Shelf Panthers Matchblog

Barnstorming Brett

2012-01-08T16:57:00.002Z

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 8 JANUARY 2012
Shelf Panthers 1 Netherton 8

Despite conceding three goals in the first 11 minutes, the Panthers could take some positives from this match.

Man of the Match Tom Brett put in a barnstorming display in defence, saving his team time and time again with fearless tackles and last-ditch clearances.

And Adam Renard’s 39th minute goal was a cracker, as he dribbled half the length of the pitch and somehow evaded the attentions of six opponents before squeezing the ball past the keeper from close range.

And for once it didn’t rain…

Hypothermia strikes

2011-12-04T15:00:00.000Z

Shelf Panthers match report: Sunday 4 December 2011

Match report cancelled due to hypothermia.

Blowin' in the wind

2011-11-27T22:18:00.002Z

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 27 NOVEMBER 2011
Shelf Panthers 1 Uppermill 8

As an experiment in social media – and to help supporters who already devote a large chunk of their weekends to junior football - today’s match report is designed to tell the full, unbiased story of the game in a Twitter-style message:

“Force 9 gale. Only 10 men. Man of Match Ryan scores after 3 mins, finishing off nice move with fine strike high into net from edge of pen area…”

(Sadly, because of Twitter’s limit of 140 characters, there was no room to include any more details).

Mann of the match

2011-11-06T17:20:00.002Z

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 6 NOVEMBER 2011
Shelf Panthers 3 Greetland 5

A Man of the Match display of fine creative midfield play by Tom Mann – rounded off by a spectacular goal – should have been enough to earn the Panthers at least a point.

But, not for the first time this season, they carved out twice as many chances as the opposition – but ended up scoring fewer goals.

Nevertheless, there was much to admire in a Shelf performance that for much of the match was as bright as the unseasonably balmy November weather.

The Panthers should have gone ahead after 11 minutes when a corner from Adam Renard found Adam McDaid in the box. But both his header and Jonny’s shot were blocked, and when the ball rebounded to Robert, his shot sailed just over the bar.

Shelf continued to dominate possession, and a neat passing move after 19 minutes ended with Ryan getting on the end of Sam’s cross with a header which the keeper did well to scramble clear.

But the visitors began to come back into the match – and they took the chances that came their way, scoring three goals between the 28th and 36th minutes.

Despite playing up the slope in the second half, Shelf continued to enjoy the lion’s share of both possession and chances, with Ryan, Reese, Adam Renard, Jonny and Robert all going close in the first 15 minutes of the second half.

But once again, it was Greetland who found the net, to make it 4-0 in the 57th minute.

That should have killed the game off, but the Panthers showed admirable spirit to come storming back in search of a draw.

Straight from the kick-off, Tom Mann ghosted past a couple of tackles and hit a sweetly-struck shot high into the net from 25 yards for his first goal of the season.

Four minutes later, Adam Renard turned and floated a perfect lob over the keeper from a similar distance to make it 4-2. Then Adam Renard’s corner ricocheted off the keeper and just crossed the line.

With just the deficit cut to just one goal, ten minutes left on the clock and the momentum with the home side, a draw or even an unlikely victory looked distinctly possible.

But the keeper dived bravely to thwart Robert as he outsprinted the defence, and when the ball broke free there wasn’t a Shelf boot there to tuck it into the empty net.

And, as the Panthers threw caution to the wind in the final minute, Greetland sealed the match through a breakaway goal.

Panthers just can't manage to claw back deficit

2011-10-30T17:51:00.002Z

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 30 OCTOBER 2011
Rastrick 7 Shelf Panthers 3

For the fourth time in eight games this season, the Panthers took an early lead, only to end up losing the match.

Adam Renard was first on the score-sheet this time, acrobatically hooking the ball through a crowd of players after just five minutes.

Boosted by last week’s fine performance against Wooldale, and determined to avenge Rastrick’s flattering 6-3 victory in September, Shelf had the better of the opening 20 minutes and should have increased their lead.

But Robert tapped the ball wide after skipping round the keeper and almost walking it into the net. And Sam’s close-range header from Reese’s long throw also went just the wrong side of the post.

A breakaway goal after 22 minutes brought the scores level, and suddenly the match swung in Rastrick’s favour.

In the space of one frantic minute, two excellent Tom Brett saves kept the home side at bay, and Rastrick saw another effort bounce off the crossbar. So it was no surprise that Rastrick surged into a 3-1 lead with goals in the 36th and 37th minutes.

The Panthers could have pulled one back before half-time when Adam Renard ran onto Adam McDaid’s great through-ball and unleashed a powerful shot which the keeper did well to hang onto.

And two minutes after the break, they reduced the deficit to 3-2. Jonny – who gained his third Man of the Match award of the season for another full-blooded display – won a crunching tackle and played the ball down the left wing to Ryan, whose cross was skilfully knocked past the goalkeeper by Adam Renard’s stomach.

Rastrick restored their two-goal cushion within a minute through a well-placed lob. They were denied by a fine reaction save by Tom Brett, but made it 5-2 with a goal direct from a free kick after 56 minutes.

Panthers supporters were frustrated a minute later when Robert’s pace took him clear of the defence and racing one-on-one against the keeper, only for the referee to pull play back and award a free kick to Shelf for an earlier foul on him.

Ryan, Robert and Adam Renard all went close as Shelf piled on the pressure. And they finally got their reward after 72 minutes when Adam Renard’s corner fizzed through a crowd of players before being turned into the net by Robert at the far post.

It looked as if the Panthers really might turn the match around and grab a draw – but goals in the 78th and 79th minutes sealed it for Rastrick.

Second-half two-Sam almost earns draw for Panthers

2011-10-23T16:48:00.000+01:00

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 23 OCTOBER 2011
Shelf Panthers 4 Wooldale 5

The Panthers produced their best performance of the season so far to come storming back from a three-goal deficit and almost snatch a deserved draw.

To add to the new mood of optimism sweeping through the Shelf camp, debutant Reese unveiled a potent weapon that promises to wreak havoc in opposition defences throughout the season – a long throw to rival Rory Delap’s. And another new boy, Ben, won the Man of the Match award for a fine display in the heart of defence.

But most heartening for home supporters was the way every player gave 100 per cent for the team right until the final whistle.

The visitors took the lead, against the run of play, after six minutes. Shelf could have equalised five minutes later when Robert won a challenge on the right wing before flashing a shot just wide.

But two quick goals meant the Panthers found themselves 3-0 down after just 15 minutes. In some previous weeks, that would have opened the floodgates, but this time they refused to be rattled and continued to pass the ball around well.

They got their reward after 18 minutes, when neat interplay down the left wing between Dylan and Sam set up Adam Renard, whose cross was met with a clinical finish by Robert.

A nicely-worked goal a minute before half-time made it 4-1 to Wooldale, but, playing downhill after the break, Shelf started strongly and Adam Renard blazed a shot just wide after 46 minutes.

Two fine saves from stand-in keeper Jonny – leaping to fingertip the ball over the bar – kept the home side in the match.

Then two goals in rapid succession – in the 51st and 54th minutes – had Panthers supporters believing a first victory of the season was on the cards.

First Sam’s long-range lob dropped over the keeper and into the net. Then Adam Renard coolly controlled the ball in the area and slotted it home.

Adam could have scored again in the 56th minute, but his acrobatic volley on the turn hit the crossbar – and a minute later, Wooldale made it 5-3.

A deadly cross from Tom Mann set up Sam for his second goal of the match – this time from inside the six-yard box – and, with 21 minutes still left, Shelf seemed to have plenty of time to grab an equaliser.

They laid siege to the Wooldale goal and Tom Mann twice went close in the dying seconds, but just couldn’t find the net.

Even so, a narrow defeat felt like a victory, and the Panthers can look forward to next week’s trip to Rastrick with more optimism than they’ve enjoyed all season.

Toby or not Toby? Luke who's leaving ...

2011-10-16T19:32:00.000+01:00

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 16 OCTOBER 2011
Brighouse 4 Shelf Panthers 0

The Panthers said farewell to two stalwarts as Toby and Luke both played their final games before joining new clubs.

Toby was one of the last remaining original Panthers, who joined the team when they were tiny tots (in Toby’s case, about 6’2”). Having scored countless goals, he’s become the Huddersfield Junior League’s first millionaire player thanks to an over-generous parental incentive scheme: his dad Simon is believed to have finally agreed to his move to Northowram on condition that his new club turn him into a defender and forbid him to cross the halfway line.

Luke, who regularly performed heroics in the Shelf goal before becoming an outfield player, crowned his final performance with a Man of the Match display of ball-winning and surging runs from the centre of midfield.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to save the Panthers from another defeat as they dominated possession for much of the match but failed to take their chances.

Shelf could have gone ahead after nine minutes when Luke’s accurate through-ball found Robert sprinting down the right, but Ryan just couldn’t manage to get on the end of Robert’s cross.

The Brighouse keeper reacted well to turn a bending shot from Tom Mann round the post in the 17th minute, and then Adam Renard’s corner was almost touched home by Toby.

But slack marking at a corner at the other end led to Brighouse’s first goal, against the run of play, in the 27th minute.

The Panthers had two gilt-edged close-range chances to equalise in the space of a minute. But Toby blazed his over the bar and Sam steered his the wrong side of the post.

The second half was notable for some brave and agile goalkeeping by Tom Brett, particularly a diving one-handed stop from a close-range shot in the 44th minute.

At the other end, Aaron came close with two chances from corners, but his header was saved and his flick went just wide.

Brighouse wrapped the game up with goals in the 45th, 69th and 79th minutes.

Good luck to Toby and Luke at their new clubs (except when they come up against Shelf, of course).

Dripping yarns: the soggy story of a Shelf fightback

2011-10-09T20:59:00.003+01:00

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 9 OCTOBER 2011
Netherton 6 Shelf Panthers 1

The treacherous Pennine weather can occasionally undermine even the most unbiased of match reports.

And this week, unfortunately, only these few soggy fragments remain of the original copious notes about this week’s first-half performance:

1. Tom Wood out of the game following a nasty arm injury in the first minute.
2. Is the rain always horizontal in Netherton?
3. Think it’s time to buy a waterproof notebook.
4. 5-0 to Netherton at half-time.

Happily, a slightly more detailed record of Shelf’s second-half performance has survived the deluge.

After a half-time talking-to from Lee – who urged them to forget about the first 40 minutes and try to win the second half – the Panthers came out with much more purpose, and within three minutes Toby flashed a snap-shot wide.

They went 6-0 down after 55 minutes to another Netherton long-range effort. But - with Jonny and Adam Renard shoring up the defence, and Sam and Man of the Match Robert making penetrating runs on the Netherton goal – the Panthers rallied to enjoy the lion’s share of the final quarter of the match.

They should have pulled one back after 62 minutes when Robert’s quick thinking enabled him to pounce on a poor Netherton goal-kick and race towards goal, only to hit the ball wide.

Further chances went begging as the visitors continued to up their game before finally getting a deserved reward ten minutes from time when a high bouncing ball left the keeper stranded and Toby nodded it into the empty net.

Toby could have had a second five minutes later after being set up by Tom Mann’s fine through-ball, but his shot pinged off the post.

Maybe he was distracted by the sight of the animals of Netherton lining up two-by-two behind the goal…

Jonny good show

2011-10-02T15:44:00.002+01:00

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 2 OCTOBER 2011
Penistone 3 Shelf Panthers 1

Another barnstorming defensive display by Jonny wasn’t quite enough to save the Panthers from their fourth defeat in a row at the start of the season.

The Shelf centre-back, who picked up his second successive Man of the Match award, was called into action in the first minute, bravely flinging his body in the way of a shot at point-blank range to prevent a certain goal.

The home side went close again in the 11th minute when Adam Renard athletically hooked the ball off his own line. But a minute later, the Panthers surged into the lead. Tom Mann’s exquisite flick carved up the defence and Toby buried a half-volley from the edge of the area low to the keeper’s left.

Having squandered healthy leads in two of their previous matches, the Panthers couldn’t afford to rest on their laurels. But, after going close through a Tom Wood free kick, they found themselves exposed at the back by a quick long ball which allowed the home side to equalise in the 17th minute.

The Panthers rode their luck as a snap-shot thundered off their crossbar and came down just the right side of the goal-line. And a minute later Tom Brett had to dive low to his right to turn a powerfully struck shot round the post.

