Non-League and Academy football writer

Rayners Lane faced London Lions for the second time in the league this season, on Tuesday evening at Tithe Farm Sports & Social Club. Rayners Lane started this Southern League Division One Central match in 21st place (after 16 matches league played) in the league table. The away team on Tuesday, London Lions, started this match in 16th place in the league standings, after 18 league matches played. This step 4 match was won 2-1 by London Lions.

Having started to play their football well during the opening minutes of this contest, London Lions would create an early goalscoring chance. With London Lions’ left-back Benjamin Weinberger getting to the ball on the left-hand side of the Rayners Lane penalty area, before hitting a good and powerful low effort on goal. Benjamin Weinberger’s effort was really well saved with his feet, by the Rayners Lane goalkeeper, Trent Carter-Rogers, as the ball went behind for a corner-kick. 

After quite a good start to the game from the away side, Rayners Lane would grow into the game more, before it started to settle down. A good one-two pass involving London Lions players Max Davis and Max Kyte, would result in Max Davis curling a good low effort (from the edge of the Rayners Lane box), which went narrowly wide of Trent Carter-Rogers’ left-hand post. And then following a fairly uneventful spell in the match, Rayners Lane would go on to create a good chance not long before half-time. 

Ronny Mfinda would play a good pass from out on the right-hand side of the pitch, across the pitch, towards the run of Ilyas Khader, on the left-hand side of the London Lions penalty area. However, London Lions’ goalkeeper, Tiernan Parker, would rush out of his goal to make a strong save. On to the opening stages of the second half of this game, and following a very important challenge from Rayners Lane captain Sam Denham on Max Davis, right on the edge of the home team’s penalty area, London Lions would go very close to taking the lead.

Max Kyte would meet a cross at the back post of Trent Carter-Rogers’ goal, with his resulting volleyed effort hitting the goalkeeper’s near post, before Daniel Creese’s low effort on the follow-up was cleared off the goal-line by a defender. Shortly afterwards, and London Lions would take the lead, after a good start to the second half. Daniel Creese would receive the ball out on the right-hand side of the pitch, before showing some good skill and pace with the ball, after drifting inside. After going past a couple of Rayners Lane players, he would (from the edge of the penalty area) play a short pass to May Kyte, who had created a bit of space for himself on the right-hand side of the box, before finishing low into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal, 0-1.

Soon after play had resumed, and Rayners Lane player Ronny Mfinda had hit a low effort wide of the London Lions goal, following a low cross into their penalty area, London Lions would go on to make it 2-0. The away team’s second goal of the game was an excellent one. As Max Davis received the ball around 30 yards out from goal, before getting the ball out of his feet and hitting an unstoppable, moving and powerful effort, which dipped just underneath the Rayners Lane goalkeeper’s crossbar, as the ball went into the goal, 0-2.

Rayners Lane would react positively to conceding two quick goals during the early stages of the second half. And after Trent Carter-Rogers had saved Ben Barnett’s glancing header on his goal, Rayners Lane managed to get a goal back in this contest. Bobby Bircham would get to the ball on the left-hand side of the away team’s box, before whipping the ball across the face of Tiernan Parker’s goal, as the onrushing Frankie Bircham tapped the ball into the goal at the back post, 1-2.

Rayners Lane were now pushing for an equalising goal. London Lions defender Benjamin Weinberger would make a crucial and quite brilliant headed clearance following a headed effort on the London Lions goal, following a cross to the back post. A couple of minutes later, and Rayners Lane had a penalty shout waived away, after Ilyas Khader had done really well to get in front of a defender down the left-hand side of the London Lions box. Tiernan Parker would then have to make a good save to turn behind Frankie Bircham’s powerful goal bound effort, from the edge of the penalty area. However, London Lions would defend their penalty area well, during the final minutes of the game.

One final chance would come the way of London Lions. With substitute Adam Burchell getting onto a lofted pass over the top of the Rayners Lane defence. And after taking the ball down the right-hand side of the box, his resulting effort on goal from an acute angle was pushed behind by Carter-Rogers. This game was one in which I thought that London Lions deserved to win, on the balance of play. They defended well for the most part, they took both of their goals really well, and they held on well to their one goal lead late on, after Rayners Lane had managed to make it 1-2.

Rayners Lane would grow into the game during the first half, and they kept on going right until the final whistle, as a team, after scoring a well worked goal. This was a good and competitive game, which London Lions won 2-1 in the end. For Rayners Lane, I thought that Ilyas Khader, Alison De Pavia, and Frankie Bircham, were some of their notable performances. Whilst Max Kyte, Daniel Creese, and Max Davis, were in my opinion some of London Lions’ best players from this game. However, overall from this important win for the away team, my player of the match on Tuesday was London Lions’ commanding and very vocal left-back, Benjamin Weinberger. He defended well down his side of the pitch, and at 2-1 up he made that crucial goal-saving headed clearance.