Under a blistering Southeast London sun, London Falcons kicked off their preseason campaign with a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Millwall Romans.
Falcons XI: Matt H; David, Jeff, Charlie, Kieran; Myles, George(c), Marshal; Rob, Will, Matt D
Subs: Lee, James, Jimmy, Jonathan
Man of the Match: Charlie
With the heatwave making Rotherhithe feel more like Rio, the Falcons looked to bring some Brazilian flair to their play as they prepared for first game since achieving promotion last season. Alas, a team social the night before did not help this cause hugely, and Millwall sprung into an early lead with a looping long-range free-kick finding the top right-hand corner.
However, post the first-half drinks break, the Falcons soared into full flight and were quick to find a leveller. Exploiting their extra man in the middle of the park, some neat interplay in the Falcons midfield saw skipper George collect the ball and play a lovely through ball into the feet of Matt D, who slotted past the keeper with a stunning left-footed finish.
At the other end of the park, it was soon the turn of the other Matt to turn hero as he helped to keep things at 1-1 with a stunning save. A swift Millwall counter saw their striker cut inside from the left and drill a fierce drive across the face of the goal. Luckily, Matt “The Cat” Hall was level to this, and kept the fine strike at bay with a strong right hand.
As the mercury continued to rise the game continued to open up, but both struggled to create any clear cut efforts in their search for a winner. The Falcons were helped in their endeavours by a superb defensive performance from centre backs Charlie and Jeff, with the former continuing the form that won him last season’s player of the season award with a Man of the Match performance.
Following the game, both teams headed down to the pub to celebrate the shared spoils and cool off from the afternoon’s shift! Up next is a friendly against league rivals Connaught Old Boys next Saturday, in hopefully more bearable conditions!
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