St Panteleimon FC 4 ‬ vs ‪Buckingham Athletic FC 0

The floodlights of Haringey Borough FC’s stadium shone brightly on a windy, rainswept evening. The Saints of St Panteleimon needed both halves to convince themselves and the crowd that they still have the magic touch to‬
‪dominate teams. ‬

‪A patchy first half, with over-hit balls and a temporary inability to string passes together, frustrated both teams. The one move that did show some movement and slick ball play ended up with a goal for Telli Nasai in the 18th minute. 1-0 to the Saints and half time was a time to refocus and dig deep. ‬

‪Playing against the wind in the second half gave St Panteleimon a new energy and they again found their pass and move style, with some good attacking intent and finding of space. ‬

‪Ayub Albadri used his pace more this half, and found Courtney Massey with a strong cross and it was 2-0 after 54 minutes. Another good Massey goal came in the 85th minute and the Saints could relax. ‬

‪Two new faces in the Saints line up were especially impressive. Brad Gilmaney scored his second of the season. He was controlled and skilful and often found the telling pass. He ventured into the opposition box in injury time, cut inside and curled a glorious low shot to beat the keeper and make it a resounding 4-0. The crowd were jubilant as the Saints did deserve it on the second half showing. ‬

‪The other new face was goalkeeper Eray Demirkol whose presence and sure touch kept a valuable clean sheet for the Saints. To be fair he wasn’t tested that much, but he looked solid and used his box well. ‬

‪The Saints lead the table by 6 point now. ‬

‪Their next game is in the Middlesex Premier Cup against Cockfosters Reserves, at ‬TITHE FARM SPORTS AND SOCIAL CLUB‪, on Tuesday 21st January. ‬

‪After that, they have a top of the league clash against second placed Winslow FC on Saturday 25th January.

Reporting Iacovos Neophytou