Shelf had to soak up more pressure – then with half an hour gone, Luke made it 2-1 with a sweetly-struck shot on the run that curved elegantly round the keeper. The technique was magnificent: it would have been even better in the opposition’s net, rather than his own.

A goal from an acute angle two minutes after the restart made it 3-1, and the home side – playing brawny, direct football – enjoyed the lion’s share of the second half chances.

More last-ditch heroics by Jonny – including a kamikaze double-block five minutes from time – helped to keep the Panthers in the match.

At the other end, Shelf’s best chance came when Toby sprinted clear through the centre, but the keeper reacted well to save the first shot and Robert’s close-range follow-up.

Panthers knocked for six after fine first half display

2011-09-18T18:31:00.002+01:00

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 18 SEPTEMBER 2011
Shelf Panthers 3 Rastrick 6

The league season is a marathon, not a sprint. Unfortunately, in these days of 40 minutes each way, the same could be said of each match. And, just as they did last week, the Panthers raced off like express trains – only to run out of steam in the second half.

Shelf knew they would have their work cut out against a team that finished third in the league last season and narrowly missed out on promotion.

But it took the the home side just six minutes to take the lead, as Tom Wood’s corner from the left was met by Robert with a powerful header from inside the six-yard box.

Three minutes later, Dylan’s flick-on header found Toby sprinting down the left wing before tucking the ball past the advancing keeper from an improbable angle into the bottom right corner of the net.

Man of the Match Toby slotted home his second after 27 minutes, running onto a great through-ball from Sam.

A minute later, Robert drifted away from his marker and found himself with a gilt-edged chance, but his finish from six yards out was more two points to Wigan than one goal to Shelf.

Nevertheless, the Panthers went in at half time with their tails up after a first-half display that saw them thwarting the visitors at the back, winning ball after ball in midfield, and carving out plenty of chances.

Lee was purring with satisfaction at the break – but within a few minutes he was snarling at his team.

Playing down the slope in the second half, Rastrick scored two quick goals from corners – the first just a minute after half time and the second six minutes later.

Things nearly got worse a couple of minutes later, as the visitors cracked a shot against the Shelf crossbar. The away fans’ protests that the ball had crossed the line could be heard back home in Rastrick.

With the game entering a crucial stage, Shelf began to steady themselves and fashioned two good chances in the space of two minutes midway through the second half. But first Adam Renard chipped the ball just over, and then Ryan, in a good position at the far post, came within inches of getting his head to a cross from midfield playmaker Tom Mann.

If those chances had gone in, Shelf might have pushed on to victory. Instead, they collapsed.

A powerful shot direct from a free kick 16 minutes from time brought the scores level, and further goals in the 66th, 70th and 80th minutes gave those vociferous Rastrick fans plenty more to shout about.

High hopes thwarted by Highlanders

2011-09-11T17:46:00.001+01:00

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 11 SEPTEMBER 2011
Lepton Highlanders 5 Shelf Panthers 3

Three fine opportunist goals weren’t quite enough to give the Panthers a share of the points on the opening day of the new campaign.

Credit must go to the Shelf players for refusing to be over-awed by Lepton’s top-notch stadium, which boasted a proper clubhouse, bacon butties and even a professional-looking dug-out. You half expected to see Sir Alex Ferguson chomping and scowling inside.

Would Lepton’s standard of football live up to the quality of their facilities?

The home side had the better of the opening exchanges, but after 12 minutes a wonderful piece of individual skill by Man of the Match Robert gave the Panthers the lead. He brought the ball under control with his right foot, took it round a defender, and then hit a left-foot shot which flew over the keeper’s head before dipping into the net.

The lead lasted just two minutes, though. Most of the Lepton team appeared to be trying to surpass the nearby Emley Moor mast, and this height advantage helped them score an easy headed goal which had Lee fuming about poor marking.

Shelf restored their advantage with a trademark Toby left-foot shot high into the net from the right-hand edge of the penalty area.

Brave goalkeeping from Tom Brett protected the Panthers’ lead, and they went further ahead after 22 minutes when Ryan seized onto a loose back-pass, took the ball in his stride and hit an instinctive shot that sailed over the keeper.

But, despite the 1-3 score line, Lepton’s air superiority and all-round strength were beginning to take control of the match. They skimmed a post after 32 minutes and narrowed the deficit to one goal six minutes later with an unstoppable shot from 20 yards.

The home side piled on the pressure after the break, and surged into the lead with well-taken goals in the 61st and 64th minutes.

And the outcome was effectively sealed in the space of an action-packed minute. First, Robert sprinted onto Toby’s through-ball and outpaced the defence but was foiled by the keeper, who dived at his feet to prevent a certain equaliser. Then Lepton hammered the ball up to the other end and forced it home from close-range to make sure of a 5-3 win.

Fine second-half display lifts evening gloom

2011-04-28T19:45:00.002+01:00

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 27 APRIL 2011
Shelf Panthers 3 Brighouse 6

The Panthers ran the league’s champions-elect close in a hard-fought end-of-season encounter.

This season’s only evening fixture started with spectators being blinded by the low spring sunshine and ended with them peering through the gloom as darkness fell and temperatures plummeted. A Shelf Juniors fund-raising appeal for floodlights (or at least patio heaters) is surely needed.

On the pitch, things began badly. Brighouse, who had lost just one of their previous 17 league games, raced into a 3-0 lead in the first 24 minutes and, with the home side creating few chances despite playing down the slope, a real drubbing looked to be on the cards.

But the Panthers forced their way back into the match, and Toby rattled the crossbar with a shot from way out on the right wing after 32 minutes. Less than a minute later, the same player fired home from inside the penalty area, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside.

Brighouse made it 4-0 two minutes after the break, but Shelf pulled one back after 44 minutes when Adam Renard was barged over in the box and Toby struck a perfect penalty hard and low into the right corner.

Jonny’s customary header off the line a minute later kept the score down, but the visitors extended their lead to 5-1 with a well-worked move after 48 minutes.

That could have been the signal for a full-scale collapse by the home side, but instead they rolled their sleeves up, began playing their best football of the match, and gave their high-flying opponents a real scare.

The Panthers’ second goal, after 52 minutes, was a real cracker. Harry Talbot brought the ball instantly under control and chipped it high into the net from 30 yards out.

Two minutes later, Shelf reduced the deficit to 5-3 when Adam Renard’s right-wing cross left Toby with a simple tap-in at the far post.

Brighouse were starting to look worried, particularly when Ryan’s snap-shot forced their keeper into a fine diving save.

But the visitors made sure of the points ten minutes from time through a sweetly-struck half-volley that sailed into the net over a crowd of players.

Gimme 5: Hot-shot Adam seals Panthers' win

2011-04-17T22:25:00.000+01:00

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 17 APRIL 2011
Shelf Panthers 8 Hebden Bridge 5

A five-goal blitz by Adam Renard steered the Panthers to their first League win since 23 January.

Having produced a towering display in defence last week, Shelf’s versatile pocket battleship found himself switched to partnering Ryan up front, and the game was less than a minute old when his clever lob over the advancing keeper put the home side ahead.

Three minutes later, it was 2-0. Ryan did well to get to the by-line on the right, and his cross gave Adam a simple tap-in from close range.

Shelf’s third was Route One football at its best. Stand-in keeper Tom Mann hoofed a clearance an unfeasibly long distance from one penalty area to the other, Ryan knocked the ball past the advancing goalkeeper and Robert finished it off.

Eight minutes gone, and Shelf were already 3-0 up. But any hopes of an easy stroll in the spring sunshine were soon dashed. Hebden Bridge pulled one back within a minute, and reduced the deficit to 3-2 ten minutes later with a free header from a corner which had Lee muttering menacingly about poor marking.

Faced with the prospect of playing uphill in the second half, the Panthers knew they needed to add to their lead before the break – and two more goals duly arrived.

First, in the 25th minute, a corner was partially cleared to Ryan, who showed excellent technique to turn and swing his left foot to power the ball into the top right corner of the net from just inside the area.

Then, a minute before half-time, Robert’s great through-ball split the defence and found Adam Renard turning from terrier to greyhound to out-sprint the keeper and coolly slot the ball home.

The second half saw Tom Mann and Dylan both producing prodigious heading feats under fearsome high balls that looked certain to drive them deep into the ground like tent pegs.

And the home side needed to keep battling after the ominously-named Noah scored for Hebden Bridge in the 42nd minute: would this open the floodgates?

But it was Shelf who scored next when Toby burst down the left wing and crossed for Adam Renard to bury the ball with aplomb from close-range.

Adam’s fifth, in the 50th minute, was another goal-poacher’s effort inside the six-yard box after some smart link-up play with Ryan.

But within two minutes Hebden Bridge had reduced the deficit to 7-4, and a somewhat worried coach Richard realised that his team’s 4-0-6 formation might be a shade on the adventurous side.

A superb individual run and shot closed the gap to just two goals and, with 15 minutes left, the visitors began to scent victory.

They’d reckoned without William, though. After winning a tough tackle in defence, the Panthers’ number 3 strode forward imperiously like a modern-day Franz “Der Kaiser” Beckenbauer, shrugging off challenges before picking out the killer pass that sent Ryan in to break through the keeper’s attempted block and roll the ball into the net to seal a magnificent 8-5 victory.

Adam calls the tune in Panthers' Highland fling

2011-04-10T19:11:00.001+01:00

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 10 APRIL 2011
Lepton Highlanders 3 Shelf Panthers 1

Playing the smallest member of your squad at centre-back isn’t conventional coaching wisdom.

But when that player is Adam Renard, it doesn’t seem to matter. Not only did he somehow contrive to win the lion’s share of headers against attackers who looked double his height – he also managed to fold away the stepladders in time to pop up on the left wing, in midfield, in the opponents’ penalty area etc. etc…

His all-action display deservedly won Adam the Man of the Match award, though there was some disappointment at his inability to go round the touchline selling raffle-tickets during the first half in addition to his other duties.

Having lost the first match of the season 5-1 at home against the same opponents, Shelf might have feared the worst, particularly as the absences of Ryan and William meant their only available substitute was a black Scottie dog with a burning desire to get on the pitch.

But, in balmy spring sunshine, the Panthers had the better of a pulsating first half which saw Toby, Tom Wood, Adam Renard and Robert all go close.

At the other end, Tom Brett had to react smartly to smother an over-enthusiastic header back by Adam Renard, and the Shelf keeper also pulled off an excellent low diving save to thwart an onrushing Highlander.

The home side went ahead in the 28th minute, but the Panthers hit back two minutes later with one of the goals of the season. Tom Mann - who produced a fine first-half display of attacking midfield play – weaved past a couple of defenders before firing a shot from the right edge of the area, which flew like an arrow past the keeper and into the left-hand side of the net.

Lepton had the better of the second half, and wrapped the game up with goals in the 50th and 61st minutes.

But Shelf had their moments. The Highlanders’ keeper had to scramble to palm away a long-range volley from Luke in the 64th minute, and two minutes later Robert’s header from a Tom Wood corner was cleared off the line.

Meanwhile at the other end, a thunderbolt free kick whizzed inexorably towards the back of the net…until a certain mini-dynamo somehow sprang up on the goal-line to get his head to the ball.

Was that a jet pack hidden under his shirt?

Something fishy about the keeper? Superhuman effort keeps Panthers at bay

2011-03-20T16:00:00.000Z

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 20 MARCH 2011
Shelf Panthers 2 Challenge 4

Who on earth was that opposition goalkeeper? On the face of it, he looked like a pretty normal teenage footballer. But when it came to the crunch, he proved to be a cross between Superman and an octopus, repeatedly flying through the air or extending an improbable limb to deflect the ball away from danger.

His second-half heroics thwarted a Shelf side who really didn’t deserve to lose this match.

The Panthers started badly, though, conceding a first-minute goal for the second week in a row.

But they rallied well, began creating chances of their own, and could have equalised after 13 minutes. Ryan’s shot was blocked at point-blank range by the keeper, who then somehow got another tentacle in the way of Toby’s follow-up, and Robert just couldn’t quite manage to get on the end of the rebound.

Challenge made it 2-0 with a close-range volley after 29 minutes, but the Panthers hit back a minute before the break. Man of the Match Adam Renard set off on a typically tenacious and pacey run down the right wing. His cross was met by Toby, whose flick was well saved by the keeper, but Dylan was following up well to lash the ball gleefully into the unguarded net.

That looked to have swung the game Shelf’s way, with the prospect of 35 minutes playing down the slope.

