Albert Steele Game 2
Egerton Panthers 0-3 Hartford Boys A
Panthers fail to convert possession into goals
This was billed as a top of the table clash following wins for both teams in the first round of games in the Albert Steele. The Panthers seemed to settle quicker and an early opportunity could have been pounced on after a strong run by Luke down the right, only for his through ball to be intercepted. The panthers began to keep the ball well, but the tactics of Hartford of sit deep and hit the panthers on the break was putting defensive duo Andy and Ben under pressure, however both seemed in dominant mood and powerful clearing headers were dispelling everything Hartford through at them. Both teams were battling hard in midfield, with the majority of possession being with the panthers. They could have been 1-0 up mid way through the first half but Leo failed to connect with an in-swinging corner. Hartford then scored against the run of play, they floated a corner over, which was punched clear by Mitch, only for him to see the ball hit the Hartford striker and bounce into the net. 0-1. The Panthers didn't let their heads drop and continued to press for an equaliser until an uncharacteristic miss placed pass by Leo saw the Hartford striker run onto the ball, having caught the defence flat footed, he raced through to slot the ball past Mitch 0-2. The Panthers continued to battle but couldn't pull one back before half time. HT 0-2.
The second half saw the panthers start strongly, keeping hold of the ball well, with captain Ed Franklin all over the pitch, but once again failed to capitalise on all the possession they had. The game began to get bitty with neither side creating chances so changes were made, with the introduction of Ollie, Alex and Adam to see if they could spark the Panthers into clawing a goal back. Ollie made some great runs down the right, having replaced Luke, but once again they failed to turn the opportunities into goal. A half chance fell to Leo just inside the area, but his powerful shot hit the side netting.
Hartford then put the game to bed, with a flowing move that ended with a great finish that Mitch could do nothing about.
The game then became scrappy with both sides losing possession as the clock ticked down. As the ref blew the final whistle, the look on the Panthers faces showed how disappointed they were, but there is always next week boys and as history proves, we always bounce back. FT 0-3.
Egerton Pumas 4-1 Hartford Boys B
Pumas march on after comfortable win
The Pumas started this game in confident mood, looking to build on the hard fought victory over Tytherington in the first game of the cup. They flew out of the traps, breaking up any Hartford attacks and playing some great passes of their own. Jack was his usual all action self, chasing down defenders and making them feel uneasy. It seemed it was only a matter of time before an opening goal came and with 10 minutes gone it arrived courtesy of a back heel flick from Bradley. Stan whipped in the cross for the Bradster to stick out a shiny orange boot and flick past the keeper, the hands cupped to his ears celebration said it all. 1-0. The Pumas continued to dominate, Ben seemed to be controlling the centre of the park comfortably, spreading and switching the play when necessary. The second goal came just before half time and was thanks to the hard work and battling of Isaac, his persistence in his own box disposed their striker, looking up he had acres of room in front of him down the right hand side, he ran 40 yards before playing a through ball to Jack who raced onto, put the keeper under pressure who somehow fumbled to the feet of Jack for him to roll the ball into the empty net 2-0 HT.
The second half got off to a flyer, with only a couple of minutes on the clock, Stan picked the ball up on the edge of the box, looked up and saw Ben steaming in, he rolled the ball into his path for Ben to smash the ball into the back of the net 3-0 great goal. As in the first game, this game then became bitty, few chances were created as the Pumas seemed to take their foot of the gas instead of trying to increase the goal difference. This resulted in a shock goal, Hartford managed to put a good move together before slotting the ball past Matt 3-1. This seemed to breath life into the Hartford team as they pressed for a second, however Ben had other ideas as he met a corner with the full force of his head to slam the ball past the Hartford keeper 4-1.
The remaining minutes saw few chances and when the final whistle blew there were oddly no celebrations from the Pumas on a well deserved victory, maybe they thought they could have scored more but they will be happy knowing they remain in the top two in the league. FT 4-1.
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