today was the eagerly anticipated match with arguably the strongest team in the division MAC Eagles... Game started with Panthers having possession and Eagles counter attacking. It was very clear early on that Eagles were strong on the counter, committing a lot of players quickly to attack and moving the ball smartly..Panthers managed to get 1 on 1 with last defender 3-4 times but the number 12 was always good enough to cover the danger....
Eagles took the lead with an opportunist toe-in goal and led 1-0 at the break. First half had chances but defenses were certainly on top...
Second half was a fiercely competitive game, with plenty of arms, and elbows involved as well as some decent football. After a couple of dangerous breaks by Eagles, Panthers settled and after some good wing play and clever pass from JR, GW managed to get a deserved equaliser, with his left foot. At that point Panthers were on top and the momentum was certainly with them. But as ever with children's football Panthers managed to gift a goal to Eagles straight away, a fairly harmless attack that they scored from and that seemed pivotal to the outcome...2-1 became 3-1 after a long pass from Eagles wide right found a player in the box who tucked it away well. Down and out, not by a long shot...!!
Panthers got back in it with a goal from EH soon after to make it 3-2.... Eagles then scored again after a bit of a farce in the area that led to an U7s type scrambled goal... Coach slightly disappointed but not completely surprised....
Panthers were still the attacking team with Eagles counter attacking. After a clumsy tackle on RD, we awarded a free kick, on the edge of the box. JC stepped up and put it in the top corner with some power..
We tried to get the equaliser but despite penalty appeals etc it wasn't to be....Tremendous physical performance, with Panthers unlucky not to get at least a point out of the game. MAC Eagles were certainly in a game and perhaps their extra year in Div 1 gave them a slight effective edge..Look forward to another good game in the return.
