Albert Steele game 5

Egerton Pumas 8-0 Sandbach Utd

FORGET TONY TIGER, IT’S THE PUMAS THAT ARE GRRRR-EIGHT

Having secured qualification a week earlier, the Pumas were aware that only a big win would be sufficient to put them top of the table on goal difference in the final standings.
The drama of the Panthers game boosted morale and the boys flew out of the traps. The new “all-out attack” formation put Sandbach under an immediate and heavy bombardment. A heat seeking missile corner from Braderz caused chaos and the ball ended up in the back of the net.
The boys could now smell blood and like great white sharks heading towards the beach on a tidal wave of pressure, they would not be denied. Two more goals followed in quick succession.
Perhaps sensing that the job was done, the Pumas backed off in the last 10 minutes of the half and drifted to the break 3-0 up. A packet of Jaffas, a reminder of the task in hand and a prophetic prediction of 5 more goals from the Colonel and we were back underway. In this half there would be no mercy.
Matt, enjoying a quiet morning, did his job with the assurance of a player at the top of his form. He’s had a fine tournament so far.
Tom is growing into a giant defender and he used his size and presence to control the defence single handedly, turning defence into attack whenever possible.
Freddie and Braderz stretched the play from touchline to touchline. Both wingers provided trickery as well as quality delivery into the box. Freddie unluckily hit the frame of the goal and Braderz hit the back of the net from wide positions. Braderz kept up his phenomenal record of scoring in every Albert Steele match so far.
Ben again showed his versatility by playing midfield, attack and then defence. He excelled when asked to switch to attack and grabbed a hat-trick with some well-timed movement in the box.
Isaac, sporting a new look, once again showed that he is a fox in the box and justified his place in the starting line up by weighing in with 2 goals to add to his big assist from last week.
Stan worked as hard as ever despite a nasty knock to the ankle which restricted his movement. The ball just wouldn’t drop for him this time but he will add to his tally before this competition is over.
Jack put in another astonishing shift both in attack and midfield. His work rate drove the team forward. He rounded off another big performance with a goal.
By the end, the Pumas had chalked up their biggest win of the season. It proved to be enough to take them to the top of the table and guarantee a home tie in the quarter finals. On this showing none of the other 7 teams will relish a trip to Mereheath Lane.
Final score Egerton Pumas 8 Sandbach United 0.
Team Matt-Tom-Stan-Bradley-Ben Hen-Isaac-Jack-Freddie