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17 October 2010 Match report for Wilmslow Town U12 Panthers 3 - 3 away draw with Benchill Celtic U12 Warriors (17/10/2010)
Benchill Warriors blunt the Panthers’ claws – held to a draw but still unbeaten
After two weeks without a match, the Panthers were glad to have a game once again. Benchill Celtic Warriors were this week’s opposition, a bit of an unknown quantity as they had only played 2 games so far this year. Benchill, playing in green and black, were clearly up for the game but did not have any subs for the match. What was somewhat unexpected was the referee insisting that all tops or skins under the boys shirts had to come off if they weren’t white – something to note for the future – not great for the boys to have to do when it’s a lot colder…
The starting line up was Harry in goal, Neil, TC, Charlie, Max, Callum George, Braden, Jamie, Morgan and Joe. The first shot of the game was from the Panthers but it was saved by the Warriors’ goalie, despite a slight fumble. Braden was next to attack, following up with another shot which went wide. A ball from TC saw Morgan ploughing upfield towards goal but his break was foiled as he was outnumbered two to one by the Warriors’ defence.
After these initial skirmishes, the Warriors were soon out of the blocks with some attacks of their own. Harry made a great stop, the rebound going out and then returning to Harry, who was able to make another save with ease. The game proceeded apace, with the action moving from end to end, as each team tried to establish some dominance in the game. TC was called upon to make some great clearances and was instrumental in allowing George and Jamie to combine for an attack on the Warriors’ defence. Callum and Morgan also joined in the attacking, supported by George, however yet again, the Panthers were caught out with too many players forward, and TC was left to chase a Warriors’ attacker down. As a result, TC had nowhere to go but to pass to Harry, who with some quick thinking, was forced to kick the ball out to the side lines, thus avoiding another corner or a throw in from a dangerous position. Callum went on the attack once more, passing to Jamie who had a shot, but the goalie was equal to it once again and caught it. The Warriors countered once again, and this time were rewarded for their efforts – a scramble in the box and some bouncing around by the ball was the undoing of the defence – Harry was very unlucky and the score was 1-0 to the Warriors.
Following this, more attempts on goal from the Panthers included a shot from Joe which went over the top of the goal, a free kick move started by Neil as well as Callum and Morgan combining to produce another shot blocked once again by the Warriors. George and Neil made way for TB and Shorty at this point and within minutes TB was in the thick of it in a battle up the wing, winning the ball against the odds to send it towards the Warriors’ goal, however the attack broke down due to an untimely Warriors challenge. Jamie fired in the resulting free kick but unfortunately his aim was directly at the goalie, who caught the shot, however the ‘slap’ of the ball hitting his hands reverberated around the pitch.
The Warriors went on the counter attack a short time after this, and Harry was called upon to come out and fearlessly grabbed the ball for the save. A free kick against the Warriors was given for a foul against Morgan close to the half way line, which Max took with some style, sending it flying into their box, where Braden’ shot came close but was foiled once again by a goalie who was clearly very accomplished and going to be difficult to beat.
With shouts of ‘Get back!!!’ from the manager ringing in their ears yet again, the Panthers were caught on the counter attack once again, which resulted in a corner to the Warriors. The danger was snuffed out by some efficient defending from TB and TC, getting the ball away. More attacks from the Panthers followed with Morgan and Callum [both deserting their midfield positions continually, leaving the Panthers vulnerable constantly to the counter-attack – as noted by the manager]. One attack led to a corner for the Panthers, which rebounded for Braden - unfortunately not kindly enough - as he failed to connect. The Warriors fought back with another break as too many players were forward once again and despite some valiant last ditch defending by TC, Harry was beaten – the score was 2-0 to Benchill.
The loss of another goal seemed to galvanise the Panthers into a more concentrated burst of activity, keeping the Benchill keeper busy, but never really testing him. Harry was called upon to make another great save, a lob from a Benchill break, as once again the deserted midfield left the Panthers vulnerable to the counter attack. TC took a free kick deep in his own half, which Shorty flicked on with a deft back heel to TB, who was once more battled for the ball and put into the box. The ball flew all over the place as Benchill tried to clear but Joe managed to get it under control and curled it deftly into the net from the edge of the box– it was 2-1! The game restarted and Benchill were straight back at the Panthers with a cross goal shot which Harry went for but it ended up flying across the goal and away, to an accompanying “Ooooh” from the spectators and players alike. Benchill tried again, this time it was Shorty who made the crucial clearance, getting the ball away. The Warriors continued to press and the relentless pressure told, as Max, as last defender, in a moment of desperation pulled on the shirt the Benchill striker in the box – penalty! Under normal circumstances this could have been seen as a sending off offence, but the ref having spoken to Max let him off. Harry puffed out his chest; spread his arms, making himself as big as possible. Clearly this imposing sight was enough to put the Benchill penalty taker off his stride, as he scuffed his shot past the left post. That was the last real action of the half before the whistle blew with the score 2-1 to Benchill.
Second half
The second half changes in personnel saw Jamie and Joe making way for George and Neil. Charlie was immediately on the case in defence pulling off a great block and preventing a Warriors attack once more, while George and Callum went on the attack. The action however returned to the Panthers’ end of the pitch and remained there for some time as the Warriors camped out, determined to put more distance between the scores. Eventually, the Panthers relieved the pressure with Callum making a break up the wing but took it too far, as his last ditch effort to put in a cross went harmlessly wide of the goal. The Panthers were soon able to get a decent cross into the box as George delivered an inch perfect ball into the waiting Callum for him to score with style, 2-2!
