Match Report - Komi Kebir (a)
In an exciting but tense encounter, AFC Roza took a trip down the A10 to face Komi Kebir at their home pitch, Enfield Playing Fields. This all-Greek clash felt like a big affair, albeit early in the season.
Starting XI: Rajan Ranu; Rees Colgan, Giorgio Koullas, Chris Johnson, Jake Koumi; Danny Smith, Saj Rajaratnam, Ben Reynolds; Michael Andreou, Steph Savva, Alex Andreou
The match began slowly, with both teams sharing possession and the majority of play occurring in the midfield - neither side managed to create significant chances early on, leading to a cagey start. The breakthrough came halfway through the first half when Danny Smith opened the scoring following a corner delivered brilliantly by Rees Colgan which found its way to Ben Reynolds, who showed some tidy work in the box before the ball reached Smith. From just inside the box, Danny rifled the ball into the net, making it 1-0.
Komi Kebir grew frustrated as they struggled to break down the Roza defence, who, to a man, were proving impenetrable. Until, just before halftime, a controversial moment saw Komi’s striker put through on goal, seemingly offside. The finish appeared a formality but the strike beat Rajan Ranu, and beat the post, going wide, and the score remained 1-0 at the break. Roza made no changes at halftime, confident in their strong performance.
The start of the second half mirrored the end of the first, with Komi Kebir dominating possession in midfield but failing to find loopholes in Roza’s defence. Around the 60th minute, eagle-eyed Roza manager, Mike Anastasiou, spotted an opportunity for a quick corner. Colgan laid it off to Steph Savva, who took his time, passed his man, and delivered a cut-back cross to Smith who delivered a finish that was a carbon copy of his first goal, doubling Roza’s lead to 2-0.
Komi Kebir responded about 10 minutes later, pulling one back from a set piece. A looping header at the back post found the net, making it 2-1 and setting up a tense final 20 minutes - game on. Roza began to feel the pressure as Komi pushed for an equalizer. To counter this, The Rose brought on fresh legs in the form of Adam Shaw, Hayden Munro, Terry Savva, Deano Spyrou, and Moh Kataria.
A lapse in concentration at the 80th minute mark saw the Komi winger go through one-on-one with Rajan, eyeball to eyeball. It was looking highly likely that the equaliser would follow, however, Rajan stood tall and made an incredible save with his legs, a world-class stop that kept Roza in the lead.
Despite having chances to extend their lead to 3-1 with some good play for Alex Andreou, Adam Shaw and Hayden Munro, Roza’s attacks broke down in the final third.
The defensive unit, led by an outstanding performance from Chris Johnson, held firm to limit Komi’s chances and secure the victory.
Overall, it was a strong team performance from AFC Roza, giving the boys their first win of the season.
#Onto the next - #UTR!!