WILL-POWER FAILS TO SAVE PANTHERS

YMCA B 5 Shelf Panthers 1

April 5 2009 will go down in the annals of Shelf football as the day when William Baker discovered his head.

The Panthers right-back has always regarded any ball coming at him above waist-height with deep suspicion, despite the forthrightly-expressed opinions of his dad Richard.

But this match saw him pull off three brave headers plus another collector’s item – a left-footed pass – in a fine defensive performance.

Another positive point was the form of goalkeeper Cameron Wells, who brought off a string of eye-catching saves, including two in the space of a minute in the first half, then a courageous block followed by an athletic catch high above his head in the second.

There were fears at the start that the Panthers might struggle in the unfamiliar conditions – playing for the first time this season on a flat pitch in brilliant sunshine with only a light wind.

But they held on well until the 14th minute, when a screamer of a shot from outside the area flew into the top corner of their net to give the home side a 1-0 lead.

Five minutes before the break, the Panthers were level through Tom Wood’s fourth goal of the season – a long-range free kick struck low through a crowd of players.

Shelf’s half-time optimism was soon dashed, though, as YMCA scored three times in the space of five minutes right at the start of the second half. The first came when they caught the Panthers on the break, the second was a penalty after a mistimed tackle by Jonny and the third followed a goalmouth scramble after a corner.

The Panthers did well to steady themselves but struggled to create chances for Tobias and Robert, and they went 5-1 down in the 53rd minute when Man of the Match Scott conceded their second penalty of the game, this time for hand-ball.

Three minutes later, Robert fired Shelf’s best chance of the second half just wide after a typical greyhound-style sprint down the right.

Attention now turns to the Panthers’ crucial home match against Thornhill in two weeks’ time – but they’ll have to manage without William “Bullet-head” Baker. He’s now so good in the air, he’s flying to Florida.