I have to start by saying, I never thought I would be disappointed at not having won any points after today's match but it is fair to say, we didn't quite deserve to lose. In fact, the Grayshott manager told me after the match he was very impressed with the way the boys played as a team and that the Panthers had made his team work harder than they were used to for the win.
>
The boys started the match producing, in my mind, the best team performance I have seen this season. Not only did they hold Grayshott off but on a number of occasions they took the game to them and were well deserved of their 2 goal lead from 2 impressive runs and finishes from ON.
With RE very solid in goal, TH held the back well with his usual high standard of positioning and defensive cover. RD and JF performed very well as a defensive midfield pair, covering the width of the pitch well, making timely tackles and some good offensive passes (JF lovely through ball setting ON on his way for his second). Both JR and JC pushed Grayshott back as well as holding up their wing play on a number of occasions - JR did well to pressure the more than impressive number 9 and not allow him too much of his own game. Frankly, ON scared the Grayshott defensive with his pacey, direct runs that inevitably led to his 2 goals and could have given him 3 more!
>
> With OK and SD replacing TH and JR for the second half, it was't long before Grayshott pressed us back and threw a number of attacks that were initially, just about, dealt with by some desperate blocks and some excellent goalkeeping from RE. Unfortunately, our attacks were not as potent as in the first half (the manager admitted he specifically had ON man-marked to try to keep him quiet) and the constant pressure resulted in the formation and positioning becoming fragile. Eventually Grayshott got the equaliser then eventual winner with 5 minutes to go.
>
> Their win confirms Grayshott as the division winners with only 2 defeats and 19 wins for the season with 1 game to play. The Panthers can be rightly proud of their performance overall as they made Grayshott work hard - they earned double sweets today!
>
> MoM was a tough one to call eventually going to RE as his solid goalkeeping performance saw him save a number of opportunities for Grayshott to get on top in the first half and run away with it in the second!
>
> Thanks for the support from all the parents, especially over the last 2 busy weeks that have seen 5 matches in the last 15 days.
