Zion FC 4 vs 1 Rubber Chickens

<p>Zion FC clinched the title with a game to spare with a well-earned 4-1 victory against Rubber Chickens. A fantastic team performance helped Zion&nbsp;brush aside&nbsp;their fellow&nbsp;title challengers.

<p>A 4-4 draw between&nbsp;Zion's rivals,&nbsp;The G.A, and Real Portslade&nbsp;left Zion in the know that a victory would secure the Premiership crown. The fans anticipated a night to remember as their vocal support echoed across the&nbsp;arena. The football was less than settled as both sides felt the significance of the occasion. Rubber Chickens knew they had to win, but also knew that such a victory would put them in a good position to gain the tiel themselves. Zion had&nbsp;the expectancy of much of the world media to secure another title.&nbsp;Passing moves were few and&nbsp;far between as neither side&nbsp;looked like scoring. That was until David Jones calmed the Lions nerves. Tony Dain made a fantastic run from&nbsp;defence into Chickens territory. Dain then squared the ball to Jones who calmly side footed the ball past the keeper. The decibels flew off the charts as the&nbsp;Lions&nbsp;faithful could&nbsp;almost touch the silverware. Steve Winter then made a good save tipping a furious shot onto the post. Dan Shotton was in&nbsp;solid form with some great tackles, interceptions, and particularly good ball&nbsp;shielding. The frustration mounted for the&nbsp;Chickens who then fell further behind. Zion had been starting to get some rhythm, and a fluid move doubled their lead. Tommy Powell and&nbsp;David Jones combined well before a&nbsp;shot by Powell could only be parried. Jones pounced on the rebound to make it 2-0. The Rubber Chickens keeper then came under a barrage of strikes as Zion looked to kill off the game. However, he was in irresistable form&nbsp;making some fine saves. The Chickens then grabbed a lifeline. Jones&nbsp;saw a pass intercepted, and the striker bounded through to beat Winter at his near post.&nbsp;Silence was deafening as&nbsp;the nerves returned. Minutes later the half time whistle blew with the game in&nbsp;a fascinating position.

<p>The Chickens came out determined to spoil the party and get themselves back in the hunt. They threw men forward&nbsp;and looked to grab an equaliser. The Lions, however, showed equal determination to keep them out. Fantastic defensive play from Shotton and Dain in particular thwarted the Chickens pursuits.&nbsp;On the break Zion proved to be more than dangerous. Jones saw a shot go wide,&nbsp;as Powell also had a few chances. It was to be Zion's all time top scorer&nbsp;who edged Zion closer to glory with a fine piece of play. He intercepted a pass and advanced goalwards.&nbsp;He was then faced by a massively&nbsp;advanced goalkeeper who he defeated brilliantly with a drop of the shoulder. As he ran towards the empty net it seemed the defenders may catch him, but Powell then&nbsp;accurately passed the ball into the net and sent the fans into frenzy. Heads went down&nbsp;in the Chickens camp as they started to&nbsp;find more joy verbally battling with each other than battling&nbsp;with Zion on the pitch.&nbsp;A fantastic save by Winter only added to the Chickens misery. He showed great agility to block from a one on one situation. Tony Dain then sealed the result with a great breakaway goal as he ran through the deserted Chickens defence and then finished accurately. The game&nbsp;was won, but still Zion searched for more goals. Shotton and Powell saw shots saved as gaps&nbsp;in the Chickens defence became of Grand Canyon proportions.&nbsp;The whistle blew to joyous scenes on the terraces. The ceremony next week will be&nbsp;a sweet day for Lions fans. &nbsp;

<p>The noise coming from the&nbsp;Lions changing room was&nbsp;electric as celebrations began. Tommy Powell emerged&nbsp;to speak with the media sporting a beaming smile, "The lads have thoroughly deserved&nbsp;to win it this year and I'm so proud of them. We have played some fantastic football&nbsp;throughout the campaign. Today's game was another stern test and we came through it brilliantly.&nbsp;All credit to the boys,&nbsp;we'll hopefully finish the season in style next week with another win." Man of the match Dan Shotton&nbsp;tipped freezing water on his manager along with his team mates before expressing his delight at such a successful&nbsp;season, "What a buzz. We worked hard for the result today as we've worked hard throughout the season.&nbsp;It means so much to all of us to win the league, but to have won it with a game to spare just shows&nbsp;our dominance this season."&nbsp;Jubilant fans&nbsp;set off for their parties as&nbsp;dusk fell,&nbsp;and they must be hoping that Zion will keep that party atmosphere going next week with a win against rivals The G.A.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;