Match Report: Homerton I vs Pembroke I
25/02/2024
By James Hyde
It was not looking overly promising for Homerton 5 minutes before kick-off: only 8 players warming up, no goalkeeper, and half of those players warming up carrying a significant niggle. Kick-Off came and the reinforcements arrived, meaning Homerton could field all eleven players, albeit with their left back in between the sticks.
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The start to the match saw a massive blow for relegation threatened Homerton, losing their captain, Gregor Fowler, to a nasty hamstring injury. This brought the odds even more against Homerton, who were now multiple players down against a strong Pembroke team which sat third in the league. Despite this, it was Homerton who took the lead. A long, looping ball over the top was fumbled by the Pembroke goalkeeper under fair pressure from the Homerton striker, falling to winger Andreas Velimachitis who smashed the ball into the roof of the net to give Homerton a shock lead.
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From this point, Homerton did a superb job at controlling the game, playing exclusively on the floor and consistently beating the Pembroke press. However, it only took a dangerous ball in from a corner for Pembroke to level proceedings, with Homerton failing to deal with an inswinger into the six yard box. Homerton's makeshift goalkeeper managed to save the first effort, yet the rebound fell to Pembroke centre-half, Tarkan Ates, who made no mistake in placing the ball into the empty Homerton goal.
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Homerton continued to dominate the ball for the rest of the half but with less impetus to enter the final third. As a result, the teams went into the break on level terms. Pembroke started the second half resembling more of a team befitting their third-place position in the league, putting Homerton under significant pressure. For a consistent period, Pembroke managed to work the ball around the final third. In particular, the left winger and forward thinking midfielders picked up dangerous positions around the edge of the box. Despite this, the Homerton defenders remained disciplined and made it difficult for Pembroke players to work space and get high quality shots off, fortunately for Homertons ‘reserve’ goalkeeper.
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Contrasting to the first half, Homerton struggled to have meaningful possession and create opportunities for the first 35 minutes of the second half yet this changed in the 80th minute. Switching up from their usual exclusively on the ground build up play, an excellent ball into the right hand channel from the Homerton right back was ran onto with excellent pace by the Homerton right winger. With pace and power he took the ball to the byline, and then squaring the ball to nifty Homerton striker Toby Linsell, who had expertly moved into a space on the edge of the box where he received the ball. A shoulder feint to drop the Pembroke defender, followed by emphatic finish into the top left corner restored Homerton's lead and meant they were only ten minutes from a vital three points.
However, ten minutes is a long time in football. It took Pembroke just two minutes to get back on level terms. Despite showing little threat on goal for the previous 35 minutes, Pembroke managed to find space for a shot, driving the ball into the bottom right corner from the edge of the box, leaving the Homerton number 2 with no chance.
At this point, neither team looked to settle for a draw, both believing that they were more than good enough to overcome their opponent. Pembroke, third in the league, believing they should be getting all three points against a relegation threatened side and Homerton, believing that their possession dominant performance was more than enough to merit coming away from the game with more than a point.
Just a couple of minutes after the Pembroke equaliser, a long ball was launched into the box from a Homerton halfway line freekick; this was nodded down by the big Homerton winger finding Toby Linsell who had lost his marker with another piece of clever movement. A half-volley with the inside of his left foot saw the ball nestle into the top left-hand corner. This cultured finish was followed by a very strange celebration of high knees, as if the striker was doing his warm up again. Those in attendance looked on with bemusement.
Despite these silly celebrations, Homerton stayed disciplined for the remainder of the game, not giving Pembroke any opportunities to level things up for a third time. In the last minute, Homerton once again split open the Pembroke defence with a cross by the tallest man on the pitch being converted by the smallest man on the pitch…only to be called offside. This ruined Homerton's Goalkeepers dramatic sprint across to the otherside of the pitch to celebrate.
Shortly after, the final whistle blew, giving Homerton a crucial three points and continuing Pembroke’s poor form in the second half of the season. These three points have given Homerton breathing room from the relegation zone and mean they should be looking upwards, now only five points behind third place Pembroke with three games in hand. A poor start to the season has the potential to be rectified with a very strong league finish for Homerton.