Back to Winning Ways

After only one game since Christmas due to the wet weather (a disappointing defeat in the London cup against a very good Volenti academy) we returned to league action and winning ways away at Barnet & Southgate. 

St Charles made the better start and the high press that was encouraged pre game was working well with the front three of Salah Attia, Amr Badru and Leslie Egwuonwe, harassing the back line and turning the ball over a number of times without being able to put the ball in the back of the net. This changed after 17 minutes when a pin point cross by Ayub Hassan was met by a towering Prodige Katshunga header that thundered in off the under side of the bar, giving the goalkeeper no chance. For the remainder of the half, the game ebbed and flowed without either team creating any real clear cut chances. 

The second half begun in similar fashion with half chances for Nick Tavares and Egwuonwe coming and going without really troubling the goalkeeper. At the back Ayub El Haddad, Anteo Marks and Ned Malit had to be focused to keep an improving Barnet & Southgate team at bay. As the pressure grew B&S found an equalizer when a corner was only half cleared and the B&S attacker was able to poke home despite the best efforts of goalkeeper John Perreras. A response was needed and St Charles nearly retook the lead when an Ayub Hassan corner to the back post was met by the head of Malit but he could not keep his header down. As the clock ticked down it looked like our trip to north London would only yield one point, this was until a driving run by substitute Illyas Benaim saw his cross blocked by the defenders arm and a penalty awarded. Tavares stepped up and cool-ey despatched his penalty high to the goalkeepers right. There was still time for one last attack and we were grateful to see a low angled drive firstly parried by Perreras then smothered at the strikers feet to ensure our lead stayed intact.

Final score: 2-1

Man of the Match: Nick Tavares

Manager Dean Banks said after: It was a spirited team performance that saw no fewer than 13 players unavailable due to injury, illness or mock exams. The game was played on probably the hottest day of the year so far, with 8 of the 14 players representing the college fasting - it was not a performance that was high on quality but built on determination, hunger and desire. I'm very proud of all the boys efforts, this result is a testament to their application and hard work and is a performance I hope we can build on in the coming months.