London Falcons maintained their unbeaten status in preseason with a hard-fought 4-3 win over Charlton Invicta.
Falcons XI: Matt H; David, George (c), Charlie, Matt D; Myles, Baptiste, Marshal; Rob N, Will, Stevie
Subs: Jim P, Jimmy, Danny, Mitch, Rob W
It was a dream start for the Falcons as Rob N leapt on a loose ball to drill home a fine strike into the bottom right-hand corner of the goal. As the Falcons pressed for a second, they went to sleep at the back, and a swift Invicta counter attack saw the hosts equalise.
However, parity was short-lived and soon the Falcons had the lead again. A looping Delap-esque long throw from Matt D evaded everyone in the Invicta box and was met by Marshal at the far post, who was able to tap in from a yard out. But the hosts were not behind for long, with another equaliser coming as the result of sloppy Falcons play to leave the sides level at the break.
Jimmy rang the changes at the break and the Falcons began to settle more into their regular passing game, for which they were eventually rewarded. Piling the pressure on, they were soon awarded a penalty after Will drew a foul from the Charlton keeper, which he then picked himself up from to slot home and give the visitors a 3-2 lead.
But there was another twist in the tale as Charlton found their third equaliser of the game. A ball over the Falcons defence was not dealt with, allowing the hosts to level things up again with another tidy finish.
With the clock running out, the Falcons managed to snatch the victory with a late free-kick. Having been fouled on the edge of the box, Stevie drilled a low effort under the Invicta wall and into the back of the net to allow the Falcons make it a victorious outing to South East London.
It was great to see some new players making their debuts too, with Rob W, Danny and Mitch all coming on in the second half to take their Falcons’ bow. We have a week off for the Bank Holiday next weekend, but after that we’ll be taking on London Titans in our final pre-season friendly on Sept 5th.