Premier Division

Larkspur Rovers  1    Jolof Sports  5

Saturday, 10 August 2024

 

On the opening day of the 2024/25 Middlesex County Football League Premier Division season, I was at Larkspur Rovers FC’s home fixture with Jolof Sports FC, on Saturday afternoon at Lord Halsbury Playing Fields. This step 7 match was won 5-1 by Jolof Sports, who really deserved their win. Jolof Sports started the game strongly. An early chance for Jolof Sports player Omosheni Atinmo saw him have an effort (from the right-hand side of the home team’s penalty area) which was well pushed away by Larkspur Rovers goalkeeper Bradley Morris. A free-kick for Jolof Sports on the left flank followed, in the resulting couple of minutes. However, El Hadji Faye’s effort from distance was saved and gathered by Bradley Morris at his near post. Another chance followed for the club from east London, as Leon Colvin got to the ball on the left-hand side of the Larkspur Rovers penalty area, but his low effort went just wide of the goalkeeper’s left-hand post.

Larkspur Rovers would make a number of substitutions during the early stages of the first half, and then shortly after play had resumed Jolof Sports would create another goalscoring chance. With Ebrima Cham finding Omosheni Atinmo with a long pass towards the left side of the Larkspur Rovers penalty area. Atinmo would then pass the ball to Taofiq Babanzaure, in the centre of the box, but his resulting effort went wide of the goalkeeper’s left-hand post. Shortly after that chance, Taofiq Babanzaure found Omosheni Atinmo on the left side of the Larkspur Rovers penalty area, and his effort was well tipped behind for a corner-kick by Bradley Morris. From that corner Jolof Sports player Abib Diop received the ball, and his first time effort on goal was held by Bradley Morris.

Larkspur Rovers tried to get a hold of the game, and they would go onto create two chances, as they looked to respond to the numerous chances that the away side had created so far, during the first half. Following a corner-kick delivery, Larkspur Rovers player Naaeb Alamyar got to the ball on the edge of the away team’s penalty area, but his low effort was saved by Zakaria Kechekar. Around three minutes later, the home team’s centre-forward and captain Liam Walford’s deflected effort from the edge of the Jolof Sports box, came to Darwaish Alamyar, whose headed effort from the centre of the penalty area, was saved by Zakaria Kechekar. Omosheni Atinmo would then have an effort from the left side of the Larkspur Rovers box, which was pushed behind by Bradley Morris, at his near post, a couple of minutes before Israel Boateng (from distance) had hit an effort wide of the Jolof Sports goal.

Not very long before half-time Jolof Sports would take a deserved lead in the game. Max Lee’s nice through-ball pass (from the edge of the penalty area) found Omosheni Atinmo’s run inside of the box. Atinmo would partially round the goalkeeper, before finishing low into the goal from the left side of the penalty area, 0-1. Jolof Sports had been defending well during the first half, with Larkspur Rovers unable to really create any noteworthy chances. After Toren Scott had hit a low effort from the right-hand side of the Jolof Sports box on goal, which was saved by Zakaria Kechekar, at the opposite end of the pitch, Leon Colvin’s effort on the bounce (from the edge of the box) went wide, following a good bit of skill from him. Just before the referee had sounded his whistle for half-time, Larkspur Rovers player Mosab Morsi had an effort on the turn (from inside of the Jolof Sports box) saved and held by Kechekar.

Jolof Sports would continue playing well after the second half of the match had started. And after Taofiq Babanzaure had a headed effort (following a corner-kick delivery into the Larkspur Rovers box) held by Bradley Morris, the away side would double their lead early on in the second half. Max Lee had received a pass on the left flank, before taking the ball forward into the penalty area, and then cutting inside with the ball and curling a really good and powerful effort into the bottom right-hand corner of the goal, 0-2. Shortly after the game had resumed, Larkspur Rovers player Daniel Adaway found Darwaish Alamyar on the right-hand side of the Jolof Sports penalty area. However, the Larkspur Rovers player’s low effort was well saved and held by Kechekar. 

Not long after that decent chance for the home side, Jolof Sports would almost certainly make sure of the win. Omosheni Atinmo found Nadir Faidh on the right-hand side of the Larkspur Rovers box, and he would then return the ball to Omosheni Atinmo on the opposite side of the penalty area, from where the forward powerfully finished low into the goal, 0-3. After Naaeb Alamyar had volleyed an effort wide of the goal from the edge of the Jolof Sports penalty area, the away side would further extend their lead. Max Lee managed to get to the ball on the edge of the penalty area, before travelling inside with the ball and finding the bottom right-hand corner of the goal, with an excellent and powerful effort, 0-4.

Larkspur Rovers would get a goal back during the second half, as Diogo Castro’s free-kick delivery into the Jolof Sports penalty area (from the right flank) would bounce to Henry Taylor, on the left side of the box. And Taylor’s impressive looping header went into the goal, off of the goalkeeper’s left-hand post, 1-4. Jolof Sports would however, continue to create plenty more chances during the remainder of the game. Following Ebrima Cham’s effort from distance, which went wide of Bradley Morris’ goal, Leon Colvin would find the run of Omosheni Atinmo on the edge of the Larkspur Rovers box. Continuing into the penalty area, he would try and take the ball around the goalkeeper, before then hitting his effort over the goal.

In a very similar move to the previous chance that Jolof Sports had created, Leon Colvin’s good through-ball pass would again find Omosheni Atinmo on the edge of the penalty area. He would once again take the ball into the box, before skilfully taking the ball across the challenging goalkeeper and a Larkspur Rovers defender, to the left-hand side of the box, and then finishing low into the goal, 1-5. Very late on in the second half, Max Lee hit an effort wide of the goal from the left-hand side of the Larkspur Rovers penalty area, before the referee sounded his whistle for full-time. Jolof Sports were definitely the better team today, against Larkspur Rovers (the home team had a very different squad this season, compared with last season). They defended well against Larkspur Rovers, when they needed to (with Abib Diop and Modou Gueye doing well in central defence), but they created so many chances on the day, as they got off to a great start in the league.

Jolof Sports player Omosheni Atinmo was my player of the match, on Saturday afternoon. The scorer of a well taken hat-trick of goals, the skilful forward moved well off the ball, and he took all three of his goals well against Larkspur Rovers. Also, I thought that Max Lee (he was involved in a lot of good play for Jolof Sports, and for a number of their goals) and Leon Colvin and Nadir Faidh, were just some of the Jolof Sports players who had really good games.