Challenge doubled their lead with a breakaway goal five minutes after half-time, but Toby – who started in midfield before switching to his more usual striking role towards the end of the first half – reduced the deficit to 3-2 after 47 minutes when he controlled Adam Renard’s cross in the six-yard box and fired home.

Three minutes later, one of the game’s pivotal moments saw Robert whip in a great low cross from the right, which Toby met with a sweet half-volley that had “goal” written all over it. Unfortunately, the Challenge keeper had other ideas, reacting instantly to fling up a hand and tip the ball over for one of the saves of the season.

He thwarted Toby again two minutes later after a lovely flowing passing move involving Robert and Adam Renard.

Challenge scored a fourth goal with a lob six minutes from time. But Shelf could still have grabbed a late share of the points (as they did against the same opponents early in the season) if Robert and Toby hadn’t fallen foul of more inspired goalkeeping.

So the visitors drove back to Buttershaw with all three points (except for the one team member who flew faster than a speeding bullet, before plunging into the ocean and heading for a coral reef…).

Bold move as Panthers fail to clean up in mud

2011-03-13T16:26:00.004Z

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 13 MARCH 2011
Dewsbury West 6 Shelf Panthers 0

Perhaps Sir Alex Ferguson and Lee Marsh cooked the plan up together over a glass of red wine on Friday night.

Was it really just coincidence that both managers decided on radical changes to their midfields for this weekend’s matches? But whereas Fergie’s reshuffle involved playing defenders further up the pitch, Lee’s hinged on moving top scorer Toby back into the centre of the park.

It was certainly a tactic that caused consternation in Dewsbury’s ranks, as they tried to nullify the threats from his strength and skill by sheer weight of numbers. As coach Richard Baker astutely observed: “Look at them all around Toby – he looks like the Pied Piper.”

Despite the scoreline, this was a pretty good team performance against title-contenders, and with a slice of luck and a bit more composure in front of goal, Shelf might actually have got something out of the match.

They suffered an early setback, conceding a goal in the first minute, but fought back well. Ryan went close twice and Tom Mann’s shot was saved by the keeper after a sharp passing move involving Adam Renard and Robert.

So far, so good. But a three-goal blitz – in the 21st, 31st and 34th minutes – put the home side 4-0 up at half time.

Shelf continued to create plenty of chances after the break but the ball simply refused to go in the net. Even Man of the Match Tom Wood couldn’t find the target with two free-kicks from the edge of the area.

At the other end, Tom Brett reacted quickly to dive and fingertip a close-range effort round the post.

Dewsbury added further goals in the 56th and 62nd minutes, while the Panthers’ day was summed up six minutes from time when Robert beat the advancing keeper to Toby’s through-ball, only to see his shot rebound off the inside of the post and bobble across the goal with no Shelf player in the right place to apply the finishing touch.

Meanwhile, in view of the huge amounts of mud being encountered on pitches such as this (particularly among certain defenders), parents are being asked to vote on a proposal to rename the team Shelf All Blacks and switch to a completely dark kit. Completed ballot forms should be sent to Mrs S. Jones, Dunwashin’, Ariel View, Bold Avenue, (Laundry) Shelf.

We was Rob-bed

2011-03-06T20:11:00.001Z

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 6 MARCH 2011
Shelf Panthers 4 Shelley 5

Maradona against England, Giggs against Arsenal…and now Hawley against Shelley. A new name has been added to the pantheon of scorers of great goals.

It may not have been celebrated with hirsute shirt-waving, but the Panthers’ 40th minute strike to make it 4-4 was a classic team effort – a sharp interchange of five or six passes that started in their own half and scythed through the opposition midfield and defence. Dylan swept the ball out to Toby on the left wing, and his teasing cross beat the goalkeeper and found Robert arriving at the far post to lash the ball home.

Unfortunately, just as they had against Linthwaite a fortnight ago, Shelf found themselves scoring the best goals but still losing an entertaining match.

They started in rip-roaring fashion, with Toby cracking a shot against the bar in the first minute, and the first goal coming less than 60 seconds later. When the ball broke out of the Shelley defence, Tom Wood got to it ahead of his marker and unleashed a 35-yard screamer that flew into the roof of the net.

But – despite being named after a rather effete Romantic poet - Shelley proved to be a determined and robust side, and just two minutes later they equalised with a close-range effort through a crowded penalty area.

Four minutes later, Tom Mann restored the home side’s lead, meeting Adam Renard’s cross with a neat finish low into the net.

It looked as if more Shelf goals would follow. But Man of the Match Robert headed just over the bar following a mazy run and left-wing cross by Toby, and Adam Renard’s 30-yard half-volley was well saved by the keeper.

After that, though, the Panthers went off the boil, and a two-goal blitz in the space of a minute put Shelley 3-2 up.

Another goal-poacher’s strike from Tom Mann sent Shelf in level at half-time. The visitors took the lead four minutes after the break, but that was cancelled out a minute later by Robert’s wonder-goal.

When Shelley took the lead again with 26 minutes remaining, it looked as if both sides could reach double figures. But, in a barnstorming end to the game, both keepers pulled off a string of athletic saves and Toby was denied by the crossbar for the second time.

Keeper to the rescue as Panthers get a mauling

2011-02-27T17:09:00.002Z

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 27 FEBRUARY 2011
Brighouse 5 Shelf Panthers 0

A Man of the Match goalkeeping performance by Tom Brett kept the score down to a respectable level against one of the league’s top sides.

Brighouse had won six of their seven previous matches this season, averaging eight goals scored for every one conceded. And in the absence of their striking talisman Toby – and with only eleven available players - the Panthers were always likely to struggle.

The home side had the lion’s share of possession in the first half, but Shelf actually managed to go in level at half time, thanks largely to some wayward finishing by Brighouse and some excellent goalkeeping by Tom Brett.

After the break, the Panthers had to toil up the slope and were unable to get out of their own half for almost the entire 35 minutes – although this did give their isolated front-man Tom Mann chance to socialise with Brighouse’s equally under-employed defenders.

Goals in the 37th and 45th minutes put the home side in firm control of the match, and from then on Shelf were fighting a desperate rearguard action. Three further goals followed in the last ten minutes as the visitors ran out of steam.

The damage could have been much worse if it hadn’t been for a string of fine second-half stops by Tom Brett and yet another trademark header off the line by Jonny (or “Tom Wood,” as he’s known in media circles).

And Adam Renard’s typically all-action display added to the growing theory that he’s actually one of identical triplets. How else can he manage to be in three different areas of the pitch at the same time?

Famous Five: Panthers turn on the style

2011-02-20T20:07:00.001Z

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 20 FEBRUARY 2011
Linthwaite 8 (44 points) Shelf Panthers 5 (46 points)

A radical new scoring system is being secretly piloted in the Huddersfield Junior League (under 14s, division 4B). FIFA President Sepp Blatter is rumoured to be watching the trial closely with a view to introducing it in all levels of football, from the World Cup down, next season.

Forget the old, unfair method of deciding who’s won a match by simply counting the number of goals scored by each side. Under the new system, a panel of impartial judges awards a mark out of ten for the quality of each goal, and those marks are then added together to give a final points total. It’s a bit like Strictly Come Dancing, only with fewer sequins and more mud.

Because of the stunning quality of their five goals (two tens, two nines and an eight), the Panthers amassed 46 points, narrowly defeating their title-chasing hosts, whose eight pretty average goals only netted 44 points (four sixes and four fives).

The first wonder goal came after 22 minutes, with Shelf trailing 2-0 despite playing some bright and inventive football. Robert was fouled 25 yards out, and Tom Wood’s sweetly-struck free kick sailed over the wall, then dipped perfectly to nestle into the top right hand corner.

Linthwaite had won their previous match 17-0, but in a breathless ten minutes before half-time, the Panthers produced some of their best football of the season and gave the home side a real scare.

26 minutes: Tom Brett averts a certain goal, flinging himself to his left to palm the ball wide.
28 minutes: Linthwaite make it 3-1 with a close-range effort.
29 minutes: Adam Renard finds Toby on the edge of the area, and he shimmies past two defenders before steering the ball out of reach of the keeper’s dive and into the bottom left corner. 3-2.
30 minutes: Man of the Match Jonny throws himself backwards to head a goalbound shot over his own crossbar - the most spectacular of a whole series of flying clearances by the Panthers’ captain.
31 minutes: Toby receives the ball way out on the right touchline and shapes to shoot. He can’t possibly score from there, can he? 3-3.
31 minutes: Straight from the kick-off, the ball breaks to Toby, who spots the keeper off his line and hits a Beckhamesque lob from the halfway line. It’s heading for the net, but the keeper just makes it back and clutches the ball gratefully to his chest.
32 minutes: Linthwaite come storming back to make it 4-3.
35 minutes: Another free kick, 30 yards out on the left. Up steps Tom Wood again. Once again, the ball sails over the wall. This time the keeper manages to block it, but he only pushes it as far as Ryan, who bundles home his first Shelf goal. 4-4.

The second half couldn’t quite live up to the excitement of the first and, playing without substitutes on a heavy pitch, the Panthers began to tire.

Linthwaite hit four quick goals between the 48th and 60th minutes, but were then kept at bay by some excellent goalkeeping by Tom Brett, some terrier-like tackling by William and more aerobatics by Jonny.

And Shelf had the final word with another sensational goal a minute from time. Adam Renard won the ball in midfield and played it into the area, where Toby controlled it on his chest before smashing it into the bottom left corner.

Len Goodman – TEN! Alesha Dixon – TEN!.....

Gone with the wind

2011-02-06T18:25:00.002Z

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 6 FEBRUARY 2011
Shelf Panthers 0 Rastrick 6 Severe Gale Force 9

The wind was the undisputed winner of this encounter. Roaring diagonally across the pitch from the south west corner, it threatened to deposit large chunks of Huddersfield onto unsuspecting players and spectators.

Never mind the match – even the raffle was turned into a lottery, with a number of tickets being snatched into the air and heading off in the general direction of Aberdeen.

The Panthers came into this game with two big wins under their belt, while Rastrick were riding high in second place in the league. On a quieter day (only gale force 8, maybe), the two teams might have produced some cracking football. As it was, the ball spent much of the first half hurtling into touch. It was a bit like watching rugby union (although infinitely more entertaining, of course…).

Apart from a close-range effort from Toby, which bobbled agonisingly along the goal-line in the seventh minute, first-half chances were few and far between for both sides.

But on the stroke of half-time, the visitors went ahead with a nicely-judged lob over the advancing Tom Brett.

The odds were now heavily stacked in favour of Rastrick, who could look forward to playing down the slope and with the wind advantage in the second half. To the delight of the vocal visiting support, they duly obliged with five further goals, in the 48th, 50th, 54th, 66th and 69th minutes.

But Shelf can take plenty of positives from a gutsy performance in gusty conditions.

Tom Brett conjured up an outstanding save, diving acrobatically to palm away a certain goal. Man of the Match Jonny put in a tremendous defensive performance, with some tireless tackling and brave blocking.

Robert showed some delightful touches in midfield, the best of which saw him ghosting past a series of challenges before playing a lovely through-ball which Toby almost managed to convert. And the Panthers front-man went close again after some neat interplay between Tom Mann and Dylan down the left wing.

In reaching the half-way point in the season, the Panthers have had to contend with wind, rain, frost and snow. What meteorological mayhem does next week’s rescheduled trip to 3D-land have in store?

Mann of the moment

2011-01-23T17:01:00.001Z

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT JANUARY 23 2011
Shelf Panthers 10 Westend Tigers 0

Midfield magician Tom Mann and striker Toby hit four goals each as the Panthers romped to their second high-scoring victory in successive weeks.

Shelf’s first, after six minutes, was one of the goals of the season, as Toby latched onto a long ball out of defence, beat his marker on the right wing, then dribbled along the edge of the area before finishing with a left-foot shot into the bottom corner.

Three minutes later, it was 2-0. Toby’s cross hung tantalisingly in the air, and Tom Mann headed it powerfully into the roof of the net.

Despite forcing corner after corner, the Panthers couldn’t add to their lead, and when Westend went close with two efforts, there were one or two concerns that Shelf might suffer the same sort of collapse they’d experienced against Greetland a fortnight before.

But those fears were allayed by three goals in the last seven minutes of the first half. First, Robert found himself with acres of space in the penalty area and coolly slotted the ball past the keeper.

Then Dylan’s flick set up Toby for another clinical close-range finish. And on the stroke of half-time yet another pinpoint corner from Tom Wood found Tom Mann stooping low to send a looping header over the keeper and into the net.

