2025-11-25, 07:15 AM - Word count:
Good evening, after last night's humbling 4-0 defeat against FC Kaapstad and with that the first loss of the season, does the London squad have what it takes to bounce back and continue the impressive early season run? I am Abbey Westminster and today we kick off against CS Rova Mpanjaka. We kick off at 17:00 in Stade des Esprits in front of just over 53500 fans.
It is from the start that CS Rova takes possession of the ball. Close to 90% of the first 5 minutes the ball lies in Mpanjaka's feet. So far it has not resulted in any opportunities at goal.
The first hint of danger comes from a free kick for Inter London. O'Neill tries to find a familiar head but fails to do so. The ball gets cleared where Gagne picks up. He passes to the center to Bear, Bear to Wad. He shoots but his shot gets blocked by the Rova defense and the ball goes wide for a corner. Blanco finds Gagne at the far post but he heads it over.
Kovács intercepts on the midfield, finds O'Neill on the left. O'Neill sees Alves with a lot of space on the left flank who runs to the goal line and fires a low cross to Cappellari. But he can't control the ball and London fails to hit the target once again. It's a good start with some decent chances but Schwarzer still had to take no action to keep his goal clean.
Right after it's Rova with a chance. They build from behind with Skovgaard, Skovgaard to Kalinins who sends Cue Jr forward. He passes Wad and finds Schuurmans. Schuurmans with a high through ball on Hughes-Galloway, who heads it towards goal and Gun Jr saves. This leads to a strong period for CS Rova. Half an hour in it's Rova that took 6 shots over London's 4. However London is still leading xG with 0.62 against 0.23 for the away squad.
33rd minute sees Rova on attack with a corner, Bear clears, Schuurmans is waiting for the rebound. Takes a touch to prepare for a shot and fires it through all the gaps into the Inter London net. What a strike to open the score!
Just three minutes later it's Schuurmans on the right with the cross, and finds no red player. Paya clears but hits Smalls doing so. I don't think he even realised that he scored the 2-0! Paya collapses to the grass, hands covering his face. His teammates picked him up, consoling it's not over.
![[Image: half-time.jpg]](https://i.ibb.co/cKXLFkyM/half-time.jpg)
It's CS Rova that takes full advantage of the chances they get. 0.4 xG against London's 0.62 but they are leading 0-2.
The second half goes underway with Arthur Cain entering the pitch for Volkan. Rova brings Aren Fjord for Matt Oopsie Wrongsport Turk.
It's London taking initiative at the start of half number 2. O'Neill picks up the ball from a corner, passes it to Bear, Bear finds Kovács and with a quick combination sets up Paya with a clear shot to the goal of Schwarzer, last named saves.
Controversial moment in the 53rd minute. Gange tackles Schuurmans in the penalty area and the referee blows his whistle for a penalty kick. VAR has a look but confirms the decision. Tank Denstro claims the ball. Gun Jr gambles the opposite corner and out of nowhere it's 0-3. That’s Denstro's 5th of the season.
Right after it's Alves with a cross to Kovács who can't aim the ball down and heads over the goal. CS Rova knows it's not yet safe as London has come back from 0-3 before and are determined to do so again. London keeps piling up the pressure, creating loads of chances, but the shots either miss direction or find Schwarzer in their way. It's shaping up to be a class performance by the Mpanjaka goalie.
The last 20 minutes see no change in how the game is playing out. It's London creating the chances, but without finding success. It's CS Rova that wins the match. There's a lot of spewing and shouting coming from the London bench as they feel they deserved a better result. In the end the scoreboard doesn't lie and it's 3 points to Mpanjaka.
London faces its second loss in a row, tomorrow they're up against Montréal United in the SSL Cup qualifiers. Back to the drawing board for the London team to try and stop the streak.
This was Abbey Westminster for ITLondinium-zone.com and I wish you a lovely day.
![[Image: Minor-MD-Graphic-MD6.png]](https://i.ibb.co/C420tTD/Minor-MD-Graphic-MD6.png)
It is from the start that CS Rova takes possession of the ball. Close to 90% of the first 5 minutes the ball lies in Mpanjaka's feet. So far it has not resulted in any opportunities at goal.
The first hint of danger comes from a free kick for Inter London. O'Neill tries to find a familiar head but fails to do so. The ball gets cleared where Gagne picks up. He passes to the center to Bear, Bear to Wad. He shoots but his shot gets blocked by the Rova defense and the ball goes wide for a corner. Blanco finds Gagne at the far post but he heads it over.
Kovács intercepts on the midfield, finds O'Neill on the left. O'Neill sees Alves with a lot of space on the left flank who runs to the goal line and fires a low cross to Cappellari. But he can't control the ball and London fails to hit the target once again. It's a good start with some decent chances but Schwarzer still had to take no action to keep his goal clean.
Right after it's Rova with a chance. They build from behind with Skovgaard, Skovgaard to Kalinins who sends Cue Jr forward. He passes Wad and finds Schuurmans. Schuurmans with a high through ball on Hughes-Galloway, who heads it towards goal and Gun Jr saves. This leads to a strong period for CS Rova. Half an hour in it's Rova that took 6 shots over London's 4. However London is still leading xG with 0.62 against 0.23 for the away squad.
33rd minute sees Rova on attack with a corner, Bear clears, Schuurmans is waiting for the rebound. Takes a touch to prepare for a shot and fires it through all the gaps into the Inter London net. What a strike to open the score!
Just three minutes later it's Schuurmans on the right with the cross, and finds no red player. Paya clears but hits Smalls doing so. I don't think he even realised that he scored the 2-0! Paya collapses to the grass, hands covering his face. His teammates picked him up, consoling it's not over.
It's CS Rova that takes full advantage of the chances they get. 0.4 xG against London's 0.62 but they are leading 0-2.
The second half goes underway with Arthur Cain entering the pitch for Volkan. Rova brings Aren Fjord for Matt Oopsie Wrongsport Turk.
It's London taking initiative at the start of half number 2. O'Neill picks up the ball from a corner, passes it to Bear, Bear finds Kovács and with a quick combination sets up Paya with a clear shot to the goal of Schwarzer, last named saves.
Controversial moment in the 53rd minute. Gange tackles Schuurmans in the penalty area and the referee blows his whistle for a penalty kick. VAR has a look but confirms the decision. Tank Denstro claims the ball. Gun Jr gambles the opposite corner and out of nowhere it's 0-3. That’s Denstro's 5th of the season.
Right after it's Alves with a cross to Kovács who can't aim the ball down and heads over the goal. CS Rova knows it's not yet safe as London has come back from 0-3 before and are determined to do so again. London keeps piling up the pressure, creating loads of chances, but the shots either miss direction or find Schwarzer in their way. It's shaping up to be a class performance by the Mpanjaka goalie.
The last 20 minutes see no change in how the game is playing out. It's London creating the chances, but without finding success. It's CS Rova that wins the match. There's a lot of spewing and shouting coming from the London bench as they feel they deserved a better result. In the end the scoreboard doesn't lie and it's 3 points to Mpanjaka.
London faces its second loss in a row, tomorrow they're up against Montréal United in the SSL Cup qualifiers. Back to the drawing board for the London team to try and stop the streak.
This was Abbey Westminster for ITLondinium-zone.com and I wish you a lovely day.
![[Image: OTK-Bannerv2.png]](https://i.ibb.co/JRyWfW9n/OTK-Bannerv2.png)