A Benchill free kick was the next significant bit of action which saw the ball flying high from the outer edge of the centre circle, only to be caught confidently by Harry once again. The clearance however was quickly returned to the Panthers’ box and subsequent shot was parried by Harry and then cleared away by TC. After being awarded another free kick, Neil clipped the ball into the Warriors box, for the Panthers to convert, however a scuffle ensued and the ball only finally ended up in the back of the net after Callum pounced once again, despite some desperate defending by the Warriors. Now it was 3-2 to the Panthers. Time for the Panthers to put the game beyond Benchill! Soon after another Benchill infringement, Neil delivered a well struck free kick however it was straight at the goalie - who had again positioned himself to take the shot perfectly – he was proving hard to beat. Morgan and Braden gave way to Jamie and Joe as the Panthers pushed on for the win
The next Panthers’ break saw Jamie streaking upfield with two defenders hot on his heels, Being under pressure meant he had less time to place it and he struck it hastily and the ball was easily caught again by the Benchill goalie. The ball was kicked out but swiftly returned to the Benchill box as the two teams battled for control in the confined space, making it difficult to see who was doing what. The constant movement became a blur to the many screaming spectators from both sides who couldn’t believe that the Panthers didn’t score. There was another period of frantic activity, when Jamie - in the thick of it as he battled to regain the ball - was rewarded with the chance to break and have a shot on goal. The ball rebounded and Joe lined himself up for a volley in front of goal, but didn’t quite connect so his leg swung into thin air, missing the ball completely, (but all credit to him for having a go at a difficult shot like this).
Neil was having a superb game, setting a great example on how to play in midfield, tracking back to defend and also playing his part in ensuring the gap in the midfield was at least plugged in his area. The Benchill parents were getting very excited and shouting that there were only 10 minutes to go at this point, encouraging their boys to push ahead and level the score. This additional time pressure gave the Warriors the impetus to push on and Harry made another save – safe hands as ever – and sent the ball up to the Warriors’ end for the Panthers to attack. Their keeper had to save another shot, which he couldn’t hold, so Jamie yet again was there pressing him into just booting it out to touch. A cross from Jamie into Callum let him have another shot, however the keeper was equal to it once again. The Warriors countered and Max made an excellent clearance to defuse the danger once more. Time was ticking by and the Panthers had the win in sight, but the Warriors just wouldn’t give up – they had the hope of a draw at least - and continued to press the Panthers. George and Callum combined once again but the goalie was again able to take the shot. The goal kick was taken, and it was the Panthers’ turn to be under pressure – the ball was crossed into the box and again there was some frantic ping-pong defending - but the Warriors prevailed with a good finish to level, the score was now 3-3. The spectators were now getting into a frenzy of excitement as there were only minutes to go and a goal now would give the win to either team, so there was all to play for. The Warriors pressed, the Panthers defended, Charlie with a superb one on one battle in the corner pulled off a great tackle and got the ball away, however the Warriors were relentless and soon the ball was heading Harry’s way once again, but also once again, he was able to make the save. Suddenly the whistle blew and the game ended with the Panthers’ first draw of the season as their 100% record came to an end.
Manager’s comments
Overall this was a good performance by the team, because Benchill were a good well organised team who defended well and attacked with pace. That said, there were a lot of missed chances that could have won the game for the Panthers earlier and relieved the pressure of the last 10 minutes. Finishing moves off by aiming to put the ball in the corner of these very big nets is something that needs to be worked on. Scoring goals is important, but only if we score more than the opposition! Therefore our aim must be to reduce the number of goals we are letting in. This means we need to tighten up our midfield so that the defence isn’t left to win the ball in midfield as well as to defend. Midfield doesn’t mean playing up front – in this game the players who were meant to play as the attacking front line had to track back and fill in the for midfield who were AWOL (absent without leave) for much of the game. That said there were many good performances, Harry was excellent in goal, there was some great defending from TC, Max, Charlie and TB, an excellent midfield performance from Neil in the second half and Jamie giving his best performance of the season as he played an important team role in plugging the gaps created by over commitment in attack. Callum and Joe took their goals well with great wing play from George, Joe and Braden. Morgan supported the attack well as did Shorty, but often Callum and Morgan - and to some extent Joe in the wing-back role - seem to be carried away trying to score goals. Midfield is not only a creative role, helping to score goals but most importantly it is designed to win the ball in the middle of the park and reduce pressure on the defence by moving the ball up field to the attack to create goal scoring opportunities. This clearly is not a well understood role and needs significant work for the Panthers to turn from being dangerous going forward but leaking like a sieve at the back into a good team that can play excellent football in all parts of the park.
Benchill Celtic Warriors were no pushover and bearing in mind they had no subs they played extremely well and kept up with the high tempo of the match. They were well organised and made it much more difficult for the Panthers to score than the Panthers did. They won the midfield battle in the first half and only Neil’s contribution supported by Jamie tracking back and stalwart defending from Max, TC, Charlie TB and Harry in the second half prevented the Panthers from being vulnerable enough to lose! We play them at home next time so we need to make sure we have made the necessary changes to ensure we reduce the number of goals we concede.
GBK Man of the Match: Neil
Gold: Neil for an exemplary midfield display in the second half
Silver: Harry for fine goalkeeping and safe hands when catching anything in the air
Bronze: Charlie for a strong defensive performance.
Crunchie Moment: Harry formaking himself so big the Warriors penalty takerwas put off also Callum for his well taken goals
Wispa moment: Joe for his fresh air volley in front of goal
 MOTM: Neil Woodward Silver: Harry Mail Bronze: Charlie Sciple
Team : H Mail, T Botham, T Collicott, M Forde-Dunlop, C Sciple, N Woodward, C McKew, J Nugent, J Saks, M Murphy,
S Short, G Steel, B Harris
 Goals : C McKew (2), J Saks
 Assists : G Steel
Referee : Steve Wilkinson
Source: Helen << to news index
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