Playing up the slope after the break, Shelf initially struggled to add to their lead, although this more subdued period was livened up by a kamikaze diving header by Jonny to clear a rare Westend attack.

But as the half wore on, the Panthers midfield – superbly orchestrated by Man of the Match Sam – took complete control of the game again. The home side finished with a five-goal salvo in the last 18 minutes – and came close on at least as many occasions.

Toby completed his fifth hat-trick of the season when he ran onto Adam Renard’s through-ball and stroked it past the advancing keeper.

Tom Mann’s hat-trick followed two minutes later. Toby’s shot was saved by the keeper and, with defenders blocking his route to goal, he squared the ball for Tom to slot home from ten yards.

Adam Renard’s typically all-action performance was rewarded with a 57th minute goal – a long-range screamer into the roof of the net.

Four minutes later, Adam McDaid came within a whisker of his first goal of the season. His crisp snap-shot seemed destined for the top corner, but the keeper flung himself across the goal to make a fine save.

There was still time for Tom Mann and Toby to make it four goals apiece. Tom’s was buried from close-range after good work in the penalty area by Sam, while Toby’s was set up by a yet another powerful run and cross by that Mann again.

So the Panthers have every reason to be in good heart for next week’s foreign jaunt into The Land That Satnav Forgot to face 3D Dynamos. Don’t forget your passports…

Good in the mud: Shelf's magnificent seven

2011-01-16T21:18:00.003Z

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 16 JANUARY 2011
Hebden Bridge 3 Shelf Panthers 7

A hat-trick from Toby and two goals from Dylan helped the Panthers record their most emphatic victory of the season.

The Hebden Bridge football ground, high on the hills overlooking the town, shares its facilities with two other sports – extreme car-parking and mud-wrestling. Shelf supporters, surveying the pitch before the match, were contemplating a hasty name-change – would they fare better as Hipperholme Hippos?

But the pitch does have one innovation which makes it the Old Trafford of the Huddersfield Junior League – a covered area where spectators can stand and admire the pulses of rain smashing into the unfortunate players.

After a fairly even first 20 minutes, it was Shelf who broke the deadlock. Toby and Ryan – settling in well on his debut – both had shots blocked in a crowded penalty area before Toby buried the ball for his 15th goal of the season.

The home side looked to have equalised within a minute, but the mud came to Shelf’s aid, holding the ball up on the goal-line and allowing Jonny to clear.

Then Adam Renard’s cross was finished off by Dylan from close-range, giving the Panthers a 2-0 half-time lead.

Shelf were faced with playing up the slope in the second half – but fears that they might suffer a similar collapse to last week were soon dispelled. Within a minute of the restart, Dylan finished with aplomb past the advancing keeper after being played through the middle by Toby.

The home side pulled one back in the 38th minute with a superbly-struck shot from the edge of the area which flew into the roof of the net. But within a minute, the Panthers were 4-1 up when Man of the Match Adam Renard steered the ball into the empty net after Toby’s shot was blocked.

Two quick goals for Hebden Bridge midway through the second half gave the Panthers a fright, but – with coaches Richard and Chris cleverly using a series of substitutions to give midfielders a breather on the energy-sapping pitch – the visitors finished at a canter.

In the 66th minute, Adam Renard played Toby through the middle. The Panthers goal-machine coolly took the ball round the keeper and managed to evade a last-ditch attempted tackle by an excitable dog before finishing from a tight angle.

Shelf ended on a high note. Their sixth, in the 69th minute, was set up by Robert, who turned in the area and knocked the ball back for Tom Mann to lash in a shot which was too hot for the keeper to handle. And there was just time for Toby to complete his hat-trick with another cool finish from a difficult angle.

Panthers blown away in second half

2011-01-09T19:37:00.000Z

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 9 JANUARY 2011-01-09
Shelf Panthers 4 Greetland 5

In their first match after an unscheduled seven-week winter break, the Panthers suffered defeat despite racing into a four-goal lead.

With most players waking up to a fresh covering of snow outside their homes, the game seemed certain to become yet another casualty of the big freeze. Club officials hastily checked the fixture list: were today’s opponents Greetland or Greenland?

But the snow and ice had miraculously spared the Hipperholme pitch (or else Lee had been out since the early hours with a shovel and a hair-drier).

Even so, the conditions played a big part in the match, as a ferocious westerly wind blew straight into the faces of the team toiling up the slope. In the first half, that was Greetland – and the Panthers took early advantage.

Their first goal came after five minutes. Tom Wood’s cross from the left found Robert inside the area and his shot was deflected into the net by the keeper. Three minutes later, Shelf doubled their lead when Luke exchanged passes neatly with Robert to carve his way through the defence and steer the ball home for his first goal of the season.

Toby – who put in a tireless display up front to win the Man of the Match award – was next on the scoresheet, showing lovely control on the edge of the area before rifling the ball into the bottom right corner.

Just 12 minutes gone, and the Panthers were already 3-0 up. Surely things couldn’t get any better? But nine minutes later, they went even further ahead as Dylan met Tom Wood’s precise corner with a powerful header.

Greetland showed commendable determination, though, and battled their way back to 2-4 at half time with goals in the 27th and 35th minutes.

The visitors had the wind in their sails now, and two minutes after the break they reduced the deficit to just one goal.

Tom Brett produced another fine goalkeeping performance to keep Greetland at bay for long periods, but a two-goal salvo in the 57th and 58th minutes gave the visitors the lead.

Shelf came within a whisker of equalising a minute before the end, but Toby’s outstretched boot just failed to connect with Joe’s cross in the six-yard box.

Let’s hope the Panthers don’t have to wait another seven frozen weeks for the chance to get back to winning ways.

Struggling To Beat Nine Men? Shelley You Can’t Be Serious?

2010-11-21T17:27:00.000Z

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 21 NOVEMBER 2010
Shelley 2 Shelf Panthers 5

The Panthers made heavy weather of beating a dogged Shelley side – despite enjoying a two-man advantage for the entire match.

Shelf could only muster 11 available players, but concerns about their lack of substitutes were soon allayed when the home team turned up with just nine.

Maybe it was complacency. Maybe they froze in the icy blast blowing across the Pennines. Whatever the reason, the Panthers failed to make their numerical advantage count: Shelley peppered their goal with five shots in the first five minutes, while the visitors managed just one.

Then, in the seventh minute, Shelf got a breakthrough against the run of play. Tom Wood’s clearance found Robert in the centre of midfield and he outsprinted the defence before smashing the ball into the top right corner for his second goal of the season.

Both teams were saved by the woodwork in the space of two minutes. First Toby turned in the area and fired a shot against the angle of post and bar, then a clever lob bounced off the Shelf crossbar.

On another day, Robert would have grabbed a hat-trick in a four-minute first-half spell. Instead, his neat volley was side-footed straight at the keeper, his next effort was blasted over from close-range and the third went wide from a similar distance.

Then, a minute before half-time, Toby raced onto Sam’s through-ball, drew the keeper and placed the ball into the top right corner.

Toby’s second, seven minutes after the break, was coolly stroked past the keeper after neat interplay with Adam Renard.

Three goals up against nine-men, the Panthers should have cruised through the rest of the match. Instead, they allowed Shelley to pull two goals back and, with 11 minutes still to play, looked to be floundering.

The next minute, their worries were eased. The ball was played in from the right through a crowd of players. Dylan just failed to glance it home, but Man of the Match Joe was handily placed behind him to bury it from close range.

Toby’s close-range tap-in after 63 minutes gave the Panthers a somewhat flattering three-goal margin of victory and lifted them to eighth place in the league ahead of next week’s clash with leaders Dewsbury West.

Brett’s Best Bet in Net

2010-10-31T20:04:00.002Z

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 31 OCTOBER 2010
Shelf Panthers 1 Linthwaite 3

Tom Brett put in a superb display of brave, agile and decisive goalkeeping as the Panthers kept a tough Linthwaite side at bay for most of this hard-fought match.

The Shelf keeper was called into action after six minutes, producing a diving double-save to cling onto a fiercely-struck shot.

Six minutes later, Tom Mann’s neat flick from a corner looked certain to give the home side the lead. A defender desperately hooked the ball away – but had it already crossed the line? Russian linesmen being a bit thin on the ground in Hipperholme, the goal wasn’t awarded.

After a fairly evenly-contested first quarter of the match, Linthwaite took the lead in the 18th minute, forcing the ball home through a melee in the penalty area.

The Panthers hit back with a good spell of pressure, and Toby burst through after good interplay with Robert, only to fire his shot too close to the keeper.

In the 33rd minute, Tom Wood’s free kick was parried by the Linthwaite keeper, Toby nodded the ball goalwards and Adam McDaid bundled it into the net – but from an offside position.

Linthwaite made it 2-0 seconds before the break when Tom Brett flung himself to block a shot but could do nothing about the rebound.

Shelf looked to be facing an uphill struggle in the second half. Not only were they having to toil up the slope; injury and absence had also left them without any substitutes, whereas the visitors had the luxury of three sets of fresh legs.

But more heroic goalkeeping kept them in the match, and on the one occasion when Tom Brett looked beaten, Jonny popped up on the goal-line with some unorthodox (and painful) ball control.

Not to be outdone, his central defensive partner Tom Wood produced his own goalkeeping audition, managing to send his boot flying high in the air and then pulling off an athletic catch worthy of Joe Hart.

Having weathered the storm, the Panthers began to carve out chances of their own, and in the 58th minute Sam’s through-ball from the right found Toby with the space to race towards goal and finish clinically for his seventh of the season.

Shelf were first to almost every ball now and rampaging forward in search of a deserved equaliser.

In a frantic last five minutes, Toby pushed a shot just wide after getting a nasty bobble. Then he cracked a thunderbolt against the post from the edge of the area. At the other end, Tom Brett capped a Man of the Match display by saving a certain goal with a brave sliding challenge at the feet of an onrushing attacker.

But he could do nothing about the breakaway goal in the last minute of an entertaining half, which gave Linthwaite a somewhat flattering 3-1 victory.

Kings of the Jungle

2010-10-10T16:48:00.003+01:00

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 10 OCTOBER 2010
Westend Tigers 1 Shelf Panthers 4

On paper, this looked like the clash of the league’s big beasts – Tigers v Panthers. In the event, Shelf roared to a comfortable victory which would have been even more comprehensive if their finishing had been anywhere near as deadly as their approach play.

The game was less than two minutes old when the Panthers made a breakthrough. Sam – who put in a magnificent display of attacking midfield play to win the Man of the Match award – hit a lovely pass into space for Robert to sprint onto and fire an unstoppable shot high into the net.

Even though they dominated possession and went close several times, Shelf had to wait until the 20th minute for their second. Tom Mann stroked the ball through to Toby inside the area. Toby’s first shot was well saved, but he made no mistake with the rebound.

Luke’s desperate block-tackle on the goal-line stopped the home side pulling a goal back in a rare attack, but the Panthers were soon back in their stride and Robert crashed a shot against the bar after a goalmouth melee.

Then, four minutes before half time, Shelf scored their best goal of the season so far. Sam raced ahead of his marker to win the ball in midfield, then surged down the right wing and put in a tremendous cross which Toby met perfectly with a deft volley.

After the break, the Panthers continued to control the midfield with a combination of slick passing and strong running – but they just couldn’t find the net. Rumours began to surface that a Far Eastern spread-betting syndicate had placed several million dollars on Shelf missing ten open goals from less than six inches out.

Sam got the ball caught under his foot on the goal-line; then he hit a post from close-range and Tom Mann poked the rebound wide.

Then, after 67 minutes, Westend pulled a goal back through a penalty after Jonny used his superhuman powers to make an opponent fall over in the area despite the absence of any physical contact.

A minute from time, though, the Panthers cemented their first win of the season when Sam finally squeezed the ball into the net off a defender from a tight angle.

Next week’s Panthers’ training session is believed to involve a football, a very short distance and a very large barn door.

Panthers Rise To The Challenge

2010-09-26T19:00:00.002+01:00

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 26 SEPTEMBER 2010
Challenge 3 Shelf Panthers 3

A hat-trick from Toby – including a last-gasp equaliser – gave the Panthers a deserved share of the points in a barnstorming display against local rivals Challenge.

The match saw Shelf confronted with a new phenomenon – a perfectly flat, artificial pitch. How would they cope? Would Jonny “Slide Through The Mud” Jones be stretchered off with third-degree carpet burns? Would ex-coach Tony Williams put in a surprise appearance with a Hoover and a container of Shake N Vac?

