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Match Report
Saturday 2nd November
Old Parmiterians Reserves | 3 - 3 | Lea Valley |
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AFC Inter Div North (A) KO 2:00 PM
Referees: Manager: |
Team:
Goals: Man of the Match: |
Hard fought draw
The local derby with Lea Valley is always a hard fought affair, but there was the added spice of this being first versus second, making this , if not must-win, a must not lose fixture. In contrast to previous weeks, Old Parmiterians started the game strongly, converting early dominance of the ball into a goal. After some quick interchanges Zach Harry picked up the ball on the right side, feeding the overlapping Chris Scherer. The latter then cut back to the debutant Jahvarn Stewart, stepping in for the injured Charlie Heath, who finished was deflected beyond the Lea Valley keeper. Atiba Jackson then fed Mo Camara, whose burst beyond the Lea Valley defence looked certain to end in a goal, but the keeper came out quickly to meet him and smothered the attempt. Despite the dominance with possession, Lea Valley still looked dangerous on the break with Steve Kennedy-Clarke having to make an athletic save down to his left. A quick free-kick on half way caught the visitors napping, and a good delivery found the smallest man on the pitch with the space to head in without even needing to jump. Two minutes later and the defence turned the ball over cheaply allowing a run on goal that turned the game on its head. Old Parmiterians have shown character this season though, and managed to pull themselves level shortly after. Stewart threaded an excellent ball through to Camara, whose shot was saved by the keeper, but following up was Josep Mari to shot against the keeper and in for his third goal in three games. Harry then whipped in a free-kick the keeper parried into the onrushing crowd of players, which just went wide. The was far more cagey, with both sides wary of the threat posed by the other. Stewart had an incredible effort where he flicked the ball over a defender and then volleyed the ball just over with the keeper rooted to the sport. The best chances came from set-pieces thereafter, with Kennedy-Clarke's deep free-kick finding the run of Ali Konga behind the defence on the run. Konga's first time effort went just wide of the post. Harry tried to beat the keeper direct from a corner, with the latter saving impressively having stepped off his line. Finally, Henry Williams's corner found Chris Kane at the back post, but his goal bound header hit his defensive partner Yassine Yahia and went behind. Valley then made what looked a vital strike with ten minutes remaining, as skillful wing play allowed a cut back that was finished emphatically beyond the helpless Kennedy-Clarke. Like the first half though, the visitors were not behind for long. Stewart found space on the left and in a carbon copy of the goal Lea Valley had just scored, beat his man to cut back for Harry to finish into the far corner beyond a despairing dive from the keeper. The celebrations were joyful but showed their relief, with the visitors desperate to gain ground on the leaders, but knew not losing ground was even more vital. The reserves remain second with two games in hand.