League Winners!

 

League Winners!

 

02/03/2022, Wyncote Sports Grounds:

 

Today’s game was crucial. UOLFC men’s 1^st team needed a win on order to win the league (a draw or loss would not have been enough).

UOLFC won by the smallest of margins: 1-0, to win the league. It was a game of two halves, with a first half which was quite closed with not many clear chances for either team and big chance for UOLFC in the second half. It was also a physical game with both teams being aggressive in challenges as they both had something to fight for. John Moore’s were fighting to stay up and University of Liverpool were fighting for the league title and promotion.

 

1^st Half:

 Both teams had a lot to play for and the two UOLFC centre backs made sure to establish dominance from the get-go in the first minute with two consecutive solid clearances.

The first moment of danger for UOLFC came in the 2^nd minute when Toby Cogswell pressed the John Moores keeper after a John Moores defender put his own keeper in trouble with a difficult back pass to deal with.

 On top of the aggressivity and physical engagement, UOLFC were very vocal on the pitch today with plenty of talking, a clear sign of what this game meant to them.

 UOLFC played in their usual style, building out from the back and using the wings to attack, as highlighted by the 7^th minute when Dan Heald made a piercing pass forward to Joe Ctori on the left. This specific channel was used a few times by Dan as it was effective at piercing through John Moores defensive setup.

Dan Heald also rose to the occasion defensively as displayed early in the first half when he successfully timed a defensive header to clear a chipped through ball aimed at a John Moore’s striker right behind him who would’ve been clear on goal if Dan hadn’t intercepted the pass.

UOLFC had more chances than John Moores in the first half and were more proactive. Franki Pashias was instrumental in midfield with quick touches to shift the ball from side to side which John Moores players work hard and chase the ball.

James Piper saved a John Moores in swinging free kick in the 17^th minute which was one of the rare chances John Moores would have in the first half.

The Joe Ctori and Louis Jarvis partnership on the left worked well today with both players successfully linking up multiple times and making incursions into the opposition box.

In the 21^st minute, Joe Ctori dribbled past a John Moores defender and passed the ball to Louis Jarvis who had just enough time to get his feet sorted and shoot. Unfortunately, his, shot lacked a little power and was too central and the John Moore’s keeper got a touch on it and deflected the ball for Corner.

A cluster of chances came again for Liverpool in the 27^th minute, initiated by good hold up play from James Harper which led to multiple attempts on goal by Toby Cogswell.

However, John Moore’s directly broke into a dangerous counter just after whic resulted in John Moores strikers being 2 v 1 against Dan Heald. The UOL back four recovered quickly and Tim Davidson managed to recover the ball. This was the biggest chance for John Moores so far.

The biggest chance for UOLFC came in the 38^th minute after James Harper controlled the ball and played a great through ball in behind the John Moores full back. Louis Jarvis controlled the ball and cut in from the left, he managed to keep the John Moores defender off his back and shot from close range. The shot had too much power and went over the bar.

 

Big support tonight at Wyncote:

2^nd Half:

The 2^nd half saw a lot more action than the first half. With UOLFC needing to win, the pressure started to build up for players and fans. John Moores matched this with being strong and physical in the individual battles.

Louis Jarvis got himself another big chance in the 54^th minute when he sneaked up at the back post to get on the end of a long throw-in but he was just a few inches short of tapping the ball into the back of the net.

 The pressure started to build up on John Moores now, with UOLFC mounting more and more attacks. Dan Lewis was using his speed relentlessly and more space began to appear in the John Moores defence.

Franki Pashias was very active and involved on and off the ball again throughout the whole second half with great defensive work.

John Moores had a big chance in the 60^th minute when their striker received the ball inside the box close to goal, he took a rushed shot as he didn’t have much space, but it went over the goal.

 Louis Jarvis scored the CRUCIAL goal in the 62^nd minute after a quick counter initiated by a Luca Katchburian block, Dan Lewis picked up the ball, played a through pass to Louis Jarvis who slotted the ball in the back of the net.

The supporters and players couldn’t contain their celebration and erupted in a moment of joy while Louis Jarvis chose to celebrate by doing the Griddy.

1-0 to University of Liverpool, More chances would follow for UOLFC.

Franki Pashias shined again in the second half as he recovered the ball in the 71^st minute and played a well-timed through ball for Dan Lewis on the right. Dan Lewis controlled the ball from the touchline and scored from an unexpected position on the right touchline. However the referee disallowed the goal in favour of a throw in for John Moores.

 James Harper found himself 1 on 1 with the keeper in the 72^nd minute after a good pass from Louis Jarvis to switch the play. However, James Harper had too much time to think about it and the John Moores keeper saved his shot.

 Theo Hayford came on for Toby Cogswell in the 74^th minute.

Counterattacking opportunities kept opening up for Dan Lewis and Louis Jarvis who just had to make sure to stay onside and make the right passes when to moment came.

Mauro Junior and Rio Gill came on for James Harper and Tim Davidson in the 81^st minute.

 Another dangerous counter came in the 84^th minute when Rio Gill and Dan Lewis were 2v1 against a John Moore’s defender, Rio decided to take on the defender but did so unsuccessfully, wrong decision as Dan Lewis to his left was completely unmarked.

Dan Lewis and Louis Jarvis piled on in the right side with a combination of dribbling and acceleration bursts which resulted in a dangerous cross and shot from close range, but the John Moores keeper pulled of an amazing save to deny UOLFC the 2-0.

With 5 minutes to go, John Moores committed more men forward and gave it everything. They were nearly punished when Theo Hayford hit the cross bar in the 89^th minute with a thunderous strike.

Coach Jack Edwards decided to introduce Luke Jones (centre back) for Dan Lewis (right-wing) to secure the win in the final minutes.

The referee blew the full-time whistle and UOLFC players and supporters burst out in celebrations.

Post Match Interview:

It was a great season for the boys who consistently played good football and followed coach Jack Edwards instructions which saw them come out on top in the league in the final game.

Congratulations to all players and staff invovled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finn McGinley