U10 Panthers fight back to snatch a point - Panthers let 3 goal lead slip but fight back to gain a point

21 January 2012

After a break of nearly 2 months the Panthers at last returned to action against Unicorn on a blowy Saturday morning at Jim Evison. They were playing on the larger U11s pitch as their normal pitch was under water. A strong wind blowing down the pitch also made things difficult for both teams and was to prove a decisive factor in the outcome of the game.

The Panthers started with Gabriel in goal, ahead of him were a defensive pairing of Ben and Sam , trying to exploit the width of the pitch were Jack and Davy wide with Marcus central and alone upfront was Dillan, from the sidelines Max,Martin,Ollie and Hayden were eagerly waiting their turn.

1st Period

Often slow to start the Panthers immediatly took the game to Unicorn , Dillan intercepted straight from the kick off and went on a powerful run which ended with a shot that just went wide. The Panthers with the strong wind at their backs were keen to build up a good lead in the first period, and so it was to be as firstly Dillan converted an excellant cross from the right by Davy. This must have been especially pleasing for the coaches as only the evening before at training the boys had been practising crossing the ball.

Unicorn were being pinned back and Marcus doubled the Panthers advantage after a strong run through the centre , it could have been 3 shortly afterwards with Marcus hitting a post after another good passing move.

Davy and Jack also went close before the Panthers did make it 3-0 when an excellant corner from the left delivered by Jack was volleyed home from close range by Dillan.

Unicorn tried to counter but found Gabriel in fine form and Sam and Ben were composed in defence. As a team the Panthers were playing some great football and were unlucky to only end the period with a 3 goal advantage.

2nd Period

The second period saw the introduction of the 4 subs with Ollie and Davy forming the defence and Hayden and Martin playing in midfield. Unicorn tried to hit back and Max made a wonderful save pushing a powerful goalbound shot over the bar for a corner. The Panthers continued to press and forced a series of corners from which Martin went closest to extending the lead. Despite Unicorn pressure the Panthers were looking comfortable until a misplaced pass let a Unicorn attacker in to reduce the defecit.

The complexion of the game now changed and Unicorn finished the period the stronger.

3rd Period

Unfortunately the Panthers lost the toss for choice of ends for the final period, and again had to play into the strong wind. Unicorn laid seige to the Panthers goal and eventually the pressure told and despite more good saves from first Max and then Gabriel managed to draw level and then just before the end snatch the lead.

Dillan and Davy returned to the action just before the end and in an all out final attack Davy managed to pull the ball back from the byline for Dillan to sweep home an equalizer so completing his hat trick ,and rescuing a point for the Panthers.

Gabriel handled well to prevent one last Unicorn attack and the final whistle sounded with the scores level.

Summary

The Panthers fought back well to rescue a point , but will be disappointed not to have won after such a strong start. both teams played well in difficult conditions and showed good touches after such a long lay off. Although the Panthers will be relieved to have salvaged a point it means that they lose further ground on the teams above them in the league.

Davy and Hayden who were industrious throughout were awarded the bronze and silver MOM awards. The gold award deservedly went to Dillan, who in addition to netting a hat trick was a constant threat to the Unicorn defence. The Panthers will be looking to get back on the winning trail when they visit Old Stretfordians next week.

Source: bill kennedy

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