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Oi Futo, Saturday 22nd December,
OiFuto 1 pitch looked like a good surface after a drizzle, and Lions thought they had a major advantage against 8-men KGFC, but holidays, injuries and work, forced 3 changes that saw 2 of the defenders replaced, and a major re-shuffle necessary with Zuhair the reliable striker forced to play as a centre-back, Akira starting his first game this season after a knee injury saw him slot into an unfavoured right-back position, and Hussein also playing out of position as a left-back.
Lions had only 1 sub, and after 10 minutes the crucial Baghir in midfield aggrevated an ankle injury that saw him swap for Saad, a striker who was forced to play in midfield.
A few scary moments saw KGFC penetrate and hit the post early on as a warning.
Lions did not play well, but an attack on the left side saw a laid-off ball struck in style from the edge of the box by an under-the-weather AbuBakr to make the score 1-0.
Lions pressured and were close to scoring when Gaafar Somi dashed into the box from the right side, accelerated past the defender and shot across the goal, only for the keeper to parry it into the path of Hussein who's shot was deflected by the curtain of KGFC players on the line.
A corner came through and as the ball was cleared to the edge of the box, Hussein was trying to control the ball when he badly twisted his ankle, but KGFC continued play, and utilised the eft back slot, crossed the ball across to a player running behind the defence, slotting in a 1-on-1 past Orlando to record the first goal against Lions in the TML this season!
Hussein was forced off, and the coach/player, Abdelrahman who's still recovering from a knee injury he sustained in the opening game of last Season, was forced on.
It was an off day for Lions, things did not go smoothly, and when good passes created chances, misses or saves from a good KGFC keeper kept the score 1-1 till mid second half when Zuhair had to push forward to support the attack with Somi covering as a midfielder/stopper.
Passes between Zuhair and Ahmed saw Ahmed lay -off a beautiful ball to Zuhair outside the area, and Zuhair pushed the ball forward and as KGFC keeper looked like doing another great save, Zuhair just got to the ball with his long legs and executed a perfect chip that was a few inches below the bar, scoring for the relief of Lions the second goal making it 2-1 with less than 20 minutes to go.
KGFC tried a few counters, and a 25-yard free-kick looked dangerous, but did not trouble Orlando.
Lions had a few more chances upfront and could've (should've) scored at least another goal or 2 in the last 10 minutes.
The 2 most difficult games for Lions were KGFC and Dutch Embassy, it just seems that Lions struggle playing against 8 or 9! Lions played tough teams such as Maritizio and Zion, but managed 5-0 and 4-0 score lines!
Well I guess every team is entitled to have an off day, at least another 3-points in the bag to take Lions top for Xmas and New Year with a 100% record, but the biggest disappointment (expected though with shuffled defence), was to finally concede a goal, and against 8-men!
Saad played well but the only 3 players that performed at their usual standard were Orlando, Somi, and Zuhair.
Man of the Match: Zuhair (for playing almost everywhere and saving Lions' blushes by scoring the winning goal).
Report by Hussein Shehata
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