In the event, the Panthers settled down well and were unlucky to go behind after 11 minutes when Tom Brett pulled off a fine diving save but could do nothing about the follow-up from close-range.

Shelf continued to pass the ball around well, though, and – with Sam putting in a towering display in midfield – they forced a series of corners.

But the Panthers couldn’t convert their superiority into goals and the home side went 2-0 up after 32 minutes with a well-worked move from a free-kick.

Shelf could have halved the deficit just before the break, but Robert’s flicked cross was lashed over the bar by Luke.

Uninitiated spectators may not have realised it, but the seeds of the Panthers’ recovery had already been sown by some inspired coaching by Richard, who scornfully informed Toby after a speculative 35-yard first-half shot: “You’ll never score from that distance.”

Toby’s keen footballing brain correctly interpreted this instruction as “Have a go from further out next time,” prompting him to unleash a 40-yard thunderbolt that flew into the net five minutes after half-time.

Two minutes later, he hammered another long-range effort, forcing Challenge’s keeper into a desperate diving save. A minute later, Tom Mann – whose strong tackles and surging runs helped Shelf control the midfield for most of the second half – rattled the crossbar with a powerful header from Tom Wood’s corner.

Surely it was only a matter of time before another goal came? It did – but this time for Challenge, leaving the Panthers with 20 minutes to pull back two goals.

Toby got the first of them after 56 minutes, running onto a lovely through-ball from Robert and sliding his shot coolly past the advancing keeper.

Tom Brett kept the Panthers’ hopes alive with two fine saves in the space of a minute – first diving to his right to block a close-range shot and then keeping out a dangerous free-kick from just outside the box.

That set up a grandstand finish. Shelf mounted wave after wave of attacks and right at the death Adam Renard’s right-wing cross was flicked on by Robert for the Panthers’ Man of the Match to blast the ball into the net to complete his hat-trick.

Panthers' hopes kilt off by Highlanders

2010-09-19T17:47:00.002+01:00

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 19 SEPTEMBER 2010
Shelf Panthers 1 Lepton Highlanders 5

A new season, a new pitch – and new opponents. The quaintly-named Lepton Highlanders were something of an unknown quantity. Would they turn up sporting tartan kit? Would they dismantle the goalposts at the end of the match and carry them away up North?

Maybe they’d all had porridge and deep-fried Mars bars for breakfast. Maybe the wet and windy conditions reminded them of the mountains back home. Whatever the reason, the visitors surged into a two-goal lead after just nine minutes.

Shelf were missing industrious midfielder Ross (injured in a freak training accident by a large piece of falling Wood), and, playing up the slope against bigger opponents, they struggled to get out of their own half. So it was no surprise when Lepton grabbed two more goals before the break.

The second half was a much more even affair. Adam Renard – named Man of the Match for a characteristically wholehearted display – latched onto an opposition goal-kick close to the half-way line and blasted a screamer of a volley just wide. Then Toby hit a shot from the edge of the area which was well saved by the keeper.

At the other end, the Panthers’ new goalie Tom Brett pulled off a great diving save in the 53rd minute. A minute later, “new” centre-back Jonny (an immaculately coiffeured model, replacing last season’s shaggy-haired specimen) saved what looked like a certain goal with an unorthodox back-heeled tackle as the Lepton striker prepared to shoot.

Tom Mann and Toby both went close, but the visitors made it 5-0 after 59 minutes, following up from close range after Adam Renard’s brave goal-line block.

Shelf refused to give up, though, and Robert was tripped on the right-hand edge of the penalty area after a powerful run. Up stepped dead-ball specialist Tom Wood to chip the free kick into the top corner for the Panthers’ first goal of the campaign.

Get ready for the new season

2010-08-26T21:32:00.003+01:00

The new season starts on Sunday 12 September, with Shelf Panthers meeting Hall Green United.

Good luck Panthers!

Wood you believe it?

2010-05-10T08:00:00.000+01:00

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 9 MAY 2010

Brighouse 3 Shelf Panthers 4

Tom Wood scored a bizarre hat-trick as the Panthers rediscovered their early-season form to record their first win in six matches.

His first two goals ended up in his own net – but that didn’t stop him putting in a barnstorming performance to finally score at the right end and pick up the Man of the Match award.

The game was only a minute old when Shelf went a goal behind thanks to Tom’s unlucky deflection from a cross from the left. After conceding 28 goals in their last three matches, were the Panthers facing another avalanche?

They should have been level within a couple of minutes, but Robert’s shot from about six inches out was somehow turned over the bar for a corner. And, as more chances followed, the Brighouse keeper pulled off good saves from Toby and Joe.

Even if they couldn’t find the net, Shelf were starting to play like the side that topped the league table for most of the season, rather than the team that slumped alarmingly in late March/April. Joe rampaged down the right wing; Robert had a new spring in his step and when Brighouse threatened, Luke raced off his line like a whippet to clear.

But after 19 minutes it was 2-0. As the ball bobbled around in the penalty area, Jonny, William and Tom Wood all tried to clear but only succeeded in putting it into their own net, with Tom getting the final touch.

The Panthers refused to panic, though – and it took them just seven minutes to get back on level terms. Their first came from a magnificent piece of skill by Toby. Receiving the ball on the half-way line with his back to goal, he bamboozled his marker by flicking it round him, turning and sprinting clear before firing it low past the keeper.

A couple of minutes later, Tom Wood completed his unorthodox hat-trick with a trademark shot from the edge of the area which curled into the top right corner.

Shelf finished the first half on top and then carried on where they’d left off after the break as Adam Renard’s shot was tipped over by the keeper.

And they wrapped up the match with a two-goal salvo in the space of a minute. First, after 50 minutes, Toby raced onto a high bouncing ball in the penalty area and, despite being challenged by the keeper and a defender, managed to stretch out a long leg to guide it home for his 46th goal of the season. Then Robert won the ball straight from the kick-off to set up Tom Mann’s strike high into the net.

A 66th minute goal for Brighouse – not scored by Tom Wood this time – gave the Panthers an anxious last few minutes. But they deservedly clung on to make sure of fourth place in the league…and local bragging rights for captain Jonny, who was facing nine schoolmates on the opposition side.

Barnsley chop for Panthers

2010-04-25T21:31:00.001+01:00

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 25 APRIL 2010
Silkstone 10 Shelf Panthers 2
The Panthers’ end-of-season slump continued as they suffered a heavy defeat on the outskirts of Barnsley to the league’s second-placed side.

It was all very different from the teams’ last meeting at Hipperholme in October, when Toby scored a double hat-trick to help maintain Shelf’s 100 per cent record and open up a six-point gap at the top of the table.

This time, Silkstone piled on the early pressure and raced into the lead after four minutes with a low shot from the right-hand edge of the area.

The Panthers had three chances to equalise in the space of two minutes. First Tom Mann’s free kick was cleared to Tom Wood, who struck the ball well but saw his effort saved by the keeper. Then Tom Wood’s free kick was volleyed just over the bar by Toby at full-stretch, and the Shelf front-man again went close when his close-range shot was saved by the keeper after good work by Robert on the right.

If one of those chances had gone in, perhaps the Panthers might have rediscovered some of their early-season form and confidence. Instead, within seconds Silkstone had charged down to the other end of the pitch and gone 2-0 up through a fine cross and header.

And by the interval, the score line had reached an embarrassing 6-0 as the home side helped themselves to four more goals in the last 20 minutes of the first half.

After a half-time talking-to, the Panthers began to play with more spirit, and they pulled a goal back after 46 minutes when good battling by Sam inside the area eventually set up Toby to poach a goal from close-range.

Seconds later, Luke pulled off one of the saves of the season, flinging himself across his goal to tip the ball one-handed round the post – but he could do nothing about Silkstone’s seventh goal in the 52nd minute.

That ushered in an eventful five minutes for Jonny, who was named Man of the Match for a committed display in the Shelf rearguard. First he hit a goalbound thunderbolt from the centre circle, which the surprised Silkstone keeper could only parry, setting up Robert to stab home the Panthers’ second. Then he gave away a penalty with a Paul Scholes-style mis-timed tackle, and heaved a sigh of relief as the spot-kick was blazed over the bar. And two minutes later he saved a certain goal with an athletic clearing header under his own crossbar.

As Shelf ran out of steam, Silkstone hit them with three goals in the last six minutes, including another penalty (awarded after William had a Scholes moment) which Luke dived to get his fingertips to but couldn’t keep out.

Double trouble as Panthers lose top spot

2010-04-19T08:06:00.000+01:00

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 18 APRIL 2010
Saville Town 10 Shelf Panthers 0
Shelf Panthers 1 Saville Town 8

The Panthers surrendered first place in the league – and their unbeaten home record – to a strong and skilful Saville Town side.

Fixture congestion caused by the big freeze left the two title contenders facing each other in back-to-back matches on successive days.

The first game in Dewsbury saw Shelf produce their worst performance of the season. Outmuscled and outplayed, they suffered a 10-0 thumping. Saville Town were good, but the Panthers made them look like Barcelona, while their star striker was made to look like Lionel Messi (only taller).

Adam Renard provided the only bright spots in Saturday’s display with another terrier-like performance which helped him win the Man of the Match award over the two games.

Lee demanded more effort for Sunday’s home leg – and his team didn’t disappoint. Bolstered by the return of playmaker Tom Mann in midfield, they snapped into tackles, passed the ball around and took the lead after seven minutes when Toby was first to a bouncing ball in the penalty area and nodded past the keeper from close range.

Surely it couldn’t last? It did…for another fifteen minutes. Two good saves from Luke preserved the Panthers’ lead, but he could do nothing about Saville Town’s equaliser after 22 minutes.

Shelf continued to play some neat football, though, and carved out two more good chances – but Dylan’s close-range header was well saved by the visitors’ keeper, and Tom Wood’s free kick was headed just over the bar by Toby.

Then, in the last two minutes of an evenly-contested first half, two classy pieces of finishing suddenly transformed the 1-1 scoreline into 3-1 to Saville Town.

Two more goals in the first ten minutes of the second half ended the game as a contest, but the Panthers continued to put up a spirited fight. Dead-ball specialist Tom Wood had two trademark long-range free kicks well saved before three goals for the visitors in the last five minutes gave the scoreline a somewhat distorted appearance.

Crumbs of comfort for Panthers

2010-04-11T17:08:00.001+01:00

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 11 APRIL 2010
Howden Clough 2 Shelf Panthers 1

Forget the traditional game of two halves – this Panthers performance was more like a sandwich. They served up some quality fare at the start and finish of the match but spoiled it with an unappetising chunk in the middle.

When the sides met at Hipperholme in November, Shelf scraped a 5-4 victory. This time – for most of the first half at least – they seemed to be heading for a much more straightforward win.

With Joe finding space on the right and Robert surging through the centre, the Panthers played some neat passing moves in the sunshine on a good pitch. Adam McDaid’s early snap-shot from inside the area was well saved by the keeper and Adam Renard went close four times in the space of ten minutes. Surely it was only a matter of time before the goal came…

…It was, but unfortunately at the wrong end – a scrappy goal from a rare Howden Clough attack after an opening 23 minutes which had been almost completely dominated by the visitors.

Suddenly, the match was transformed. The Panthers ended the half shakily, began in the same vein after the break and would have gone further behind ten minutes into the second half if it hadn’t been for a smart one-handed save by Nat, bravely deputising for Luke in goal.

Five minutes later, Shelf were level. Tom Wood’s corner was flicked on by Tom Mann, and a defender’s attempted clearance ended up in the Howden Clough net.

But the home side restored their lead after 56 minutes with some neat interplay down the left wing and a shot high into the net.

After that setback, the Panthers played some of their best football of the match, urged on by an inspired Man of the Match display by Adam Renard, who seemed to turn up in every area of the pitch (sometimes simultaneously).

Tom Mann’s clever shot curled just wide; Joe latched onto a loose ball in a goalmouth scramble but scooped it over the bar; Robert flicked Tom Wood’s corner just wide; and Toby was played through by Tom Mann but saw his shot blocked by the keeper.

There was some good news for Shelf, though. Silkstone’s surprise 4-1 defeat at Battyeford means the Panthers stay top of the league with crucial matches against Savile Town and Silkstone to come. It is indeed squeaky bum time…

Panthers get the wind up

2010-03-28T21:44:00.000+01:00

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 28 MARCH 2010
Marsden 6 Shelf Panthers 1

The Panthers suffered their first league defeat of 2010 – and only their second of the whole season – against a tough Marsden side.

