After an impressive victory last time out against Boroughbridge it was essential that Wigton consolidated that win as they travelled to high flying Pannal Sports Reserves in the league.
After an impressive start to this season Pannal were not going to be easy opposition and they proved that in the opening 10 minutes of the game as they put Wigton under early pressure. The home team were quick to close Wigton down when they were in possession whilst Wigton also took some time adjusting to Pannal’s long ball tactics.
It wasn’t a surprise therefore that Pannal took the lead after 15 minutes, a Pannal free kick into box was cleared however Wigton were slow to react and clear their penalty area allowing the home team time to play an easy pass into the Wigton area before one of the Pannal forwards beat Grimes with a low drive.
Wigton responded well to this early setback and over the next 5 minutes began to gain the upper hand in the game both in respect of possession and territory as Wigton got their passing game going. Jack nearly got Wigton level on the half hour mark when a good header from a corner was acrobatically kept out by the Pannal keeper however Wigton were unable to breach Pannal’s defences before the half time whistle.
The second half started the same way that the first had finished with Wigton being the dominant team and it wasn’t long before they drew level. Ebun was found in space down the left flank where he then took the ball into box at pace before finishing past the keeper with the assistance of a slight deflection off a Pannal defender.
Wigton grew in confidence after the equaliser as Mike and Adam in central midfield looked to take full control of the game as they moved the ball around well with a good range of passing. Within 15 minutes of the restart Wigton were able to capitalise on the pressure they had been applying on the Pannal goal when a great switch pass from Chris Lone found the ever hard working Trueman bursting down the right wing before receiving the ball and drilling a low effort in the bottom corner.
Pannal did temporarily try to get back in the game and had a 5 minute spell immediately after Wigton’s goal when they looked to get forward. One Pannal attack resulted in what appeared to a be a nasty injury to Trigger… following a goal mouth melee a number of bodies appeared to be falling all over each before what can only be described as a girly scream pierced the autumnal evening air as Trigger was now laying beneath Grimes’ considerable frame.
Wigton and Triggers fears however were suddenly eased when it transpired that Trigger’s scream had come about as Grimes was simply laying on his ankle…With a reassuring sigh of relief from the Wigton team Trigger, who was having one of his best games in a Wigton shirt, was able to continue.
As Pannal pushed for an equaliser gaps began to appear throughout the Pannal defence allowing Ebun to extend his tally for the season when he was able to beat the keeper in a one on one situation. The hat trick however evaded him when in another one on one situation with the Pannal keeper he somehow managed to balloon the ball over the bar from 8 yards out.
Late substitutions saw the introduction of Josh McMahon fill in at full back as he stepped up from the second team and Gary Coates in midfield for Ryan and Jhun respectively.
The final score line of 3-1 was a fair reflection of Wigton’s good overall performance against tough opposition and proves that Wigton are beginning to now play collectively as a team as opposed to a team of individuals.
Next month sees some more tough fixtures for Wigton with cup games again taking up 3 of the 4 games scheduled for November.
