Lions started sharply, but a rare counter attack for Barbs saw them score their first TML goal against Lions.
A long ball from Mo Birkia went through to Hussein who knocked the ball to Zuhair who teed the ball up and as he looked like shooting, chipped the ball above 2 Barbs defenders, and as the ball was dropping on his left, he unleashed a fierce shot, only to be parried to the side by the keeper.
Ken found himself onside, and from a tight angle, everybody expected a shot, but he passed the ball across the goal, for the disappointment of Hussein and Somi not to have followed through.
Zuhair had a good battle with Fred (Barbs) and as the keeper dashed out the box, Ken managed to chip the ball into the net, only to be ruled out by a foul on Fred by Zuhair.
With less than 10 minutes to go in the first half, the ball fell to Zuhair, who had options to the left and right, but his determined run with 2 defenders on his shoulder and a rushing keeper, saw him crash the ball from 15 yards out into the top right corner of the net to level the game at 1-1.
The second half saw Abu-Bakr come on for Hussein, and the recently underperforming youngster had the game of his life! He was so sharp, and ran the Barbs defence ragged, and 5 minutes after his introduction, he dribbled past a few players, was brought down, but credit to Jorge, he played it on as he saw Abu get up with the ball still in his possession, and eventually tried to lay the ball off to Zuhair, but a rebound saw the ball fall to Ken who hit a beautiful 20 yarder, only to see it hit the post, fly across the goal, fall for Omar, who paused for a second to let a Barbs player commit and slide into the net, before chipping the ball over him to make it 2-1.
Abu was again in the midst of things when he dribbled past 3 or 4 players before dashing into the box and unleashing a fierce shot from 12 yards out to make it 3-1.
It was good to see Tatsuya back in the team, as he came on for Ken. Tatsuya looked good although he did not have many opportunities to show off his blistering pace. Barbs had a shout for a handball and penalty correctly waved away when the debutant Talal chest the ball to a corner. Talal had a great debut in defence, with Raoof, Hideki and Mo being consistent and reliable as usual, led by the terrific last man in defence, Orlando who made a couple of attempts and crosses from Barbs look easy for him.
The ever-so reliable Baghir also came on for Somi, and the inform Akira came on for Talal in defence.
With 15 minutes to go, the great Fahad managed to pass through 2 players and held off the last defender as he entered the box, and hit a low ball into the near post to score his first goal for Lions, and to make it 4-1.
In the last 10 minutes, Hussein came on for Zuhair, and with 2 minutes to go, he could've scored the goal he was looking for against Barbs, but his 22 yard free-kick swerved wide and away from the top corner.
Lions are finally building the depth in the squad required to keep inform players on the bench. The bench yesterday included Abu, Tatsuya, Akira, and Baghir.
Best performance: Very tight between Zuhair, Abu, and Fahad, but Hideki slightly edged it, with the attacking midfielder becoming a regular at right-back!
Man of the Match: Hideki
Report by Hussein Shehata
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