Camden United were looking to continue their good league form when they faced Explorers FC on Saturday afternoon in a Middlesex County Football League Premier Division fixture at the New River Stadium. Camden United started this match in second place in the league table after seven matches played. Recently promoted side Explorers FC started this game in 14th place in the standings, after four league matches played. Camden United won this match 9-1.
Camden United would start this game well, and after creating an early goalscoring chance they would take an early lead. Camden United were awarded a penalty following some good work down the right-hand side of the Explorers penalty area from Nabil Zeitoun. With Amine El Koumachi then being tripped by an Explorers defender, as the penalty to Camden was awarded. Redon Abazi would subsequently finish confidently into the bottom right-hand corner of the goal, 1-0. That first Camden United goal was quickly followed by a second, as Redon Abazi had cleverly played a quick lofted free-kick into the path of Matheus Santana, who from inside the Explorers penalty area, would skilfully twist and turn his way around a defender, before finishing low and powerfully into the goal, 2-0.
Camden United full-back Amine El Koumachi had been really impressing going forward down the right flank. One such run forward would help to lead to Camden United scoring their third goal of the afternoon, soon after their second goal was scored. With Amine El Koumachi lofting a good cross into the Explorers box, as the ball was partially cleared away to Nabil Zeitoun on the edge of the penalty area. From where the Camden United player would power a low effort into the goal, off the bottom of Jack Harper’s right-hand post, 3-0.
Explorers did come close to reducing Camden’s lead to two goals soon after play had resumed. Arron Shorter passed the ball to Tommy Austin on the edge of the Camden United box, and in space the Explorers forward would hit a low effort narrowly wide of Warren McCreeth’s goal. Following on from that good chance for the visiting team, and a clinical Camden United side who were on the look out for more goals, would indeed finish the first half in style, as the away team’s afternoon became even more difficult. For their fourth goal game of the game, Camden United midfielder and captain Kieran Ali’s skilful forward run from midfield would result in him eventually giving the ball to Matheus Santana, who in turn threaded a nice through-ball pass into the path of Nabil Zeitoun, who from inside the Explorers box, would finish low and clinically into the goal, for his second goal of the game, 4-0.
Camden United were relentless with the ball in midfield and forward areas throughout the remainder of the first half. Goal number five arrived after the inform Matheus Santana had latched on to the outrushing away team goalkeeper’s clearance on the left flank. And Matheus Santana would do well to lift the ball into his goal from distance, as he was rushing back towards his goal-line, 5-0. Continuing to really push and test the Explorers defence, Camden United were then awarded a penalty after Matheus Santana had got to a long forward pass just in behind the Explorers defence, inside their penalty area. He was subsequently fouled by Lewis Logan, who was the last man. Lewis Logan was then shown a straight red card, with Redon Abazi finishing from the penalty spot into the top right-hand comer of the goal, 6-0.
Just before Explorers player Albert Mee was sin-binned right on the stroke of half-time, Camden would add a seventh goal to their tally for the afternoon. Amine El Koumachi would receive the ball across the floor, before hitting an effort (from the right-hand side of the Explorers box) against Jack Harper’s woodwork, as with time and space on the follow-up Matheus Santana would calmly slot the ball into the goal, 7-0. Soon in to the second half and Camden United would score another goal, after Matheus Santana had got to a flick on following a good cross into the middle of the Explorers box, before then finishing into the bottom right-hand corner of the goal, 8-0. That was Matheus Santana’s fourth goal of the game, but there was to be a pretty long uneventful spell in the game following on from Camden’s next goal of the game.
Next, and after Explorers had improved during the second half they would score a relatively late consolation goal. Albert Mee would do well to progress the ball forward through the middle of the pitch, before playing the ball forward to Joseph Longman, who in turn passed the ball back to Albert Mee, who from inside the Camden penalty area would slot the ball past Warren McCreeth and into the goal, 8-1. Very late on in this game and Explorers substitute Jay O’Connell’s powerfully hit effort from distance would hit the woodwork of Warren McCreeth’s goal, before Camden United made it 9-1. Deon Zogi would receive the ball on the left-hand side of the away team’s box, before skilfully working the space to whip a good effort into the top left-hand corner of the goal, 9-1.
A completely dominant first half of football from Camden United had this game won by half-time. And although with changes and a bit of a drop off in intensity in the second half by Camden, as well as the ten men of Explorers improving during the second half, Camden United manager Leon Louis will be happy with how his team played on Saturday. That first half performance and the relentlessness of their good passing and movement in the final third was very good indeed. My player of the match was the highly influential Camden United number 20, Redon Abazi, who had an excellent game. But, so did Amine El Koumachi (he was a real outlet for Camden), Kieran Ali, and Matheus Santana, to name just some of their impressive performers on the day.
Team-sheets/match-day squads:
Camden United:
(1) Warren McCreeth
(17) Jameel Murshid
(5) Andi Feka
(2) Amine El Koumachi
(13) George Montgomery
(3) Kieran Ali (captain)
(16) Mohammed Al Nashi
(11) Mohammed Hassan
(20) Redon Abazi
(14) Nabil Zeitoun
(9) Matheus Santana
Substitutes:
(19) Isaiah Djoboga
(4) Elias Moreno
(7) Ralford Thorpe
(8) Prince-Denzel Kitaka
(6) Deon Zogi
Explorers:
(1) Jack Harper
(2) Ben Green
(5) Lewis Logan
(6) Jack Logan
(3) Patrick O’Neill
(8) Josh Raeburn (captain)
(4) Harry Field
(11) Abdirahman Abdirahman
(7) Arron Shorter
(10) Albert Mee
(9) Tommy Austin
Substitutes:
(12) Olamijide Olaogun
(14) Jay O’Connell
(15) Omar Mohamed Abdi
(16) Joseph Longman
(17) Dhee Jay
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