Magnificent Seven As L4 Stage Second Half Comeback

Despite the blustery conditions which played into the hands of Atletico's direct long ball which earned them a well deserved slender 2-1 lead at half time our lads fought back to make it a magnificent seven out of seven.

Goalkeeper Harry Galvin made his first start since 15th March 2020 due to the absence of Joe Wilson and it was the first time this season that we had lined up without influential top goal scorer Charlie Hacking and captain Paddy Clegg who withdrew as a result of illness. We were given a boost however with both Alex McDonald and Sam O'Neill returning to the match day squad since the opening day of the season. Gift Sibanda was handed the armband as deputy skipper and it inspired him to grab a brace. The first being our equaliser in the 17th minute which came via some great counter pressing in midfield and a fine through ball by Kaleb Sweeney. Atletico's second just 5 minutes before the break came as a result of a long kick upfield by their keeper. The ball moved and was misjudged by Galvin due to the high winds and the rebound was tapped home.

We came out in the second half with more intensity and aggression and began to show our quality in the attacking areas. Alex McDonald was introduced and his willingness to impress from the off was clear to see. We made it 2-2 when Ben Devlin's quickly taken free-kick was headed home by Sweeney and 3 minutes later McDonald and Sweeney combined down the left. Sweeney got to the by-line and crossed for Sibanda who jinked past their defender to fire home. The last quarter of the game was still in the balance however Atletico couldn't venture forward with any real threat and when Ethan Danku's deflected shot found the back of the net with 8 minutes remaining the points were well and truly in the bag. We still had a number of chances that we wasted ourselves most noticeably a counter attack which Sibanda had both McDonald and Danku in space to pick from however his final pass was poor. Galvin also had to make two very good late saves at his near post to shut Atletico out and get us over the line. Both sides will now meet again in the Challenge Cup quarter final in 2 weeks time. Revenge will be something Atletico will want to inflict however as holders we will be desperate to make it to the semi-finals to keep our grip on a trophy we had to work so hard to get our hands on last season.