Adecco MVP BEFC Lions vs King George FC - James Bateman

  • James Bateman Adecco Man of the Match King George

In a game that was described in many ways: epic, legendary, glorious, and so on, it was indeed a night to remember and a great way to earn the Lions’ first 3 points! An epic comeback from being 4-1 down to winning 6-4 in the last 30 minutes made the Lions not only deserved winners, but also team of the week with their first victory and especially sweet with it happening against King George, an old rival of the club.

Everyone played key roles, mainly when attacking, choosing a most valuable player was a tough task, but there was someone who everyone regarded as representative of what the game looked like: James Bateman. From setting up goals, doing runs and bullying defenders, to recovering from an unfortunate miss to scoring the key goal a few seconds later, Bateman never gave up, and never gave KGFC a chance to get back on their feet once the Lions started to attack.

Stand out players mentioned included Atsushi, with his high pressing, attacking-minded defending; Masa with some incisive long passing, Torsten and Mark working together as the physical wall that King George had to face in midfield, alternating wingers Witvliet, Farrugia, Joyce and Marenco who kept running during the whole game and two of whom scored some crucial goals from the corner, Chin with a spectacularly calm finish to kill the game and of course goalkeepers Ben who played through a cramp to keep King George out and Mendellsohn who calmly made everyone nervous by dribbling from goal and in a Jorge Campos way also playing up top at the start of the game to put some pressure on King George. A long list of mentions, but all those on the pitch deserve some recognition, as a victory like this calls for an applause to those who made it happen.

It is however, necessary to put someone on the spot, and to applaud him for his outstanding goals (including a classic dribble around the goalkeeper and smash), contribution to the team in the short time he was with us, and to bid him farewell and good luck as he heads to a new country and a new adventure: our very well-deserved Adecco man of the match for this victory is James Bateman.