IMG Football: Division 2
Economics 1 – 0 Real Ale
Economics continued their revival with a hard-fought victory over newcomers Real Ale Madrid.
After losing five consecutive games at one stage in the first phase, Economics are now putting togther a positive run of results in Division Two.
Following this latest victory, Economics have risen to the top of Division Two. Moreover, they are now the only Division Two side with a 100% record.
Economics started the game with a high level of possession and their midfield was dominant.
With the game being played almost entirely in the Real Ale Madrid half for the first 20 minutes, Economics didn’t look like scoring. The Real Ale back line regularly broke down the play around their own penalty area and deserve credit for their resilience.
Coping with this sustained pressure well, Real Ale Madrid were looking to catch Economics out on the break.
The best chance of the first half fell to a Real Ale Madrid striker, whose determination enabled him to take the ball past the Economics keeper. However, his shot was cleared off the line by Economics right back James Davies.
The second half started in the same vein as the first. But as time went on, Real Ale Madrid were slowly starting to get back into the game. They soon became more competitive in midfield.
In response, Economics peppered the Real Ale Madrid goal with a series of long range efforts. But many of them were speculative, and could not be regarded as clear-cut opportunities.
However, Economics finally broke the deadlock in the 63rd minute. Striker David Weston struck a sensational 30-yard strike which looped over the Real Ale goalkeeper’s head before finding the net.
The most controversial point of the match came in the 72nd minute when the referee appeared to give a penalty to Real Ale Madrid. But no such decision was made.
With half of the players continuing with the game and the other half confused as to what was happening, Real Ale keeper, Craig Alliss, pulled off a magnificent save to deny David Jones’ effort on the counter-attack.
Yet Real Ale responded well and began to dominate in the final five minutes. While they pushed bodies forward in an attempt to secure something from the game, Economics were forced to defend.
As Economics struggled to cope with the added pressure, Real Ale Madrid began to look increasingly dangerous.
But in the end, Economics relied on some scrappy defending to hold their nerve and claim all three points. On Sunday the league leaders face Inter Me-Nan.
