In the early morning kick off today, Central City fell to a 4-3 defeat at the hands of Brixington Blues in an match which Central played some delightful football and thoroughly dominated for the first 40 minutes. Having established a seemingly comfortable 3-0 lead in the second half, Central City were ultimately left to rue some defensive lapses as Brixington produced a spirited fightback to claim an unlikely win.
The first half saw a dominant performance from Central City and, as against Sidmouth the previous week, they almost raced into the lead straight from kick off. A lovely through ball from Dan put Alfie W in on goal, but this time the local keeper made the save. It was the first of several outstanding saves from the home 'keeper who kept City at bay on numerous occasions. City did, however, take the lead on 17 minutes as Will Pye beat a defender on the byeline and fired in from a tight angle to make it 0-1. Prior to that, City had fashioned a number of chances, notably when Ryan forced the 'keeper to tip over a lovely chip and Julen almost getting on the end of a fierce Cameron shot which the keeper did well to parry. Further chances came and went, Alfie W doing wonderfully well to spin away from his marker on a breakaway and fire just over the bar and then seeing a goal bound shot blocked by the keeper from a corner. Shortly before half-time, however, Sam R was forced into making a fantastic double save to prevent the teams from going into the break level. It turned out to be a warning sign of what Brixington were capable of producing.
Early in the second half City continued to create chances. Dan swerved past 3 defenders and his effort rebounded to Alfie W who couldn't get enough purchase on his shot to trouble the keeper. Moments later, City doubled their lead and again it was the result of some excellent play by Dan who burst into the opposition box, cutting the ball back for Alfie W to put City 2-0 up. No long afterwards, Alfie W doubled his personal tally with some excellent individual play. Winning a header in midfield, he raced on to the ball and showed great strength and composure to slot the ball between the keeper's legs and make it 3-0.
At this stage of the match, there seemed to be only one winner. What followed was certainly unexpected from a City perspective and demonstrated the importance of maintaining concentration and shape. A defensive mix-up allowed Brixington to pull a goal back and at 1-3 and 15 minutes still remaining, the home team suddenly had the wind in their sails. With City lacking their usual defensive shape and composure, two more goals followed in relatively quick succession to bring the teams level and gave the home team the impetus to push forward for the winner. It duly came with just minutes left on the clock and meant that Brixington had completed a remarkable turnaround. All credit to the home team for their perseverance and never-say-die spirit, but this is a match City will feel they let slip and should have won.
Man of the Match went to Sam R for making some excellent saves, particularly late in the first half. There is nothing he could have done about the Brixington goals and his overall display of shot-stopping and clearances was excellent. Well done Sam R!
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