THREE POINTS FOR 3Ds

Shelf Panthers 1 3D Dynamoes 3

3D Dynamoes take their name from the villages of Delph, Denshaw and Dobcross, high in the Pennines, where it snows in August and a husky sled doubles up as the team bus.

And they should have felt at home in Hipperholme on a freezing February day when a wicked wind whistled straight from the Siberian Steppes.

But that didn’t stop the Panthers putting on a dogged, determined and disciplined display against one of the league’s top teams.

Shelf came into the match on the back of three straight victories, but the visitors had only suffered one defeat all season and trounced the Panthers 7-2 when the teams met in October.

After a cagey start, in which neither side had a clear chance, 3D took the lead after 13 minutes with a fine long-range lob.

That sparked a spell of sustained pressure from the away side, whose tactic of shooting on sight from distance was probably all that saved goalkeeper Cameron Wells from severe frostbite.

It was no surprise when the visitors went 2-0 up after 22 minutes through an unstoppable shot from the edge of the area.

Facing the prospect of playing up the slope in the second half, the Shelf side of a few weeks ago could have become disillusioned, dispirited and downhearted. But the Panthers are made of sterner stuff these days, and Robert, Ryan and Toby all went close as they ended the first half strongly and picked up the tempo again after the break.

Shelf were unlucky to find themselves 3-0 down after 34 minutes through another long-range shot – this time from wide out on the right touchline.

But they hit back with a nicely-worked goal three minutes later. Man of the Match Nathan St George – who was clearly in the mood for fighting dragons – won the ball on the edge of the penalty area and played it perfectly into the path of Toby, who steered his 12th of the season wide of the keeper.

The visitors’ keeper bravely denied Ryan twice and Robert once as Shelf ended the game with their heads held high.

After the game, coach Tony Williams said: “We’ve been concentrating on the three Ds – daffodil and daisy detergent.”