Match Report - Trent Park (H)

It was a freezing Sunday morning, but the Roza boys certainly heated up our Enfield Powerleague home pitch with an excellent performance against Trent Park. With Trent Park being an established side and going into the fixture in second place, it was a tough test for Roza who had lost three in a row going either side of Christmas; but it was a test that the boys passed with flying colours.

Starting XI: Rajan Ranu; Deano Spyrou, Giorgio Koullas, Chris Johnson, Jake Koumi; Terry Savva, Saj Rajaratnam, Cal Cook; Iddo Razin, Steph Savva, Alex Andreou

As with the return fixture, we were quick out of the blocks, creating chances early. Steph Savva hit the post 20 minutes into the game with a strong effort across the goalkeeper, and long-range efforts from Saj Rajaratnam and Alex Andreou also gave the away goalkeeper work to do. Trent did have a couple of moments, particularly from set plays, and they hit the crossbar against the run of play - but Roza clearly enjoyed the lion’s share of possession in the early stages.

With around 10 minutes before the half-time break, Iddo Razin finally broke the deadlock, giving Roza a deserved 1-0 lead. Cal Cook’s quick pass into the winger was taken on the half turn and, from 25 yards on the right side of the box, his dipping effort found the top right-hand corner. Roza took this 1-0 lead into the break and it was a strong half.

Half-time saw a double substitution take place, with Rees Colgan and Danny Smith taking the places of Deano Spyrou and Stephanos Savva. It was a strong team performance in the first-half from the whole team - Spyrou and Savva included - but manager Mike Anastasiou felt that fresh legs would be useful ahead of the second half.

Although Roza continued to dominate possession at the start of the second period, Trent were creating some valuable chances on the counter attack - but a lack of killer instinct in the final third meant that Alex Andreou’s 62nd minute goal put the home side two to the good. Danny Smith’s clipped ball out wide got Andreou into possession and he left three defenders for dead, cutting inside and rounding the keeper before slotting the ball into the bottom right corner. Roza had doubled their lead and were good value for it too.

Five minutes later, a terrible injury was suffered for Trent Park’s right back. It looked as if his leg had been stuck in the turf whilst he was trying to turn, and with the help of both teams, he was taken off the pitch. We are hoping for the best possible news about his injury.

Play continued around 20 minutes later, and Trent Park pulled one back in the 80th minute with a first-time finish into the bottom corner. They pushed for the equaliser for the last 10 minutes, but Roza stayed resolute and made sure that all three points would stay at their home.

All in all, this was a very valuable win against a strong side. UTR!