Egerton v Winsford Diamonds

Egerton Pumas 6 – 1 Winsford Diamonds
Early pressure by Winsford saw Egerton defensive duo Freddie Sass and Tom Quemby clear their lines and help put us on the front foot. Good work from Freddie saw himself and Stan link up well down the left backed up by a solid midfield performance from Mitch in the centre. And early attack from Egerton saw a shot from Jack go narrowly wide after good work from Bradley down the right. A corner followed shortly after resulting in Mitch heading just wide. A great counter attack from Egerton would have resulted in the first goal of the game had it not been for a last minute tackle by the Winsford defence. Egerton were then rewarded for their hard work when Jack broke away and finished low to the keepers right. A second goal followed shortly afterwards when Liam Birnie made a great run into the box to slot home a Hargreaves cross. Meanwhile the Winsford attack couldn’t not penetrate the Egerton defensive with excellent performances from Matt Willis in goal and Ben Henthorne clearing everything they threw at him. The third came courtesy of Freddie Sass as he cut in from the right to finish low past the keeper. One more goal was to follow before half time, Stan picked the ball up in his own half before beating four players and slotting home a deserved individual goal. The second half started brightly and Egerton’s efforts were rewarded with a fifth five minutes later after the silky skills of Bradley helped set up Man of the Match Jack for his second of the game. Winsford then had a good 5 minute spell putting pressure on our defence which eventually rewarded them with a consolation goal following a free kick. Egerton then wrapped the game up with Stan being in the right place at the right time to tap home from a corner with virtually the last kick of the game.

Team: Matt Willis, Freddie Sass, Tom Quemby, Ben Henthorne, Bradley Hargreaves, Stan Smith, Liam Birnie, Mitch Brown, Jack Curbishley.

Egerton Panthers 4 – 2 Winsford Diamonds
The Panthers started strongly with Ed and Leo linking up well in midfield. Isaac came close minutes later when a powerful run ended with a well struck shot being saved by the Winsford keeper. The opening goal came following a corner, which Winsford thought they had cleared only for Isaac to hit a looping shot over the keeper, his celebration reminiscent of Adebayor VS Arsenal. Further pressure saw Adam set Leo up only for his chance to be well saved by the keeper. Winsford then equalised with a well struck volley. The Panthers didn’t let their heads drop and great work from Luke and Paulo in midfield forced a corner which resulted in Leo having his shot blocked on the line. Winsford finally gave in to the pressure when a long ball from Isaac was latched onto by Archie who fired the ball into the net to restore our lead. The momentum was now with Egerton and a third followed shortly after a good run by Leo set up Man of the Match Luke Granger to fire an unstoppable shot in off the post. Andy Price then almost scored one of the goals of the season with a looping volley from distance that hit the crossbar, Ed Franklin also cursed his luck when his half volley went just over the bar. Winsford then seemed to break clear and grab a goal back to make it 3-2. Jasper Kearns then showed his excellence in goal saving a point blank shot to keep our lead intact, the resulting clearance fell at the feet of Adam Lee on the half way line, at which point he turned, beat three players with his pace and finished emphatically to make it 4-2. Winsford came back at Egerton but could not find a way past our ever dependable defender Ben Hasleden who threw himself into every tackle to ensure Egerton earned a well deserved win. The game could have finished 5-2 after Leo was awarded a penalty late on, but a well struck penalty by our trusted keeper Jasper rebounded off the foot of the post.

Team: Jasper Kearns, Ben Hasleden, Andy Price, Ed Franklin, Paulo Tabone, Leo Buckley, Luke Granger, Isaac Bennett, Archie Phillips, Adam Lee.

With thanks to our man at pitchside "Si Buckley"