Non-League and Academy football writer

At Paddington Recreation Ground on late Saturday afternoon, a big Middlesex County Football League Division One East fixture took place. As first place Apollo London, who started this game unbeaten in the league, with 38 points after 14 league matches played, faced second place side Soccer Stars Ascenders, who started this game three points and one place behind them in the league table, after the same amount of games played. This important step 8 match was won 3-2 by Apollo London, very late on, in what was a very eventful and competitive game of football.

The league leaders at the start of this game, Apollo London, would go on to create the first real chance of this game. Dionysios Koulai’s well weighted through-ball pass would find the run of Justin Ezeagu down the right-hand side of the home team’s penalty area. And the Apollo forward’s resulting low effort across goal was well parried by the Ascenders goalkeeper, Mohamed Cherghi, before the ball was then cleared away. There was definitely a good early pace to the game, and it was soon to be the Ascenders, who would go on to score the first goal of the game, following a good response to that early Apollo chance.

Still early on in the match when the first goal was scored, Ascenders player Denis Tifrac’s good, lofted forward pass from midfield, wasn’t quite reached by Abdelellah Daaif down the left-hand side of the Apollo penalty area. However, with the diving Apollo goalkeeper just unable to hold onto the ball as he tried to stop himself from handling the ball outside of the penalty area, Abdelellah Daaif would get to the ball just outside of the box. And from a very difficult angle, he would cleverly curl the ball across goal into the opposite corner of the goal, with superb accuracy, 1-0.

Apollo would try to patiently respond, playing their passing game well in the minutes following the opening goal of the game for the Ascenders, who were proving to be strong defensively. After Izet Domi had lifted a good pass forwards for Justin Ezeagu, who was under pressure inside of the home team’s box, the Apollo forward would head an effort just over the goal, and then Errikos Biniaku came close to making it 1-1. His low effort after meeting a pass on the right-hand side of the Ascenders’s penalty area, was well gathered by Mohamed Cherghi, however.

The next goal of the game came slightly against the run of play, with an Ascenders forward giving the ball to Aneese Messaoudi, in the final third of the pitch, and he would then play a through-ball pass to Abdelellah Daaif, on the left-hand side of the Apollo box. Abdelellah Daaif would then skilfully and clinically curl the ball beyond the Apollo goalkeeper and into the goal, 2-0. Towards the latter stages of the first half, and Apollo did manage to get a goal back in the game, courtesy of a brilliant free-kick goal from Eleftherios Metso, whose sublime curling effort from the edge of the home side’s box, would find the top left-hand corner of the goal in unstoppable fashion, 2-1.

Apollo player Filipe Gaitano De Sousa Alcamtara, had been impressing with the ball in wide areas, during the first half of this game. After having progressed the ball forwards to the right-hand side of the home side’s penalty area, Filipe Gaitano De Sousa Alcamtara would see his powerful effort have to be pushed behind by Mohamed Cherghi, at his near post. And from the resulting corner-kick, Izet Domi would power a header just over the goal.

During the opening stages of the second half, it was Apollo London who were really starting to push for an equaliser. Having had an early goal ruled out for offside, Apollo were creating a number of good chances, early on in the second half. After the influential Errikos Biniaku and Filipe Gaitano De Sousa Alcamtara had exchanged passes on the edge of the Soccer Stars Ascenders penalty area, Errikos Biniaku would curl a good, first time effort just over the goal. However, from a well delivered Errikos Biniaku corner-kick, soon after, the ball would be met well and aggressively by the head of Filipe Gaitano De Sousa Alcamtara, inside the home team’s penalty area, resulting in the ball going into the back of the net at pace, 2-2.

Some great last ditch defending from Soccer Stars Ascenders would follow, with the momentum now with Apollo. However, after the referee had sin-binned two Apollo players a couple of minutes later, it would make the game a lot more challenging for the away side. And now it was Soccer Stars Ascenders’s turn to create some good, additional goalscoring chances. Yet, the nine players of Apollo would stand strong, and by the time their two players who had been sin-binned had returned to the pitch, the scores were still 2-2.

Apollo did have another player, who was sin-binned by the referee late on in this very eventful game. However, despite now having ten players on the pitch, Apollo would work extremely hard against another very good side, in the Ascenders, and in the end they showed real experience and game management. Very late on in this contest, and Apollo player and substitute Donaldo Ndoj, would provide the winning goal of the game, in what could prove to be a very decisive goal in the Division One East title race.

Having shown some good control of the ball under pressure, down the right-hand side of the home side’s penalty area, he would power a really good low effort, having got the ball out of his feet well, into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal, 2-3. There were great scenes of celebration from the Apollo players, who know very well that Donaldo Ndoj’s winner takes them a step closer to the league title. The youthful Soccer Stars Ascenders started this game well, and I really did admire how they set-up and also how they played their game throughout, on Saturday. They are a very talented squad of players, and even though it does look highly unlikely that they’ll win the title this season, I think that they have a great chance of doing so next season, in 2026/27.

In what proved to be a very competitive and quality game of football, it was Apollo London, who despite not always having it their way, showed great resilience and a real experience of knowing how to win big games, as they managed to find a very late winner with ten men, on Saturday afternoon. Still unbeaten in the league this season, I think that it is certainly their league title to lose, during the remaining games of this season. George Walsh (I thought that he was the home side’s player of the match, after a quality and tenacious midfield performance), Abdelellah Daaif,  and Eleftherios Metso were all contenders for my player of the match award, on Saturday. However, for his exceptional work-rate both with and without the ball, and his desire to impact the game in forward areas, as well as scoring a crucial goal, Apollo player Filipe Gaitano De Sousa Alcamtara wins my player of the match award.

And finally, I’d just like to say a big thank you to both teams, for taking the time to welcome me to the game on Saturday.