University of East London Seconds suffered a crushing 8-4 defeat at the hands of London Metropolitan Firsts at SportsDock on Sunday.
The result was particularly gutting as UEL went 4-3 ahead shortly after half time, but were unable to see the result through.
“We were not bad but we lost focus towards the end. Some of the guys made mistakes that we really shouldn’t be making,” said coach, Trevor Tamatave.
“We should have won this game, we are the better team but we didn’t show it. It’s tough but we need to be better.”
Tough Start
Metropolitan made their mark on the game fairly early, using a direct approach to hit their pivot as soon as possible, and playing off of him. This led to them going to goals to the good in the opening five minutes, capitalising on some slack marking from UEL.
After a tough start, UEL did grow into the game as they began to settle on the ball and create chances. James Rene fired in a low shot to pull one back for the hosts, but they were pegged back immediately.
Despite being 3-1 down, the Blues were still making goal-scoring opportunities, but were struggling to put them away. However, Mo and Sammy both managed to convert chances at the second post before half-time to level the scoring.
Protests
Metropolitan claimed to be unhappy with some of UEL’s defending and used the break as an opportunity to complain to the referee about this, however their protests were deemed to be unjustified by the ref.
The visitors still appeared to be distracted during the first period of the second half, and things looked promising for UEL when Sammy took advantage of this to net his second.
The home side’s lead wasn’t long-lasting though, and the score was leveled once more as the visitors began to get more joy from their direct approach.
The match was evenly contested at 4-4, but the balance swung in Metropolitan’s favour when their close range effort found the bottom corner in what proved to be the major turning point in the game.
Tactical Change
Tamatave reacted to going behind by utilising Dan Grimes as a fly-keeper, allowing him to join attacks frequently, a decision that gave UEL a numerical advantage when they had the ball. However it was the away side that struck next when their free-kick found the back of the net from the edge of the area.
Now two behind with two minutes remaining, the home side seemingly began to panic, and mistakes crept into their game. Metropolitan managed to add another two by full time, and ended up seeing the game out comfortably.
Despite the disappointment, Tamatave remains optimistic for the second team’s season.
“I know we can improve, I’ve seen it happen before. We’ve got a good core, and the new guys have developed well. If we keep that up we should get some good results.”
The result leaves the second team in third place in the table, two points behind London Metropolitan, and they’ll be hoping to bounce back from this defeat with a win against Anglia Ruskin next month.
Man of the Match: James Rene – Playing as UEL’s deepest player, Rene was tasked with combating the away side’s long ball, a battle which he won almost every time. He deserved the goal he picked up for his work-ethic alone.
