Match Report

Goals scored
Graham Rix (2), Tony Bush, Gavin Mayo (2), Dariusz Szymanski.

Man of the match
Gavin Mayo.

Team
Ben Tarrant, Paul Munyard, Dave Rix, John Wilson, Dean Weaving, Chris Vieceli, Terry Bush, Rob Marling, Gavin Mayo, Graham Rix, Tony Bush.

Subs
Brian Butler, Neil Murphy, Dariusz Szymanski, Jon Orme.

Landsdowne arrived in Southend unsure of what to expect from the Essex Junior Cup game with Zenith Athenians. The respective league tables showed both sides having started their campaigns in an indifferent fashion, and surely desperate for a cup run to gain some momentum.

Landsdowne were forced to make 3 changes from the side that collapsed in spectacular fashion against Essex Royals, though some might say only 3 changes was being kind to many of the starting XI that day. Mark Harte, Danny Sarling, and Stuart Medcraft were all missing through injury and illness, so Pete was required to oversee a reshuffle of the side, bringing in Ben Tarrant, Chris Vieceli, and Terry Bush, while moving Dave Rix to centre half. Ben returned between the sticks for his first start of the season, while two old faces in Brian Butler and Jon Orme were listed on the bench for the first time in quite a while. Butler returned to the Landsdowne fold in buoyant mood, having finished ahead of a certain someone in the recent fitness test! Ask him about it, I’m sure he’ll be happy to share the story!

The game started in a cagey fashion with both sides easing their way into the early exchanges. The new look defence was calm and settled, while Paul/Chris and Gavin/Dean were finding some early joy down the flanks linking up with the forwards. A couple of poor early goal-kicks from the Zenith keeper put Landsdowne on the front foot – Graham collected one of these kicks around 20 yards out with a nice touch and a calm finish as he slotted home to make it 1-0. Landsdowne looked to push on and finish the game early; however, a couple of missed half-chances and some suspect offside decisions kept the score at 1-0 until half-time. Zenith finished the first half strongly, though Landsdowne continued to look comfortable.

After some encouraging words from the Manager at half-time, Landsdowne flew out of the traps in the second half to catch Zenith cold. Gavin collected the ball on the wing and immediately fed Graham, who cut in from the left and smashed the ball into the far corner to make it 2-0 with his second of the game. 2-0 quickly became 3-0 as Zenith began to buckle. Landsdowne defended a corner well, clearing the ball up to Graham. Graham sprang the Zenith defence with a cheeky lob to the forward rushing Bushy, who lifted the ball over the keeper for the third goal of the game and his second of the season. Landsdowne were now well and truly into their stride and beginning to find the kind of form that has deserted them since winning promotion the previous season. Graham collected another ball in space out wide on the right, looked up and found Gavin with a lovely cross-field ball. Gavin closed in on the keeper and found the net with a nicely placed finish to make it 4-0, effectively killing the game.

At 4-0 Pete took the opportunity to introduce new signing Neil Murphy for his competitive Landsdowne debut, while also bringing on Butler and Dariusz. Many many half-chances followed, with Neil, Rob and Bushy all going close on more than one occasion each. Though Landsdowne had started to look comfortable, they were soon rocked by what looked to be a consolation goal from Zenith. Ben saved a chance from a Zenith player, and was desperately unlucky when the rebound fell to the feet of a forward, who made it 4-1. This was a wake-up call for Landsdowne, who then looked to push Zenith back again before they could sniff a chance of a fight-back. Gavin cut in to the Zenith area and was chopped down by a clumsy challenge, winning a penalty in the process. Gavin was all set to take the spot-kick, but Dariusz was keen to score a goal for his Wife to commemorate their first Wedding Anniversary. With a tear in his eye, Dariusz stepped up to send the Zenith keeper the wrong way to leave the score at 5-1. Not only are the Poles cheaper and more hard-working than the English, they’re also more romantic!

With both sides tiring, Zenith pulled a further goal back, scoring from a cross to make it 5-2 from close range. Landsdowne were now too far out of sight at this late stage, and soon added their sixth and final goal. Terry Bush picked up the ball from deep and drove at the Zenith defence, who crudely blocked him off to stop him shooting, conceding a free-kick in the process. Gavin stepped up for his second set-piece attempt of the game, with Neil and Graham forming a shield in front of the ball to block the vision of the Zenith keeper. Neil and Graham cleverly split at the last second, leaving Gavin to rifle home the free-kick with the outside of his right boot from 20 yards for Landsdowne’s sixth and final goal of the game. An outstanding finish to round off a Man of the Match winning display.

A 6-2 score line was pretty much reflective of the game, though Landsdowne may feel they might have scored more on another day. Landsdowne left Southend happy with both the performance and result, and more importantly, their first win of the season. Job done, boys – lets make that the first win of many.