Right from the start, the omens weren’t good: a rutted mud-patch of a pitch on an exposed hillside in a howling gale against brawny opponents, some of whom looked as if they might eat raw sheep for breakfast.

The wind-chill made it feel about minus ten – and Shelf were caught cold as the home side burst straight through to score within seconds of the kick-off. It was a pattern that was to be repeated throughout the match: Marsden’s two best players rampaging through some uncharacteristically limp Shelf tackling to create a host of scoring opportunities.

Marsden were 3-0 up at the break and, despite Lee’s valiant attempts to rouse his out-of-sorts team at half-time, the visitors simply couldn’t get into the match.

As the Pennine clouds scudded by at breakneck speed, silver linings were hard to find, but at least Shelf’s one and only goal was the best of the game – a lovely shot from Tom Wood in the 47th minute that curled from the left edge of the penalty area into the top right hand corner of the net. The defender has now got on the scoresheet in each of his last three games.

The Panthers could also take heart from another energetic and determined performance by Dylan to win his second successive Man of the Match award.

Luke pulled off a great diving save from a 52nd minute penalty and – with Marsden blasting another against the bar in the first half – the Shelf goalkeeper has managed not to concede a spot-kick despite facing three in the last two matches.

The Panthers’ goal-machine Toby failed to get on the scoresheet in a league match for the first time since 18 October – at least giving his dad Simon some welcome financial respite.

With their closest rivals Silkstone only managing a draw, Shelf remain top of the league – and surely they won’t be this under-the-weather again in the remaining few weeks of the season.

Dangerous Dylan deflates Dynamoes

2010-03-21T17:53:00.000Z

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 21 MARCH 2010
Shelf Panthers 8 3D Dynamoes 1

Shelf scored a crushing victory to avenge their only defeat of the season and maintain their position at the top of the league.

The Panthers began cautiously against the side who had ambushed them so successfully in a Pennine swamp in October. But - with Dylan rampaging down the left flank to win his second Man of the Match award of the season against the same opponents – they rapidly grew in confidence and took a tight grip on the match.

The breakthrough came after 15 minutes, when Tom Mann controlled the ball on the right edge of the area and hit a left-foot shot into the bottom left corner.

Three minutes later, Tom Mann’s cross from the left found Robert, who made no mistake from close-range.

But 3Ds weren’t going to give up without a fight. Urged on by their coach, they went on the attack and forced Luke into two fine saves in the space of a minute – the first with his legs and the second an athletic dive to his right.

There was an element of good fortune about Shelf’s third goal two minutes from half-time as Toby inadvertently played a thunderously-struck one-two off an unfortunate defender’s crotch before hammering the ball past the keeper from 25 yards.

Despite playing down the slope, the Panthers made a stuttering start to the second half, and 3Ds were awarded a penalty after 40 minutes when Luke was adjudged to have fouled an attacker. The spot-kick hit the inside of the right-hand post and bounced to safety – but four minutes later the visitors made it 3-1 with a smart breakaway goal.

Any fears of a comeback were soon quelled, though. A minute later, Toby settled the home side’s nerves with a long-range strike for his 42nd goal of the campaign, and the Panthers then piled on the pressure to find the net four more times in the last 20 minutes.

First Robert – who’d got a nasty bang in the face a few minutes earlier – latched onto Jonny’s volleyed through-ball. His first shot was saved by the keeper, but he made no mistake with the rebound. Then Robert’s header was turned into his own net by a defender.

Tom Wood’s goal after 64 minutes was arguably the pick of the bunch – a sweet half-volley high into the net from the edge of the area.

And Sam completed the rout on the stroke of full-time with a hard, low shot through a crowd of players.

The good, the bad and the muddy

2010-02-07T20:50:00.000Z

MATCH REPORT 7 FEBRUARY 2010
Shelf Panthers 8 Hebden Bridge 6

Shelf match reports usually try to avoid clichés like the plague – but this really was the classic game of two halves.

In the first 35 minutes, Shelf produced some of their best football of the season to cruise into a 6-2 lead.

Playing down the slope after the break against the league’s bottom side, they looked certain to romp to victory. Instead, they suffered another attack of second-half jitters – just as they did against Battyeford in their last match – before eventually managing to cling on for an important win.

Such a close final outcome looked unlikely when the Panthers surged into a 3-0 lead inside the first ten minutes. First, Tom Mann’s perfectly-flighted corner found Robert rising at the far post to head home. Then Robert got his second with a neat flick from Toby’s hard, low cross from the left. And a minute later, Tom Mann skipped past several challenges in the area before unleashing a venomous shot which the keeper could only parry into Toby’s path.

Hebden Bridge pulled a goal back after 18 minutes, but Toby made it 4-1 when he ran onto a through-ball from Tom Mann – who produced an inspired midfield display in the first half – and buried the ball high into the net past the advancing keeper.

The half ended in a frenzy of action. Luke pulled off two great diving saves. Toby grabbed another close-range goal. The visitors pulled one back. Then Tom Mann stroked another inviting through-ball; Toby controlled it with his right foot and steered it home with his left. Phew - 6-2 and the entire second half still to play.

We were expecting an avalanche of goals – but not for the opposition. Incredibly, within six minutes of the restart, Hebden Bridge had reduced the deficit to 6-4.

The Panthers hit back and Robert gave them a three-goal cushion in the 46th minute when he completed his hat-trick with an opportunistic strike straight from an opposition goal-kick. Surely that had killed the match off…

But Hebden Bridge fought back bravely with two more quick goals which left the Panthers with a slender 7-6 lead with 16 minutes still to play.

As the visitors went in search of an equaliser, captain Jonny marshalled the Shelf rearguard action, hurling himself around with total disregard for life, limb and laundry bills to make tackles, blocks and clearances. His mud-encrusted display earned him two accolades – the Man of the Match medal and the Tony Williams Memorial Award for Dirtiest Player on the Pitch.

Then, with a minute left, the ball fell to Toby inside the Hebden Bridge area and he sealed an 8-6 win with a deadly low shot for his fifth goal of the match and 35th of the season.

Battyeford battle back

2010-01-24T19:09:00.000Z

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 24 JANUARY 2010
Battyeford under 13s 3 Shelf Panthers 3

Two last-gasp goals – including one deep into added time - saw a tenacious Battyeford team snatch a draw against a slightly out-of-sorts Shelf side.

Emerging from an enforced six-week hibernation, the Panthers found themselves with only 11 available players for their first match of 2010 in the absence of Ross, Nat and William. And the big question was whether captain Jonny would suffer a Samson-style loss of strength after shedding his shaggy locks – but those fears were soon allayed when he executed a full-blooded covering tackle after five minutes.

Seconds later, Shelf took the lead through Toby, who tormented the home defence throughout the game with a Man of the Match display of powerful and intelligent forward play.

As the Panthers broke at speed from their own half, Tom Mann threaded the ball through to Toby in his favourite position on the left edge of the box and he smashed a left-foot shot hard and low to the keeper’s right.

Shelf came within a whisker of going further ahead two minutes later when Sam twice had goalbound close-range efforts blocked by defenders, and it was no surprise when Toby made it 2-0 after 13 minutes with a hard, high shot which the keeper got his hands to but couldn’t keep out.

At that stage, it looked as though the Panthers would cruise to an easier victory than their hard-fought 6-3 win when the sides met in September. But Battyeford clawed their way back into the match, pulled a goal back and had the better of the last ten minutes of the first half.

Two minutes after the restart, Battyeford carved out what seemed like a certain equaliser – only to blaze the ball over the bar from a couple of yards out.

It was a sign of things to come. As the home side piled on the pressure, Luke had to make a string of saves.

Then, with 13 minutes left, Tom Mann appeared to have made sure of the points when he controlled the ball on the edge of the area and curled a shot into the bottom left corner of the net.

Battyeford refused to give up, though. They pulled a goal back through a header from a free kick with two minutes left, and equalised after a goalmouth scramble in the third minute of Fergie time.

Despite dropping two points, Shelf remain top of the league at the half-way point in their season. And, with rivals Savile Town suffering a surprise defeat, the Panthers’ destiny is in their own hands. No-one can take the title away from them…provided they win all their remaining games.

Magnificent seven fire Panthers to victory

2009-12-13T17:28:00.000Z

SHELF PANTHERS MATCH REPORT 13 DECEMBER 2009
Norristhorpe u-13s 2 Shelf Panthers 7

Seven high-quality goals – including a hat-trick from Robert – helped put the Panthers’ season back on track.

It’s been a frustrating month: a narrow league win at bottom side Hebden Bridge, a cup defeat at Shelley, and then two washed-out weeks when the players must have considered switching allegiance to a sport better suited to the Yorkshire climate – like mud-snorkelling or ark-racing.

Today, by contrast, there was a hint of pale winter sunshine – and a Panthers goal to warm us up within a minute of kick-off. Adam Renard’s ball from the left found Robert unmarked on the edge of the area, and he blasted it home.

Bearing in mind that Shelf had already beaten Norristhorpe 10-1 this season, we could obviously relax. Nothing could possibly go wrong…for about 30 seconds, anyway. Straight from the restart, the home side charged upfield and – before you could say “Don’t count your chickens” – the ball was nestling in the Shelf net.

The Panthers were rattled for a while but, with Tom Mann and Adam Renard driving them forward, they gradually took a grip on the match. They were unlucky not to go in front after 15 minutes when Joe’s shot bounced off the inside of the post and rolled agonisingly along the goal-line.

But two minutes later, Shelf were back in front through a top-notch goal from Toby, who received the ball on the left edge of the area, flicked it neatly over his marker and then steered it into the bottom right corner.

Then Tom Mann made it 3-1 with a well-struck shot over a crowd of players after the ball broke to him on the edge of the area following a corner.

Shelf were starting to turn on the style now, and two more cracking goals followed before half-time. First, Tom Mann broke at speed through midfield and played a perfectly-weighted ball into the path of Robert, who raced clear and finished with aplomb.

Then Tom Wood’s flicked cross from the left-wing set up Joe to score with a firm header inside the six-yard box.

With Shelf playing uphill after the break, the second half was a more even contest, and Norristhorpe would have reduced the deficit after 61 minutes if it hadn’t been for a superb last-ditch tackle by Tom Wood as one of the home strikers prepared to pull the trigger.

When the teams met in September, Toby scored six…this time he had to be content with two, tapping home a goalpoacher’s effort from inside the six-yard box with seven minutes left.

Man of the Match Robert completed his hat-trick with a close-range volley from Sam’s cross before a last-minute goal for Norristhorpe made the final score 7-2.

Cup match: Shelley

2009-11-22T09:51:00.000Z

Saturday 21 November 2009
Shelf Panthers 1 - Shelley 6

(No match report - sorry!)

Awe-Sam display lifts Panthers out of the mire

2009-11-15T17:07:00.000Z

15 November 2009
Hebden Bridge u-13s 1 Shelf Panthers 2

A Man of the Match display by Sam on the right wing helped the Panthers overcome the twin challenges posed by a tenacious Hebden Bridge side and a pitch which could have hosted the Yorkshire mud-wrestling championships.

On paper, this looked like a straightforward away win: the league leaders, who’d notched up 48 goals already this season, against the bottom side, who’d leaked exactly the same number.

But it soon became apparent that the form book was being torn up and thrown in the quagmire. Despite having the lion’s share of possession and going close through Dylan and Toby, the Panthers couldn’t find the net.

Then, after 20 minutes, things got worse when Hebden Bridge went ahead after a rare break through the middle. Memories of the Panthers’ only defeat so far this season – against lowly 3D Dynamoes on a similar pudding of a pitch – came flooding back. Would it just be one of those days again?

Shelf tried everything, including a spectacular Adam Renard overhead kick which was well saved by the home side’s keeper on the stroke of half-time. It could have been Goal of the Season. It’s still a strong contender for Muddiest Landing of the Season.

Playing downhill after the break, the Panthers spent virtually the whole of the second half camped in opposition territory. Their patience was finally rewarded after 50 minutes when Toby broke through on the left edge of the penalty area and coolly slotted his 27th goal of the campaign into the bottom right corner of the net.

Toby almost grabbed another with a crisp volley that flew just wide after a perfect right-wing cross from Adam Renard. But it was midfield stalwart Ross who sealed the win, stabbing the ball home from inside the six-yard box after a corner on 58 minutes.

