DLD College London Edge Past Abbey FC in Thriller
4th April 17
On Wednesday 22nd March the long awaited fixture between Abbey FC and DLD took place at Netherhall Sports Centre. Abbey FC were coming off the back of a memorable 5-2 win against Netherhall and were looking for a good performance against college rivals DLD College London.
The match started in blustery conditions and with DLD having the majority of the possession in the early stages. They went close early on with a shot just clipping the bar and continued their early dominance when a shot from just outside the area beat the Abbey FC goalkeeper and dipped just inside the crossbar to give DLD an early 1-0 lead.
After going 1-0 down early on, Abbey FC were looking to respond quickly and after soaking up pressure from DLD the ball broke out to the left hand side where Oriakhi Obehi picked up the ball and drove at the opposition defence. With some nice skill to beat the defender he drove a fierce low cross towards Baha Saparbay around 6 yards out and he sublimely finished into the near post to draw the home side level at 1-1.
The match was being played at a high tempo with both sides growing into the match. Later into the half, the Abbey FC goalkeeper took a goal kick and after a battle in the midfield the ball was slipped to the DLD striker who struck a dipping swerving shot which flew into the back of the net to make it 2-1 to DLD.
Abbey FC were looking to bounce back once again and managed to dust themselves down to push for another equaliser. Abbey FC were beginning to grow into the match and the ball again broke on the left hand side to Obehi who calmly laid the ball across the box and Mohamed Aljundi had the simple task of knocking the ball into an empty net to make the scores 2-2. The whistle went on a thoroughly entertaining first half and both managers seeming fairly happy with their side’s performances.
Both managers had plenty to say at half-time and Abbey FC were out for the second half early looking for a fast start. DLD were having the majority of the possession and beginning to create some chances. They managed to cut through the Abbey FC defence to fashion a chance from around twelve yards to dink over the oncoming Justin Widjaja. DLD now led the match 3-2 and Abbey FC were tiring.
Abbey FC looked to regain some composure and started to string some passes together in the midfield. Abbey FC went close with a few efforts going wide and were testing the DLD keeper more frequently. After a number of chances missed from the home side and the game reaching the latter stages, the away side broke up-field with their midfielder slotting a ball through for them to smash past the oncoming Abbey FC goalkeeper. A strong fight from Abbey FC had taken a huge blow with DLD leading 4-2 going into the last ten minutes of a well contested match.
The game ebbed and flowed with the two sides still hunting for more goals. Abbey FC had a chance late on in the game with a tame effort landing at the keeper’s feet. With that final chance the whistle went on a thoroughly entertaining match and one that both sets of players can be proud of. The game was played in a fantastic spirit throughout and a big congratulations go to both DLD on the 4-2 victory and Abbey FC on a spirited performance.
