Southdown vs Crawley panthers
Location: Away
Kick Off 10.30
Match report by Justin
Today saw a very keenly fought contest draw such tension to what ended up being a very climatic game.
After some great passages of play linking Madge, Harrison, Louie and Finley in which we dominated a first half playing downhill, Southdown snatched a goal with a well taken volley which was very harsh on the defence as we looked secure with great performances from Owen, Ben and Jamie suring up the sticks.
We saw so much determination from every single player, and the sign of a good team was that of players who work as hard if not harder without the ball as they do with it, today they achieved this with assurance.
After going in the first half 1 v 0 down, the players battled well from the off and within a few minutes of the start a great move saw a very much improving player in Harrison being in the right place at the right time in the danger area to latch on the a great cross from Madge to bring the scores level.
Madge and Owen worked so hard in the middle of the park and when an opportunity arose Madge got onto a great ball making a mazy run around a few players to do what Madge does best, and score great goals.
Southdown heads started to drop as we entered into a critical part of the game, will we crack under pressure or maintain momentum and push on. We did the latter and another outstanding strike from Madge saw his shot from the right side loop over the keeper to make it 3 v 1.
In the latter stages Southdown pushed hard and with some great defending again by Ben and Owen made sure if Southdown got back into this game they deserved it. An attack from the left and cross into the box from Southdown saw Jamie pull off a string of fine saves clawing the ball off the line and showing great agility but with a bit of bad luck saw them scramble it over to make the score 3 v 2. A few nervy moments towards the end made parents pulses race but a gritty well-deserved performance saw us come out victors winning 3 v 2.
The second game saw a continuation of steely efforts of the panthers and domination continued but with the quality of Southdown, you knew they were just an opportunity away from scoring. Again with a string of gritty defending and an outstanding double save from Jamie saw us go in at half time on top but the scores 0 vs 0.
The second half saw us start brightly again and our efforts were eventually rewarded with another outstanding goal from Madge gave us the edge turning their defender inside out two or three times to finish with well drilled shot across the goals to the inside net. Louie showed us his ability coming close with the post and some desperate defending preventing the score from being doubled.
Ollie Brown came on with 10 minutes to go and gave us the refreshing energy and enthusiasm that will see him improve over the coming games.
We held on well but towards the end of the match, legs were a big tired and we started to sit a bit deep inviting the pressure a Southdown who equalised with just a few minutes left on the clock.
Every player was outstanding today and I for one cannot pick an individual out, you were all amazing and back to our very best.
Jamie, great kicks putting pressure in the right half of the pitch and making a string of fine saves
Ben solid as a rock at the back showing us he can lead the line and protect us when needed.
Finley and Harrison, energetic to the end and were unsung heroes supporting the forwards and defence.
Madge and Owen …. Quality
Louie gave great threat when attacking and giving others the opportunity to attack linking up play well.
Ollie Brown gives us an enthusiasm when he comes on where the opposing teams don’t know what to expect, which gives us another dimension.
Southdown complimented us at the end by saying what a fantastic set of players we have, in addition to the continued compliments throughout both games so remember, you only cant win a game if think you cant!
Both results saw some great performances but with Madge’s dedication to the team and his moments of magic we showed Southdown that Crawley Panthers are back!
Well done boys.
