Barnes Stormers lost 2-1 away to Olympique Mayonnaise after conceding a header in the dying moments of the game.
After torrential rain earlier in the week, it was fortunate that the hosts' pitch at Wandsworth park was so well situated above the water line next to the Thames to allow it to drain and actually get this fixture played after a couple of postponements already this season.
After a last minute change to the line up given late drop outs (expect nothing less of Sunday League!), Barnes got out to the pitch for a quick warm up ready to take on local rivals Olympique Mayonnaise.
It was a hotly contested affair with Barnes making some great drives into the opposition penalty area but failed to truly test the keeper. It was after one such probing run that was disrupted by Mayo who countered quickly and broke through a high defensive line and they were able to slot past the Jack in goal, 1-0 to Mayo.
Barnes didn't let their heads drop though, confident in the way they were playing and settled back into the groove of the game. Barney and Dujon were excellent in disrupting play in the midfied with the defence sweeping up any loose balls but it was largely up to the front line to play some lovely passing football. Dae, Carlos, Alavaro and Jesse all linking up well with 1 touch passes and artistic flicks over and through the Mayo defence to get into shooting positions. One such passage of play saw Alavaro win the ball which Dujon was able to get ahold of and put Carlos through to great drive up into the final third. Carlos found Jesse who took a shot which was parried away by the Mayo keeper. But Dae was there to calmly collect the rebound and fire home to drag the Stormers level., 1-1 at half time.
A quick sub at half time saw Jacko come off for Billy, who returned to action for the first time in a couple of months, and a shuffle of the defence. The second half continued in much the same vein as the first with Barnes playing some lovely passing football trying to break through beyond the Mayo defence but failing to deliver crucial crosses or testing shots for the Mayo keeper. Barnes on the other hand were a little more busy defensively, with one awful challenge on Jack in goal as he collected the ball leaving stud marks from his hip down to his knee, but overall the team managed well. With no goal forthcoming, Alvaro made way for Kaz to make his debut in the hope of grabbing that elusive second goal.
A few goal mouth scrambles for mouth sides kept things level going into the final 10 mins but it was a corner in the very dying moments of the game that proved to be the deciding factor. Mayo launched a ball into the box, with Barnes winning the ball but failing to clear it from the box which the Mayo LB was able to latch onto with a looping header over Jack in goal to get the winning goal.
Injuries galore, Jacko came back on for the final couple of minutes into the midfield for Barney but even a few last forays into the oppo box wasn't enough to deal a final punch and snatch a point from defeat. The game ended after Dae and Jacko were unable to reach a ranging through ball from the right midfield to the left, the ball rolling out towards the oppo corner flag for the final whistle to be blown.
The result leaves Barnes sitting in third but having played more games than the teams below them. They'll need to bag a few more results to keep this position at the close of the season.
Full time: Olympique Mayonnaise 2-1 Barnes Stormers FC
Starting XI: Jack, Patrick, Remi, Mo (C), Jacko, Barney, Dujon, Alvaro, Carlos, Jesse, Dae
Subs: Billy, Kaz
MOTM: Dae
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