Pitching In Isthmian League
South East Division Saturday 18th March 2023
VCD ATHLETIC (The Vickers) 1 v Lancing 0
Attendance 95
Lancing Starting XI :
Gregor Shaw, Mohammed Zabadne, Tom Butler, Marcus Allen, Mahamadou Juwara, Finn Daniels-Yeoman(Capt.), Tyrese Mthunzi, Modou Jammeh, Reece Hallard, Kane Louis, Marcel Powell.
Substitutes :
Momodou Lanin Sey, Charles Towning, William Berry, Darius Goldsmith, Tyrone Madhani.
A below par performance by Lancing allowed The Vickers to close the gap between the two sides to two points. The Vickers still sit in 17th spot in the table with Lancing slipping down to 15th.
Lancing started shakily with passes going astray. An early long throw from Vickers left was helped on, reaching the Lancing upright before being put behind for a corner. First effort on goal came on 7 minutes from Vickers Banjoko who had worked an opening on the edge of the box but he missed the target by some distance.
It took Lancing 16 minutes before they mounted any threat on the opposition goal. Mo Juwara initiated the move from deep on the left , feeding Reece Hallard, and continuing his run into the box and as the ball came back to him, finishing with a curled effort over the bar.
Vickers were getting forward and looking dangerous but they lacked accuracy in their finishing.
Lancing began to show some promise with Marcel Powell on the right but two good opportunities were spurned, firstly with a weak effort on goal and ,as he did well to get beyond the defence a minute later, his pass to Reece Hallard in space and unmarked in the box was hit beyond him. Reece managed to recover the ball on the far touchline and deliver a cross but Lancing’s finishing was off target.
A long punt up field from Vickers keeper Jordan Gilmore had Mo Zabadne back pedalling to halt Vickers wide man getting in behind. Mo was penalised for holding on to his man and received a caution from referee Ayrton Hurley.
Two minutes later, on 27 minutes, a rare mishit clearance from Gregor Shaw led directly to The Vickers getting the goal which was to prove decisive.Gregor’s pass reached an unmarked Vickers player who had the presence of mind to head it behind the Lancing defenders and into space between them and the Lancing keeper.Gregor Shaw tried desperately to reach the ball but he was beaten to it by Soul Kader ,who calmly lobbed over the keeper into the empty net.
Mo Zabadne got on the wrong side of the referee again ,shortly afterwards , and was given a talking having been adjudged , perhaps harshly, to have committed another foul. There was fear that Mo would receive a second yellow but he was simply admonished. Not willing to risk being reduced to ten men, Dean Cox wisely withdrew Mo Zabadne, on 30 minutes, bringing on Will Berry.
Lancing came close to cancelling out the lead, when Mo Juwara burst down the left, delivering an excellent cross into the six yard box. Unaware that Finn Daniels-Yeoman was well positioned behind him Kane Louis attempted a difficult shot on the turn which he could not properly execute.
The Vickers came close to increasing their lead twice before half time. A low ball in from the left flew across the face of the goal before being turned behind for a corner, followed by a long throw in, which was being deployed by Vickers as a fairly useful weapon, was headed on and was close to being touched home on the far post.
The half came to a close with Lancing again failing to capitalise on some strong play by Mo Juwara, successfully holding off two defenders on the bye-line, before laying a perfect pass into the path of Modou Jammeh, with a clear sight of goal. Unfortunately,Modou completely missed the ball and the chance went begging.
Lancing came out strongly in the second half. Marcel Powell kept possession well and switched the ball wide to Reece Hallard.Reece set up Mo Juwara but he got underneath the ball and put it over.
Lancing struggled to get their passing game going and The Vickers were first to loose balls and looked the hungrier. Thankfully, Marcus Allen and Tom Butler were defending superbly to keep the Vickers at bay.
Lancing made their first substitution close to the hour mark with Kane Louis, who had struggled to make any impact against some robust defending, being replaced by Tyrone Madhani.
Lancing created another scoring opportunity on 65 minutes. Marcel Powell’s cross reached Reece Hallard who played the ball back in for Finn Daniels-Yeoman but he was not able to make good contact.
Lancing were thankful to Tom Butler getting down well to block a goal bound shot. On 67 minutes Finn Daniels-Yeoman made way for Darius Goldsmith. Lancing were trying to use long passes to get behind the Vickers defence but too many were overhit. Mo Juwara continued to show commitment to get forward and his driving runs led to a couple of corners which The Vickers dealt with comfortably.
Lancing survived a close-run thing when Gregor Shaw was put under pressure from a back pass. He was quickly closed down before he could make a clearance and displayed his skill on the ball pirouetting past his man before getting the ball from under his feet but only falling to a Vickers man. Somehow Lancing were able to snuff out the danger.
Gregor Shaw was tested once more before the final whistle but managed to clear a shot on goal with his outstretched leg. Vickers continued to pose a threat from long throw ins but Lancing ‘s back line held firm. Their final attempt to draw level came from a free kick from Tyrese Mthunzi but, although well struck ,was straight into the arms of keeper Gilmore.
Players and management trooped off with disconsolation showing on their faces. Both sides failed to take advantage of limited scoring opportunities but The Vickers were able profit from a rare error from Gregor Shaw.
Not too many candidates for Player of the Match .Mo Juwara created the biggest attacking threat to The Vickers but Tom Butler and Marcus Allen were solid at the back. Marcus displayed calmness and good positional sense and was a major factor in keeping Lancing within in touching distance of being able to close a one goal gap. He gets our Player of the Match.
Lancing have now lost 10 games this season to a single goal margin.
Dave Wilmott
