A lackluster Community Darks crashed to their third defeat of the session to league leaders Molly Malone’s. Despite starting brightly a depleted Darks side struggled to maintain superiority throughout this clash of D League titans.
The Darks controlled the opening stages of this match and went ahead early when midfielder Jon Ellis found space down the left and cut the ball back for striker Ty Kreft to coolly finish into the top left corner from the edge of the penalty area. As the Darks defense stood firm, limiting Molly’s only to shots from distance, Kreft found himself free in behind the back line after beating the last defender and scored, putting the ball in the net through the keeper’s legs.
The Darks perfect start, however, proved difficult to maintain and as the game settled into it’s rhythm it was Molly’s who emerged dominant. After pulling two goals back to level the scoreline the men in green took charge of the game, finding dominance in the midfield, and it wasn’t long before they were ahead through several well worked goals. The Darks went into the half trailing.
The second half continued in a pattern much as the first had ended with Molly’s controlling the midfield and keeping possession expertly. By the closing stages of the match a tired Darks side just didn’t have enough in the tank to muster a comeback. Surely captain Daniel Sanders must have keenly felt the absence defenders Peter Tower and Steven Zwanzwig, midfield hard-man Sam Stodgehill, and striker George Parker, Jr.
The game finished 7-4 in favor of Molly’s and cemented a disappointing mid-table placement for the Community Darks, their worst finish in years. The Darks go into next week’s placement tournament with a point to prove.
