Egerton v Weaverham

Weaverham 0-5 Egerton Pumas

A rousing team talk and a change in warm up seemed to do the trick for the Pumas as within minutes of the kick off, they were 1-0 up. Bradley found space down the right to whip a cross to the back post, which was met on the half volley by Stan, his effort cannoning in off the post. 1-0 Egerton. Ben, playing for the second week in midfield, had a chance to make it 2-0 from close range but his effort was well saved. Matt then saved from a tame shot by Weaverham. Jack was back to his all action self this week and his strength and link up play with Ben was too much for Weaverham to handle. A long ball from defence fell to Jack with his back to goal, he showed great ability to turn, create space for himself to fire a long range shot, which stung the hands of the keeper, the re-bound fell to Brad who couldn’t keep his shot down. Somehow the score was still 1-0! The Pumas were awarded a freekick 20 yards out, the kick was set to Ben to strike, only for it to fly narrowly wide. The 2nd goal came shortly after, once again a long ball fell to the feet of Jack, turning with his head up he spotted Bradley in space, played the perfect ball for Bradley to run onto and smash home from the edge of the area, great play and finish. 2-0. Weaverham heads dropped and within minutes a quick break saw Ben pick the ball up in midfield, with space in front of him he pushed forward, beat two players before composing himself to fire beyond the keeper .3-0. Weaverham were creating nothing in the first half and many would say it was the uphill disadvantage, others would say it was the battling of Mitch, snapping at any player that came near him until they no longer wanted the ball. Freddie’s no nonsense defending got him a talking to from the referee. Archie wanted in on the action and he fed Adam a ball to run onto and strike, the keeper only managing to parry the ball to Stan, who easily tapped home his 2nd. 4-0 Egerton. Weaverham then had a rare chance to score, only to see them shoot wide. It wasn’t long before Egerton were back on the attack and a neat one two with Adam saw Archie race into the box to slot home the Pumas 5th. 5-0 HT.

The second half saw the pumas play uphill, which saw their quick counter attacking play harder to achieve and limited the number of chances to only a few. Weaverham were using the downhill slope to their advantage and a swift bit of play saw them hit the post. Then came the controversial moment in the match, Jack burst into the box, knock the ball past the on rushing keeper who’s dive sent Jack tumbling to the ground, Penalty?? Not according to the man in black who awarded a goal kick. Let’s just say he wasn’t a popular man with our number 11! The game only created one more chance which fell to Weaverham, however Matt was equal to it and palmed it around the post. Great performance by the Pumas today, poor pitch and a strong Weaverham side made the victory all the more sweeter. FT 5-0

Team: Matt-Ben Hen-Bradley-Stan-Jack-Freddie-Archie-Mitch



Weaverham 8-8 Egerton Panthers

The Panthers started this game as the Pumas had finished, playing to their strengths and passing the ball around brilliantly. As in the first game, the Panthers scored quickly, great strength by Ollie saw him smash home from the edge of the area .1-0. Weaverham then had a great chance to equalise, but 1st half keeper Alex made a great save. Up at the other end, Leo used his strength and skill to create a chance for himself only to see his shot fly wide, was he finding his range? Weaverham equalised from a corner, the Panthers failed to clear and the ball was poked home. 1-1. Egerton were soon back in front, Tom picked the ball up in defence, transformed himself into Iniesta and played a through ball, worthy of a champions league final, into the path of Ollie to slot home to regain the lead. 2-1. With their tails now up, Egerton were on the attack again, Leo picked the ball up, took on a player before unleashing a strike from outside of the area into the top corner. 3-1. Then came the passing move of the game, with Tom, Luke, Ed and Ollie all linking before playing a through ball to Leo, who beat the keeper to the ball to chip over the him for his second of the game .4-1. Weaverham were on the ropes and a mistake of Gomes proportions by their keeper saw him pick the ball up, throw it out of his hands directly to Ollie, who looked at the ref to see if he could play on, he could, so he slotted the ball into the bottom corner for his hat trick! 5-1. Weaverhams star player had been quiet for most of the first half, however he sparked into life by whipping a free kick into the box to see it cannon off Ben to make it 5-2. With Ed struggling with an injury to his knee picked up earlier in the game, Weaverhams number 9 was given more space and began causing all kinds of problems. He managed to score 2 more goals in quick succession to bring the score to 5-4. Once again the Panthers kicked into gear and good midfield play lead to a chance falling to Isaac who smashed home from close range 6-4. The half was to end with a strong run and shot by Ollie just going wide of the target. HT.

Would the uphill cause the Panthers problems? Ed replaced Alex in goal and a long kick by him was controlled perfectly by Isaac on the halfway line, he turned and fed Leo who once again beat his man before smashing the ball past the keeper from just inside the area to claim his hat trick. 7-4. The panthers were not finished there and a poor clearance by their keeper fell to Luke 30 yards out, who spotted the keeper off his line, before firing a shot over him, great accuracy, great goal. 8-4. Their number 9 then went on one of his mazy runs before firing home 8-5. Good work and cross by Leo saw Isaac head against the bar, surely the Panthers had done enough? Not according to their number 9, a good strike by him from the edge of the area made it 8-5. Isaac then had another chance only for his shot to go wide. Up popped their number 9 again, jinking through our defence like it wasn’t there, to make it 8-6, then 8-7!!!! With one minute to go, Weaverham won a corner, which was handballed in the box (looked more like ball to hand!) and the unthinkable happened...PENALTY! Their number 9 stepped up to equalise and record his 6th goal of the game. The Panthers had a chance to win it late on but a through ball to Luke was too strong for the tricky winger to latch onto. Two hatricks, 8 goals away from home and the Panthers come away without a win, great performance by all involved. Without a certain number 9, it would have been a stroll in the park! Players and parents alike left Weaverham with the same thoughts.........Hargreaves, Hargreaves sign him up! FT 8-8

Team: Alex-Andy-Ben Has-Leo-Luke-Ed-Ollie-Tom



Simon Buckley