With Lonsdales enept ability to defend long balls it was going to be a long morning for the back four as all that Esprit looked to do when they got the ball under control was to lump the ball forward for their two very pacey strikers to run onto which was sure to cause Lonsdale problems througout the afternoon. However, it was Lonsdale who struck first, Lee Singleton intercepted an Esprit pass in the middle of the park then quickly played a delighful ball over the top of the Esprit defence with the outsite of his right foot where Jack Marston ran onto the ball and cooley lobbed the on rushing Esprit keeper.

All of a sudden Lonsdale looked as though they were going to run away with the game after that goal as Esprits heads slightly dropped. However, it wasnt long before Esprit were back on terms and Lonsdales defence once again came under strong scruteny from the sidelines. Esprit won the ball in midfield and quickly got the ball out wide where right back Luke Gabriel got a foot in only for the ball to fall to the feet of an Esprit striker. With shouts to close the player down all the back four seemed to do was give the young lad space as he smashed an impresive strike into the top corner leaving Enifer no chance.

Soon after the equaliser Lonsdale could have found themselves in serious trouble if it wasnt for the efforts of captain Garry Baker. Another long ball over the top and another free run at goal for not one but TWO Esprit strikers, well at least they thought they had a free run at goal untill center back Baker came from no where to squeeze throught both players to make his presence felt and watch as the Esprit striker panicked and blazed over the bar.

After this Lonsdale start to see more of the ball and considering playing into the wind they should have been playing the ball on the floor. Not only because of the wind but they all knew that Esprit wouldnt be able to match Lonsdale once their passing game was in full flow. Despite this Lonsdale time and time again decided to launch the ball to the front two who were mear spectators as were Lonsdales two wide players Nick Singleton and Albert Korogi.

The continuous waste of possesion soon cost Lonsdale as from a corner an Esprit player got a free header only for there to be someone on the line and deflect it over from another corner. From the resulting corner Lonsdale found themselves behind, another free header in the box and mass confusion led to the goal. The Esprit striker headed the ball into the ground and watched as it looped up in the air, Enifer seemed to have it covered but with Nick Singleton in close proximety the ball somehow eluded everyone although enifer got a hand to the ball he could not stop it crossing the line.

The goal seemed to wake the Lonsdale players up as to how to approach the game and it wasnt too long before they pulled back the score. Lonsdale won a corner for which captain Baker didnt go up for once and as the ball came in it was cleared only as far as Mark Reed. Renouned for his long range shooting Reedy lined it up but opted to pass it out left for Albert Korogi who unleased a shot which unfortunatly was scuffed. However, the ball fell to young striker Tez Wilson who turned quickly and unleashed a powerful shot that the Esprit keeper couldnt keep out.

Half time came around and gaffer Mark Trimbey had a hell of a team talk lined up as he constructivley pointed out what was wrong with the first half performance and had plans to iron it out. There was one change made at half time and that was the introduction of Danny Byrne who came on for Lee Singleton who was instructed to rest his injured ankle ahead of next weeks crunch match against May & Bakers.

With Byrne slotting in at center back the Lonsdale defence seemed balanced and confident once again and it showed as Esprit tried an early barrage which was met by strong tackling and full on challenges which repelled any Esprit attack. Lonsdale had now managed to get their heads around the whole idea of a passing game and started to dominate posseion once more.

With Lonsdale pressing the ball seemed to always fall to the feet of Mark Reed who had several attempts at goal but each time cursing his technique as the ball either saled high, wide or tamley to the Esprit keeper. Lonsdale were now tent pegs short of camping in the Esprit half but soon were once again on the back foot.

Garry Baker went chasing a throw in on the half way line which ended up costing Lonsdale big time as they played the ball around Baker and through the gaping hole Baker had left behind. Right back Gabriel gave chase as an Esprit striker bore down on goal but Gabriels pace was no match as the striker cooley dispatched his finish pased the on rushing Tony Enifer.

After the goal Lonsdale tried to ralley and started to create more good oppertunitys but something was lacking in attack for Lonsdale. The killer ball never seemed to be there and time and time again when the ball was played out wide there was no creativity to carve open the Esprit defence or the imagination from the strikers to make a run into the box hoping for a cross.

This led to Losndale resorting to long range efforts which never really troubled the Esprit keeper. With the game slipping away from Lonsdale drastic measures were needed as the injured Lee Singleton came back on this time for Mark Reed. This ment Tez Wilson came into the middle of the park to fill the space left by Mark Reeds departure.

Singleton made an imediate impact and showed just how much of a threat he can be even when injured. He picked the ball up and done something that no other Lonsdale player had done all game, that was to simply run at the Esprit defence. This tactic caused havoc in the Esprit back four asn Singleton jink passed a couple of tackles before he was eventually stopped by three Esprit players causing Singleton to blast the ball over the bar like most of Lonsdales efforts that day.

The rest of the game went passed without any real incident and Lonsdale lost their first game of their pre season calender. Manager Mark Trimby wasnt pleased with what he saw in the first half and let the players know about it at full time but Lonsdale showed that on another day they could easily run up a cricket score against sides like this if they play their passing game and use some creativity in the final third.

M.O.M: Albert Korogi

Attendance: 17