Our 2nd away fixture in the Premier League was against Longridge Town. The game was played in calm bright conditions on a lush playing surface. The starting line up was Conor, Caleb, Tom, Matt, Sam, Ben, Robert, Lewis, Dion, Jack and Tyler with Elliot and Eddie on the bench. Callum was away.
A quick opening by the Pumas seemed to take LT by surprise and an effort within a minute by Dion went just wide. An opportunity then presented itself to Tyler shortly afterwards and he unleashed a fantastic shot which their keeper had no chance with 0-1.
This early goal seemed to help the lads relax and the tempo of the game was dictated by the Pumas with good early runs by Robert and Jack who combined well to create a number of openings. One of these resulted in a vicious corner taken by Jack which caused the LT defence major problems. LT occasionally ventured out of their half only to be thwarted by an industrious Sam at the back who was right on his game in the early stages. A great passage of play by the Pumas saw Jack direct a great header into the net only for it to be chalked off for an offside decision. Caleb made a rare trip out of defence to direct a shot towards goal which their keeper dealt with well. The Pumas defence looked very solid throughout the half and dealt with rare attacks from the LT forwards with ease. The 2nd Pumas goal was a real team effort with a smart pass from Caleb finding Dion who threaded an inch perfect ball through to Jack who finished the move with a clinical strike past their keeper 0-2.
Another fantastic move by the Pumas saw another effort by Jack hit the back of the net but this was disallowed for offside. Tyler was operating well out on the left wing and out of nowhere he unleashed a ferocious shot which would have beaten any keeper at this level to make it 0-3.
Pumas where in cruise control at this stage with Lewis commanding the centre of the midfield and a great through ball by him to Dion saw him make no mistake with just the keeper to beat 0-4.
Pumas at this juncture must have thought that this would be the half time score but a smart attack by LT saw a cross/shot beat Conor all ends up 1-4.
Apart from this goal the Pumas first half performance was easily the best we’ve seen this season with Sam seeming to head every ball and Jack scrapping for anything loose in the box.
A quick opening by the Pumas seemed to take LT by surprise and an effort within a minute by Dion went just wide. An opportunity then presented itself to Tyler shortly afterwards and he unleashed a fantastic shot which their keeper had no chance with 0-1.
This early goal seemed to help the lads relax and the tempo of the game was dictated by the Pumas with good early runs by Robert and Jack who combined well to create a number of openings. One of these resulted in a vicious corner taken by Jack which caused the LT defence major problems. LT occasionally ventured out of their half only to be thwarted by an industrious Sam at the back who was right on his game in the early stages. A great passage of play by the Pumas saw Jack direct a great header into the net only for it to be chalked off for an offside decision. Caleb made a rare trip out of defence to direct a shot towards goal which their keeper dealt with well. The Pumas defence looked very solid throughout the half and dealt with rare attacks from the LT forwards with ease. The 2nd Pumas goal was a real team effort with a smart pass from Caleb finding Dion who threaded an inch perfect ball through to Jack who finished the move with a clinical strike past their keeper 0-2.
Another fantastic move by the Pumas saw another effort by Jack hit the back of the net but this was disallowed for offside. Tyler was operating well out on the left wing and out of nowhere he unleashed a ferocious shot which would have beaten any keeper at this level to make it 0-3.
Pumas where in cruise control at this stage with Lewis commanding the centre of the midfield and a great through ball by him to Dion saw him make no mistake with just the keeper to beat 0-4.
Pumas at this juncture must have thought that this would be the half time score but a smart attack by LT saw a cross/shot beat Conor all ends up 1-4.
Apart from this goal the Pumas first half performance was easily the best we’ve seen this season with Sam seeming to head every ball and Jack scrapping for anything loose in the box.
Half Time 1-4
Robert and Tyler made way for Eddie and Elliot at the start of the 2nd half but this did not disrupt the Pumas game or dominance at all. Dion had an early effort disallowed for offside after a couple of minutes and the attacks kept coming with Tom and Dion linking up well to cause the LT defence all sorts of problems. Pumas defensive quartet were operating really well with Tom looking assured, Sam tackling and heading with gusto, Caleb’s positioning was a joy to behold and Matt looked comfortable in any defensive situation. The midfield was not to be outdone and a great move involving Captain fantastic Ben and Lewis saw Lewis shoot just wide. The passing at times was an absolute joy to watch and a move started by Tom found Dion in space and his inch perfect cross was met by Jack to claim his 2nd goal of the game 1-5.
Dion worked tirelessly up front and was substituted after 45 mins for a deserved rest to allow Tyler back on. A rare foray into the LT half by Matt saw him unleash an excellent effort from 30 yards which just went wide of the right hand post. Elliot and Eddie looked very comfortable in their respective positions and the team were keeping up the pressure and dominating possession and territory throughout the half. Our final goal of the game was scored by Matt who was fed a ball 30 yards out by Lewis and unlike his earlier effort which went wide, this thunderbolt went high and right of their keeper 1-6.
A couple of personnel changes saw Rob and Dion back on for the rest of the game. Tyler and Dion had opportunities late in the half to add to their tally but good goalkeeping kept these efforts out. LT never gave up and provided a sterner test than the scoreline suggests and they grabbed a late consolation goal after a weak right footed clearance from Conor ended up with an LT player placing the ball past him to make it a final score of 2-6.
The Pumas performance today was excellent and a real pleasure for all their supporters to watch and will certainly make a few teams in the league sit up and notice us. Well done boys. A special mention must also go out to the coaching team of Wayne and Karl whose enthusiasm and commitment to getting the boys to play the game in the right spirit and treat the opposition and referee with respect is to be commended.
Gordon
Robert and Tyler made way for Eddie and Elliot at the start of the 2nd half but this did not disrupt the Pumas game or dominance at all. Dion had an early effort disallowed for offside after a couple of minutes and the attacks kept coming with Tom and Dion linking up well to cause the LT defence all sorts of problems. Pumas defensive quartet were operating really well with Tom looking assured, Sam tackling and heading with gusto, Caleb’s positioning was a joy to behold and Matt looked comfortable in any defensive situation. The midfield was not to be outdone and a great move involving Captain fantastic Ben and Lewis saw Lewis shoot just wide. The passing at times was an absolute joy to watch and a move started by Tom found Dion in space and his inch perfect cross was met by Jack to claim his 2nd goal of the game 1-5.
Dion worked tirelessly up front and was substituted after 45 mins for a deserved rest to allow Tyler back on. A rare foray into the LT half by Matt saw him unleash an excellent effort from 30 yards which just went wide of the right hand post. Elliot and Eddie looked very comfortable in their respective positions and the team were keeping up the pressure and dominating possession and territory throughout the half. Our final goal of the game was scored by Matt who was fed a ball 30 yards out by Lewis and unlike his earlier effort which went wide, this thunderbolt went high and right of their keeper 1-6.
A couple of personnel changes saw Rob and Dion back on for the rest of the game. Tyler and Dion had opportunities late in the half to add to their tally but good goalkeeping kept these efforts out. LT never gave up and provided a sterner test than the scoreline suggests and they grabbed a late consolation goal after a weak right footed clearance from Conor ended up with an LT player placing the ball past him to make it a final score of 2-6.
The Pumas performance today was excellent and a real pleasure for all their supporters to watch and will certainly make a few teams in the league sit up and notice us. Well done boys. A special mention must also go out to the coaching team of Wayne and Karl whose enthusiasm and commitment to getting the boys to play the game in the right spirit and treat the opposition and referee with respect is to be commended.
Gordon
