Match of the Day - U12 Panthers edge out Beechfield United

25 September 2011

What a difference a week makes. After last Sunday's poor performance against Reddish Vulcans, the Panthers ended a difficult week with a battling victory against Beechfield, who finished last season one point behind Division One Champions Ashton.

By any standard this was a fantastic match, played in a good spirit and littered with top class finishing from both sides. The Panthers took the lead early in the first half with a close range effort from Josh Wheeler who latched onto a through ball from Josh Mehta. The one goal margin remained for much of the opening period as both teams worked hard to cancel each other out. However it was Beechfield who found the back of the net shortly before half time with a good headed effort from a right-wing corner. 1-1 after 30 minutes.

Theo handed over the gloves to Nathan at the break following an assured performance in goals in the first half.

Wilmslow started brighter in the second period and Matias restored the lead. Max Paton, Josh Wheeler and Rohan combined to pressure the Beechfield midfield before Rohan fed Matias who added a clinical top-corner finish from the edge of the area. And it was Wilmslow again minutes later as Jack finished in equally spectacular style following a through ball from Max Paton.

Not to be outdone, Beechfield stunned the Panthers with a response directly from the re-start - a forty-yard screamer of a goal that flew under the crossbar from a strike just inside the Panthers' half.

Game on. And it was not long before Beechfield levelled the scores at 3-3 with another quality finish.

Back came the Panthers, who started to mix some good passing play into their game as the match progressed. The ball was worked from the right wing across the edge of the Beechfield area and Dan, unable to get a clear sight of goal, rolled the ball to his left for Rohan to add a tidy finish into the bottom left hand corner.

Enough? Apparently not. Beechfield went eagerly after an equaliser and pressured a mistake within the Panthers' back line to create a shooting opportunity from mid range. In keeping with the finishing that had gone before it, the shot dissected the space between Nathan's gloves and the crossbar, and we were level again at 4-4 with 10 minutes of the half still remaining.

It was an accurate reflection of the contest that both teams felt they could snatch victory in the closing minutes. The only disappointment was that the winning goal came from the penalty spot. More good passing play down the Panthers' left wing gave Jack the opportunity to loft a ball into the centre of the Beechfield six-yard box. As the cross travelled over the 'keeper - and with two Panthers waiting beyond - one of the visiting defenders jumped to prevent the cross reaching the strikers and caught the ball two-handed. There was no debating the penalty award and, with the size of the goals this season, little chance for the 'keeper to save the spot kick. Dan stepped up and placed the kick just inside the left hand post.

The Panthers saw out the final three minutes in relative comfort to record their first victory in Division One. While the Panthers were pleased with their win, the result was tough on Beechfield who left with nothing to show for their efforts.

Anyone lucky enough to see the game will testify that five of the goals scored were worthy of winning a game in their own right. Both sets of players were a credit to themselves and their respective clubs.

Source: A Wheeler

<< to news index

• Fixtures
• Results
• News and Reports
• League Data
• Stats