Another clash which had everything. Goals, tick, excellent saves, tick, controversy, tick, you name it, and this game provided it. Onfido and Modulr played out a 16-goal thriller which will go down as one of the Fintech Football Championship all-time greats.
Modulr started the livelier, and captain Charlie Newman took responsibility and fired his side into an early lead. Some excellent play from Will Rolph and David Mather piled the pressure on the Onfido defence, who were struggling to hold on, until a blistering counter-attack from Onfido found talisman Burak Eregar (who else?) in bundles of space on the edge of the Modulr box, and he calmly passed the ball into the corner to level the game up.
With a goal out of nothing, Onfido slowly grew into the half, and a quickfire brace from Rob Beale meant that they went into the half time break with an unexpected lead.
As the teams surfaced for the second half, you could really feel the weight on the shoulders of both team captains. However, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was a top of the table clash with some of the football on display.
It was Onfido who yet again took the lead in the second half, Eregar adding his second of the game, shortly followed by his third, doubling the deficit for Modulr. A goal frenzy for Onfido saw them storm into an 8-5 lead with minutes left on the clock, Kam Dadfar and Eregar providing the goals. It looked for all the world like they were going to pick up a vital three points, but Modulr had other ideas.
Alex King marked his comeback with an instinctive lunge of the leg, which saw the ball trickle into the corner of the goal. Newman added another goal to his impressive tally to make it 8-7, as Onfido nerves began to show.
Within the blink of an eye, Modulr were presented with the perfect opportunity to grab a last gasp equaliser. Seconds left on the clock, referee controversially pointed to the spot, signalling a penalty against Onfido. Despite the Onfido goalkeeper’s best efforts to put off Modulr star man David Mather, he blasted the ball into the roof of the net in emphatic fashion, completing his hat trick and sparking scenes of jubilation in the crowd.
What a game of football! The full time whistle sounded immediately after the penalty, and the two teams will go away from the Shoreditch Arena with mixed emotions. The points were shared, which really doesn’t help either side in the grand scheme of things. Onfido will be left feeling hard done by with the manner in which they let their lead slip. For Modulr on the other hand, the draw will feel like a win.
Final Score: Onfido 8 vs 8 Modulr
Man of the Match: David Mather (Modulr)
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