Saturday, May 26, 2012
ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The St. Louis Lions gained their first win of the season in a thrilling come-from-behind 2-1 victory against the Des Moines Menace. The Lions' Gerrard John-Williams and Dean Lovegrove each scored to allow their side to claim victory in its home opener at the Tony Glavin Soccer Complex.
Earlier in the season the Menace got the upper hand against the Lions with a convincing 4-1 victory in Des Moines, and they again took the lead in the second meeting between the two teams, opening the scoring in the first five minutes when Brent Kallman had a long throw-in deep into the Lions box. The ball bounced off a Lions defender and fell to the feet of Logan McDaniel, who slipped the ball into the net for an early 1-0 lead.
Things did not look good early for the Lions but they battled through the heat and the pressure of the Menace attack to get to halftime down by only a goal.
“The early goal was disappointing but we knew if we just stuck to our game plan we would break through and tie the game.” said Tony Glavin Lions Head Coach.
In the 61st minute the Lions found the equalizer. Defender Pat Kelly intercepted a long outlet pass by the Menace and found Lions forward Jamie Skillen on the right side of the Menace goal box. Skillen settled the ball with a great touch and crossed the ball to John-Williams parked in front of the goal for the spectacular volley. The goal was John-Williams' first as a Lion.
“I am very pleased for Big G getting on the score sheet. He has been working hard and it finally came to him,” said Glavin. “His goal was an excellent finish. We just built on the momentum from there.”
The momentum definitely swung in the Lions' favor, and with the St. Louiligan’s really getting the crowd into the game the Lions struck again. In the 78th minute, Lovegrove had pushed forward from his midfield position near the top of the Des Moines penalty area. The ball was played into Lovegrove, who controlled with his chest past a Menace defender, took a touch forward and then chipped his finish into the far post past the charging Menace goalkeeper.
“This was a really good win for us today," Glavin said. "We kept ourselves in it and worked hard for the victory. This is a well deserved victory.”
The victory broke the Lions' 12-game winless streak against the Menace,
Before the game the Loins players all wore t-shirts saying “4 U Casey” in honor of Casey Blick, one of the founders of the Lions Supporter Club the St Louligan’s. The Lions players also made a donation to the Siteman Cancer Research Center in Casey’s honor.
The Lions will hit the road this Thursday to take on the Springfield Demize, and will return home on Saturday at 5 p.m. in the return portion of a home-and-home series with the Demize. Tickets can be purchased by calling (636) 939-5151 or online at www.stllions.com.