Adam Renard, Sam and Tom Mann all went close after that, while at the other end Tom Wood and William pulled off good covering tackles to snuff out the threat from the home side.

So the Panthers survived an uncomfortable morning to leave with three more points – and the sort of caked-on mud that only the Tony Williams Specialist Laundry Service could remove.

Panthers back on track thanks to Tom-Tom

2009-11-08T11:45:00.000Z

Saturday 7 November 2009
Shelf Panthers u-13s 5 Howden Clough 4

Spectacular second-half goals from Tom Wood and Tom Mann helped the Panthers overcome a tough Howden Clough team to hold onto top spot in the league.

A routine win looked to be on the cards for the home side when they took the lead after just four minutes. Tom Wood – who is rapidly turning into a dead-ball specialist to rival David Beckham (only without the silly beard) – struck a perfect corner from the left and Robert planted a firm header past the keeper from close range.

But spectators anticipating an avalanche of Shelf goals were disappointed, as Howden Clough came storming back with a period of sustained pressure on the home side’s three-man back-line of Tom Wood, Ross and Jonny. Man of the Match Luke pulled off a good save from a volley from the edge of the area and a brave close-range block, but was finally beaten by a low shot after 28 minutes.

The Panthers used to need at least a three-goal advantage to cope with the prospect of playing up the slope in the second half. But they’re made of sterner stuff these days, and the 1-1 half-time scoreline didn’t prove insurmountable.

They withstood a battering for the first 16 minutes after the break, then mounted a rare attack. The Howden Clough defence cleared the ball as far as Tom Wood wide out on the left wing, but could only watch in astonishment as he fired a 25-yard shot high into the net.

Three minutes later, it was 3-1 through a characteristic Toby strike: receive ball with back to goal on left edge of penalty area, turn on a sixpence and earn yet another pound from long-suffering dad Simon by drilling it into the bottom left corner.

The Shelf fans started to relax – only to see their team pegged back to 3-3 in the space of four minutes. Luke managed a magnificent close-range save but was powerless to keep the rebound out, and Howden Clough scored again with a shot from the edge of the area almost immediately after the restart.

Could the Panthers pick themselves up off the floor? Of course they could. With an hour gone, Sam won the ball in midfield and played it to Tom Mann, who floated an exquisite shot into the top corner.

A minute later, Adam Renard sprinted out of his own half, played a perfect pass into Toby’s path and the Panthers’ goal-machine slotted his 26th of the season past the oncoming keeper.

He could have had a hat-trick, when Adam found him again with one of the best balls of the season - but his shot went the wrong side of the post.

A breakaway goal from the visitors set up a nervous last five minutes in which a shot rattled the Shelf post.

But - with coach Lee Marsh bellowing orders to his troops in a style guaranteed to delight the Australian branch of the Panthers’ Supporters Club – they clung on for a hard-fought victory.

Depleted .... Disjointed .... Defeated

2009-10-18T20:47:00.000+01:00

Match report: Sunday 18 October 2009

3D Dynamoes 4 Shelf Panthers u-13s 1

The Panthers’ five-match winning streak was brought to an abrupt end as they slumped to their first defeat of the campaign against a team which has proved something of a bogey side over the past few years.

This was the equivalent of a European fixture – a gruelling trip into the wild highlands of a foreign country (Lancashire), where every place begins with the letter D (hence the name 3D Dynamoes) and the sat nav eventually gives up and tells you to just ask the nearest sheep.

Maybe they should have done more altitude training. Maybe it was the absence of Tom Mann and Adam McDaid. Whatever the reason, by their own high standards the Panthers were dozy rather than dynamic, and the match was just two minutes old when they conceded the first of four rather scrappy goals.

Six minutes later, Shelf were level through one of the best goals of the 35 they’ve notched up already this season. As Robert prepared to take a corner from the right, coach Lee Marsh shouted: “Dylan’s your target.” Robert duly obliged, planting the ball perfectly into the six-yard box for Dylan to run in and power a header past the keeper.

For the next 15 minutes, Shelf controlled the game with some neat passing moves. They had a penalty appeal turned down when Dylan appeared to be dragged down in the box, and then Sam’s high shot tested the keeper.

But when Robert limped off with a hip injury eight minutes before half-time, the game turned decisively against them.

3Ds went 2-1 up a minute after Robert’s departure, soaked up concerted Shelf pressure for ten minutes after the break, and then sealed the points with further goals in the 48th and 61st minutes.

With striker Toby failing to make mincemeat of a defence for the first time this season, the Panthers’ two best second-half chances both fell to midfielder Ross in goalmouth scrambles – but the first hit the post and the second went just wide.

Despite today’s disappointment, Shelf remain top of the league, but Lee will be demanding more dedication, discipline and daring against promotion rivals Brighouse next weekend.

And this week’s Man of the Match? The scorer of a superb headed goal, whose name (of course) begins with D.

Six-shooter Toby guns down Silkstone

2009-10-18T13:56:00.000+01:00

MATCH REPORT 11 OCTOBER 2009

Shelf Panthers u-13s 7 Silkstone 5

Panthers striker Toby Mears just can’t stop scoring. His double hat-trick against Silkstone takes his tally for the first five games to 18 – a figure he didn’t reach until April last season.

But, while Toby grabbed most of the glory – and another wad of his dad Simon’s generous cash bonus – this win over one of the league’s fitter and more competitive sides was built on a strong team performance despite the absence of midfield stalwart Ross with a back injury.

It means Shelf have now surged six points clear at the top of the table with a 100 per cent record.

Central defender Tom Wood turned in another fearsome display of long-range shooting. One thunderbolt flew into the net after six minutes, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside. Twelve minutes later, another effort from outside the penalty area pinged off the post. Then, in the dying minutes of the match, he struck the crossbar with a free-kick from way out on the right wing before Adam Renard tucked the ball home in the resulting goalmouth scramble for the Panthers’ seventh and final goal.

Meanwhile, Robert celebrated becoming a teenager with a Man of the Match performance which saw him provide great crosses to set up three of Toby’s goals.

And there was plenty more to enjoy. Tom Mann hit a volley from just outside the area which fizzed into the keeper’s hands. Jonny saved a certain goal with a perfectly-timed last-ditch challenge. William and Sam tackled like demons against strong opponents. Luke made two spectacular diving saves.

And at least the torrential downpour should help us all acclimatise in time for next week’s epic trip into the Pennine wilds to face 3D Dynamoes.

Run Robert ... run Robert ... run ... run ... run

2009-10-18T13:55:00.000+01:00

MATCH REPORT 4 OCT 2009-10-04

Shelley 2 Shelf Panthers u-13s 7

Lightning-quick striker Robert hit a hat-trick in the space of 24 second-half minutes as the Panthers maintained their 100 per cent record at the top of the league.

With speedy winger Joe making a promising debut, and Adam Renard and Dylan continuing to sprint at defences, the Panthers’ new training regime is rumoured to involve tins of Winalot and a mechanical hare.

Shelf took a long time to get out of the blocks, though. Perhaps they’d all gone to sleep on the long journey to unfamiliar parts: were they playing Shelley in Shepley on the road to Sheffield, or should it have been the other way round?

An uncharacteristically subdued first-half performance saw the Panthers go ahead after 21 minutes through a typical goal-poacher’s strike by Tobias through a crowded penalty area, only to be pegged back to 1-1 by a good breakaway goal by the home side eight minutes later.

Coach Lee Marsh wasn’t impressed: it’s a good job there weren’t any half-time tea-cups around.

Worse was to follow. A minute after the break, Shelley made it 2-1. Time to whistle up the whippets.

Within two minutes, the Panthers were level. Tom Wood’s long through ball looked to be heading for the keeper, but Robert went sprinting into the penalty area to challenge him and then reacted first to tuck it into the empty net.

As Shelf piled on the pressure, Man of the Match Dylan had a good shot well saved, then Tobias made it 3-2 with a shot from inside the area after a goalmouth scramble to take his tally to 12 in four games.

Tom Wood almost repeated his 30-yard free-kick strike from the Hepworth match, but this time the ball crashed off the bar and dropped to Robert, who fired it wide.

Shelf had to wait till the 61st minute for their fourth, hammered home by Robert after Jonny battled to win the ball in his own half before finding him with a perfectly-weighted pass. Robert’s hat-trick followed a minute later when he outpaced the defence and steered the ball past the keeper.

There was just time for another of Shelf’s sprint relay team – Adam Renard – to grab two goals in two minutes. The first, a sweetly-struck shot from just inside the area, curled into the top right-hand corner. The second was made by a great through-ball from Dylan and finished with a flourish by Adam.

New Mann makes an impact

2009-10-18T13:54:00.000+01:00

MATCH REPORT 27 SEPTEMBER 2009

Shelf Panthers Under-13s 6 Battyeford 3

New signing Tom Mann hit a first-half hat-trick on his debut as the Panthers notched up their third win on the bounce at the start of the season.

After last week’s ten-man heroics at Hepworth, Shelf had 13 fit players to choose from – and they needed plenty of reserves of strength and energy against a dangerous Battyeford side.

Things looked ominous when the visitors took the lead after 14 minutes, despite playing up the slope in the first half.

The Panthers were level two minutes later when Adam Renard flicked the ball to Tom inside the area and he steered it past the keeper. But within a minute they fell behind again after leaving an opponent unmarked when the ball was crossed from the left.

Would their heads drop? You could almost hear a sergeant majorish bark from the other side of the world ordering them to get a grip – and they came storming back with three goals in ten minutes to take a 4-2 half-time lead.

Tom’s second was the pick of the bunch – a sweetly-struck first-time shot that flew into the net after Robert cleverly played a corner along the ground into his path. The third – lashed home by Robert – and the fourth – a powerful high shot to complete Tom’s hat-trick – both owed much to the speed and tenacity of Adam Renard.

Would a two-goal cushion be enough for the Panthers as they toiled up the slope in the second half?

Two minutes after the break, they were 5-2 up when Toby unleashed a thunderbolt from way out on the left.

Battyeford bravely came back at them but were denied by some confident and athletic goalkeeping by Man of the Match Luke, including a magnificent dive to keep out an effort which looked destined for the bottom left corner.

Luke could do nothing about Battyeford’s third after 43 minutes, but six minutes later Toby sealed the Panthers’ victory by side-footing his tenth goal of the season into the roof of the net after a great run by Sam.

High-flying Panthers spring a surprise

2009-10-18T13:53:00.000+01:00

MATCH REPORT 20 SEPTEMBER 2009

Hepworth United 3 Shelf Panthers 4

In the absence of co-coach Richard Baker – rumoured to be pursuing his dream of an Olympic trampolining medal – the Panthers faced some key questions. Would they have their ups and downs? Would they be able to bounce back from any early setbacks? If they performed badly, would they be for the high jump?

The omens weren’t good. With goalkeeper Luke unavailable for selection and Nat ill, they faced the prospect of playing the whole match with ten men against a Hepworth side which enjoyed the luxury of 11 fit players plus two subs. To make matters worse, the modestly-named Little Wembley pitch in Thongsbridge looked about the same energy-sapping size as its more famous counterpart.

We shouldn’t have worried: the ten Panthers put on a barnstorming display to make it two wins out of two at the start of the season.

Hepworth piled on the pressure in the opening 20 minutes, and Shelf only managed to stay on level terms thanks to three fine saves from Jonny – who made a magnificent job of filling the goalkeeping vacancy (if not the gigantic shirt).

But the Panthers gradually began to impose themselves on the game and Toby went close twice in the space of a minute after being set up by great through-balls from Sam and Adam Renard.

Then, a couple of minutes before half-time, Robert was caught in the face by an opposition boot on the edge of the Hepworth penalty area and Man of the Match Tom dispatched the resulting free kick into the top right corner with the sort of pinpoint accuracy rarely seen these days since the departure of Ronaldo for foreign shores.

Shelf’s victory was built on a heroic second-half performance by their three-man defence of Ross, Tom and William, more brave goalkeeping by Jonny and some clinical finishing when chances came their way.

They went two up after the break when Tom won the ball deep in his own half and played it to Adam Renard, whose clever flick sent Toby charging clear to hammer the ball hard and high into the net.

Seven minutes later, it was 3-0, as Adam McDade threaded the ball into the area and Dylan squeezed it past the onrushing keeper for his first goal for the Panthers. Then, midway through the second half, Toby grabbed his eighth goal in two games after a typically powerful run that started inside his own half.

