James and the Giant...Oranges

Rumblings from the away section were audible as the Lions fans found themselves travelling westwards once again. Whether consecutive away fixtures should be blamed on the fixtures secretary or ongoing pressures from the TV schedules I suspect we will never know, but another early away kick-off seemed an unfair to start to the Lions' season.

Nonetheless, the journey to Ascot allowed us to leave the grey skies of west London behind and we encountered brilliant sunshine that helped us leave behind any fixture fixing blues...And a special mention for the grounds-staff. The pitches were of impeccable quality, in fact so much so that kick off was slightly delayed to allow the local crown green bowls team to finish off their fixture (one member kindly offered to give us an intro to the following if anyone is interested.....http://www.bryantbowls.co.uk/pages/home.html)

Ascot may be better known for its thoroughbreds, but today football stole the show. What a great game it was. The final score of 1-1 can be best described as a proper football score from a proper football match.

The first quarter was a tentative affair. Although both teams were more defensively minded, it was the Lions who posed the more attacking threat. Nonetheless, it was the Colts who first threatened to open the scoring but Charlie, taking his first turn of the season between the posts, put in a sweeper-keeper performance that would have pleased Pep Guardiola himself. The second quarter and it was more of the same. The Lions grew in confidence but despite their possession and confidence on the ball, in all honesty, they rarely threatened the goal and when the did, they found a goalkeeper in imperious form.

Perhaps against the run of play, but it would be harsh to say wholly underserved, Ascot took the lead. A rare bit of sustained pressure from the Colts saw them force a corner. After a bit of pin-ball in the box, the opportunity to shoot came and the ball sailed towards the top corner - it was brilliantly saved by James, but Ascot were first to the rebound and slotted home.....

So half time and 1-0 down.

A fresh impetus was needed. Thankfully we had it...Emma (Charlie's mum) had volunteered to prepare team oranges and they provided the impetus that was required. Whilst Lions may more normally prey on antelopes, it was the Ascot horses who were in trouble as soon as the second half kicked off.

A slight tweak to the formation allowed us to better get at their deep defence and it seemed only a matter of time before the equaliser would come. And it did. A piercing run from Daniel saw him felled in the penalty area, but as the referee put the whistle to her lips to blow for a penalty she had the forsight to let play run. The ball fell to James, he thumped it into the back of the net....and 1-1.

The twittersphere (well the parents' WhatsApp group) was inundated with discussion as to the hidden "magic" of the oranges. As the Lions asserted their dominance and pressed for a winner, the rumour-mill only increased. For the record, we can categorically confirm that reports of sightings of Maria Sharapova and Albero Salazar were untrue. (And although it seems unlikely that it was Lance Armstrong who cycled by, the person who passed was going too quickly for us to say either way.)

Onto the final quarter and the Lions continued to press. For the second week running we came up against a team whose goalkeeper got the opposition's man of the match award. But to be fair, the Colts had a few chances to sneak a winner on the break themselves and neither side can grumble that 1-1 (a proper football score!) was not the right result.

Overall, what a game. A man of the match performance from Harry (narrowly beating Emma's oranges), who covered every blade of grass, epitomised the effort from everyone. All of the boys played their part in an incredibly entertaining game that was far more fun and a far better footballing experience then their one-sided win last week. Well done all.

Next weekend sees the first home fixture of the season, with a sell-out crowd expected at Langdon Park. Allocation of half-time refreshments has yet to be agreed, but from today's experience, it is safe to say that oranges ARE the only fruit......