Of all the trophies and leagues this one has possibly been the most painful for Vista FC. We were London Cup finalists in 09 only to be weakened by several injuries. Over the last two get seasons we’ve reached the latter stages only to be forced to replay games and also been on the end of some heavy defeats once again fielding weakened squads and being involved in fights causing the games to be abandoned and end up not getting a replay.
Due to this I only had negative feelings when prior to the game our goalkeeper made a phone call stating that he was going to be late. Our preparation was destroyed and as a team we had to make some key decisions. Unfortunately we chose to start with 10 men and it backfired heavily. Within a few minutes Olympia were gifted a goal when a long throw in which should have been cleared easily span off Andrew Dalhouse’s foot and into the danger area where their striker held off the defender, turned and scored. In the position we were in this was exactly what we didn’t need and it made it worse when 10 minutes later a long strike from their left back deflected off our defender spun and hit the inside of the post before going in .At 2-0 down Vista finally managed to spring some passes together and some interchangeable play between Andrew Dalhouse, Ashley Sheppard and Andrew Thompson ended up with Ashley Sheppard through on goal but his finish was straight at the goal keeper and somehow Olympia managed to clear . Vista were able to create problems in spurts mostly through some direct runs via Jordan Greaves but were probably 2 yards off the pace all over the pitch. Our keeper turned up but was also understandably off the pace and this showed when what initially was a harmless kick up the field was misplaced and Olympia won back the ball. The play entered a second phase and the ball was played to one of their skillful midfielders who have run ended up with him running through the defense and slotting a finish away nicely. Half time couldn’t come soon enough.
The half time talk was about regaining some pride and trying to give a second half performance worthy of Vista FC. In the second half we came out and battled but what mostly was damaged limitations with the intention of seeing what we could muster up. At times the battle was well fought but Olympia were determined to nullify all attacks mostly resulting to launching the ball up the field. As a football fan sometimes this type of play is despised but it can be understood from their position, as the win was more important than any possible glory for great football. Vista FC threatened but was always met with banks of 4 and Olympia players throwing their bodies on the line to protect the score. Vista FC had to take one last gamble and made various subs including Jordan Taylor off for Geno, Luke Milner off for Martin Onohua and Ohran Stewart off for Ashley Sheppard. Vista pressed and on occasions was very unlucky to not score. A few quick free kicks made way for opportunities but just didn’t go our way. Our 1st break came when a quick free kick from a tackle was played from Andrew Dalhouse to Martin Onohua who played a defense splitting pass into Andrew Thompson who finished coolly slotting past the Olympia keeper. Time was limited and all players probably gathered an attacking mentality and it was probably our undoing when a long ball made it’s way into the heart of our defense only to be misread before deflecting into the strikers path for which was a calmly composed finished. Vista knew at this point they were beaten and the remaining minutes were very mundane.
Olympia must be given full credit as they were a well organized team with some great individuals but Vista FC will be ultimately disappointed as the defeat was a mix of bad circumstances and poor preparation rather than ability or a deserved loss.
M.O.M – Jordan Greaves