By the last ten minutes, Sam, the two Adams and Dylan had all run their socks off and, as gaps began to appear in the Shelf midfield, Hepworth were finally able to make their numerical advantage count with three quick goals.

The last of them was scored with the Panthers down to nine men after an injury to Adam Renard, who ended up being carried from one touchline to the other by coach Lee “The Human Stretcher” Marsh. According to the latest medical bulletin (issued via Xbox LIVE) the injury isn’t serious and Adam should be fine for the next match.

So – a 4-3 away victory, a 100% record and second place in the league…enough to put a spring in the step of any coach.

Wizards of Oz

2009-10-18T13:51:00.000+01:00

MATCH REPORT 13 SEPTEMBER 2009

Shelf Panthers 10 Norristhorpe 1

Rumours have been circulating in recent days about a takeover bid by a mysterious Australian washing powder tycoon, who apparently plans to move the Panthers to Melbourne and rename them the Shelf Kangaroos.

This shadowy figure – who is said to have a military background – will no doubt be taking an even keener interest in the team after they stormed to a 10-1 victory on the opening day of the season.

Man of the Match Tobias Mears hunted in the opposition penalty area with the killer instinct of a great white shark. He grabbed a hat-trick in the first 14 minutes, added two more goals before half-time and took his tally to six midway through the second half. His dad Simon is believed to be considering emigrating to escape the huge debt he’s running up through a generous goals bonus scheme.

Playing down the slope in the first half, the Panthers kept the Norristhorpe defence under constant pressure: every time the ball was cleared, it boomeranged back towards the visitors’ penalty area.

Robert weighed in with two goals, including arguably the best of the match – a quick-passing move that saw Jonny and Adam Renard turn defence into attack and set up Robert to burst through the centre and finish in style.

Further goals came from Ross – a deflected shot from a tight angle out on the right – and Adam Renard – breaking through to score immediately after a Norristhorpe restart.

It all added up to a 9-1 half-time lead and, even if the Panthers couldn’t keep the momentum going as they toiled up the slope in the second half, there was still plenty to admire.

Adam McDade made a promising debut. Sam and Dylan both won praise from coach Lee Marsh for “storming” performances, while Ross is developing a long throw with the speed and power of a Brett Lee delivery.

Meanwhile, the new defensive line-up of William, Jonny, Tom and Nat stood as firm as Ayers Rock: Jonny bravely got his head under two giant goal-kicks that would have made Mad Max tremble.

And in the final minute goalkeeper Luke – who otherwise had a fairly quiet afternoon – pulled off a magnificent save, flinging himself to his left to palm away a shot which came at him through a crowd of players. Just like Dean Kiely (not Kylie Minogue).

2009 / 2010 season matchblogs

2009-09-13T20:45:00.000+01:00

Find our new season match blogs here on the official Shelf Juniors AFC website.

BLOOD, SWEAT AND MEARS

2009-05-02T18:20:00.000+01:00

Hall Green United 7 Shelf Panthers 3

In what could prove to be his last competitive match for the Panthers, inspirational captain Scott Williams bravely played on despite a nose injury which needed emergency repairs at half-time.

As blood oozed down his son’s face, coach and laundry guru Tony warned him: “Don’t get it on your clothes – I’ve got to wash them.”

This shrewd tactical advice seemed to galvanise the Panthers into action after a lacklustre first-half display which saw them trail 5-0 at the break.

The deficit could have been even worse if it hadn’t been for an outstanding display of midfield running, passing and tackling by Adam Renard on his return to the side.

But after the break, Shelf looked like a different side. Urged on by a Man of the Match performance by Tom Wood on the left flank, they took the game to one of the league’s top teams.

Tobias Mears took his goal tally for the season to 21 after ten minutes of the second half with a typically powerful shot following a lovely pass from Robert on right.

The Panthers’ second goal two minutes later was made by goalkeeper Luke, who launched a giant kick upfield to the edge of the Hall Green penalty area. As the ball bounced at waist-height, Robert clipped it athletically past the advancing keeper for his 15th goal of the campaign.

Even when the home side stretched their lead to 7-2, Shelf continued to battle. With four minutes left, they threw caution to the winds, sending everyone except Luke forward for a corner. The ball dropped to Adam, who stroked it home from close-range for a well-deserved goal.

In the dying minutes, Jonny and Nat both went close as the Panthers threw the kitchen sink at their opponents – being careful not to spill Tony’s bluebell and apple-blossom bloodstain removal liquid, of course.

STAND-IN KEEPER LUKE’S A REAL TALENT

2009-04-26T15:51:00.001+01:00

Batley 5 or 6 Shelf Panthers 2

A rearranged Panthers side put in one of their best performances of the season to give the league’s top team a scare on their own ground.

The omens before the match weren’t good. Batley trounced Shelf 9-0 on the opening day of the campaign and this time the visitors only had 11 available players.

Luke - making a fine debut in goal despite playing with a foot injury - was called into action immediately, blocking a shot low to his right in the first minute, and then tipping the ball over the bar three minutes later.

But, incredibly, it was the Panthers who took the lead with six minutes gone. Robert whipped in a great cross from the right and Toby bundled the ball home at the far post.

A goal-line clearance from Man of the Match Jonny and another good stop from Luke kept Shelf in front until the tenth minute, when Batley hit back with two goals in quick succession.

That could have been the signal for the Panthers to go to pieces, but instead they roared back bravely. Toby fired just over after being played through by an excellent ball from William, then Tom – switched from fullback to striker for the day – headed Robert’s cross against the bar.

Batley made it 3-1 after 21 minutes, but two minutes later Shelf reduced the deficit with a contender for Goal of the Season. The ball was played rapidly out of defence to Robert, whose first touch flicked it round his marker and sent him sprinting down the right before unleashing a high shot which gave the keeper no chance.

His next contribution was equally spectacular – a loose boot which slipped off his foot and flew twenty feet up in the air. Fortunately, Malteser Man Ross – who bravely got his head underneath two high balls that dropped from outer space – wasn’t quite close enough to risk serious injury by trying to nod the Nike size nine fifty yards up the pitch.

The Panthers rode their luck in the dying minutes of the first half as Batley hit the bar twice in the space of a few seconds, then Luke produced a great reflex save from a powerful close-range shot.

Batley piled on the pressure in the second half, but the Panthers defended stoutly until the 45th minute, when two quick-fire goals put the home side 5-2 up.

There was still plenty for the Panthers fans to cheer about, though. Dylan cleared athletically off his own line. Jonny swooped like a swallow to head the ball out of his penalty area. And in the final minutes, Nat’s snap-shot was well saved by the keeper.

More mathematically-astute Shelf supporters may have thought they counted six Batley goals, but the official result posted on the website says 5-2 and – as firm supporters of the FA’s Respect campaign – we won’t argue with that.

NO JUST DESSERTS THIS TIME

2009-04-20T08:21:00.000+01:00

Shelf Panthers 4 Thornhill 11

Last year’s fixture between these two sides saw the epic Kendalls Cup clash, when Shelf pulled off a sensational victory after the management rashly instituted an incentive scheme involving vast quantities of post-match ice-cream.

What would the secret weapon be this time round? Speculation was rife when a bottle of Scotch whisky appeared amid the players’ half-time drinks, though it was claimed that this was merely a raffle prize for the parents.

With Luke and William away on international duty, both sides agreed to start with ten men and, despite playing up the slope in the first half, the Panthers went ahead after ten minutes. Robert’s perfect through-ball found Tobias powering through the centre and he swept his shot past the keeper.

A minute later, Thornhill were level. Cameron acrobatically tipped a shot against the bar but had no chance as the rebound was tucked into the empty net. The visitors – a neat passing side who quickly turned defence to attack – really cut loose after that and by half-time they were 6-1 up.

Despite conceding five more goals in the second half, Cameron put in another fine goalkeeping performance to win the Man of the Match trophy.

There were other positives too. Scott made two perfectly-timed last-ditch tackles to prevent what looked like certain goals. Tom blasted a free-kick against the bar. And Dylan took on the mantle of the absent William “On Me Head” Baker to win the Chocolate Award for the most headers.

The Panthers also had three good second-half goals to celebrate. Tobias’ second of the match, in the 49th minute followed another typical surge through the middle.

Then in the 56th minute Robert’s pace took him clear of the defence and he steered a great shot into the net. A minute later, he sprinted down the right and fired home from a tight angle.

Finally, a word for a couple of Thornhill’s more vocal spectators…

On second thoughts, we’ll leave words like that to them and politely suggest that they might like to read up on the FA’s Respect campaign.

WILL-POWER FAILS TO SAVE PANTHERS

2009-04-05T15:53:00.000+01:00

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.

GREAT SCOTT! SKIPPER STEERS SHELF TO VICTORY

2009-03-29T21:42:00.000+01:00

Shelf Panthers 2 Vision 0

Captain Scott led another successful expedition as Shelf recorded their second victory on the bounce.

The Panthers skipper – whose big-money summer signing for the Wagga Wagga Wallabies now looks like a done deal – turned in a Man of the Match display with some perfectly-timed tackling and interceptions.

Scott and fellow defenders Jonny, William and Tom were all kept busy in the first half as Vision, playing downhill, belied their lowly league position and mounted a series of attacks.

Vision were only denied the lead by three fine saves from Cameron in the space of four minutes. The Shelf keeper showed great reflexes to tip a goalbound header onto the post, then dived to palm a shot wide and seconds later got down well to stop another low effort.

Despite spending most of the first half under the cosh, the Panthers could have been ahead at the break. Dylan had a shot headed off the line after 27 minutes, and on the stroke of half-time Robert showed electrifying speed to outpace the defence and fire a low shot which whistled past the post.

After the break, Shelf spent long periods camped in the opposition half. Even defensive stalwart William Baker got in on the act with a rare shot that sailed just wide.

The breakthrough finally came in the 44th minute. Toby – who’d nearly scored two minutes earlier – turned smartly on the edge of the area and sent in a shot which squirmed out of the keeper’s grasp into the net.

A minute later, the Panthers were 2-0 up as Robert took advantage of some defensive uncertainty and blasted the ball into an empty net.

That was the cue for Nat to launch a one-man quest to score the world’s most spectacular goal as he twice volleyed the ball from about three miles out somewhere in the approximate direction of the Vision net.

Then in the dying minutes Toby lashed a shot against the post and a spirited Vision side had a goal disallowed for offside.

The only blot on an otherwise encouraging display was the Shelf coaches’ poor showing in the touchline shouting contest, where they were comprehensively outperformed by 138 decibels to 42.

After the match, Coach Tony Williams croaked: “We kept a clean sheet, and that’s important. That’s why I wash all my bedding in…”

Unfortunately, at this point he lost his voice.

COMEBACK - ALL IS FORGIVEN

2009-03-22T20:38:00.000Z

Norristhorpe 3 Shelf Panthers 4

Forget Istanbul 2005. Crossley Fields Junior & Infant School 2009 saw a comeback that puts even Liverpool’s Champions League triumph in the shade.

Like the Reds, the Panthers staged a magnificent fightback after finding themselves 3-0 down at half-time. But, while Gerrard & Co had to rely on penalties after staggering to 3-3, Williams & Co scored four second-half goals to win the game outright.

It was an amazing turnaround after a first half in which Shelf were in danger of being over-run as they struggled up the slope into the teeth of a howling gale. The omens weren’t good in the first minute, when only a goal-line block by Jonny prevented the visitors falling behind.

A minute later, Norristhorpe revealed their secret weapon – a number 6 with a long throw that made Rory Delap look like a puny weakling. His first effort hurtled into the penalty area like a guided missile and catapulted into the net, but the goal was ruled out because no-one had touched it on its way in.

Pinned in their own half for most of the first half, Shelf held on doggedly until the 17th minute, when one of those deadly throws bounced in the area and an unstoppable half-volley was smashed past Cameron.

With the advantage of the wind and the slope to come, the Panthers would have been happy with a 1-0 half-time deficit, but Norristhorpe grabbed two goals in the space of a minute just before the break.

It was time for the coaches to work their magic. Lee reached for the hair-drier. Tony urged his players to make a fresh, clean start and gazed longingly at the immaculately-laundered bibs on the touchline.

Galvanised by the team-talk, Shelf took control of the match. Their first goal, after 37 minutes, was a neat back-header from Man of the Match Robert. A minute later, Toby unleashed a 30-yard thunderbolt which bounced viciously over the keeper’s head, then just over the bar.

After 40 minutes, it was 3-2. Toby’s cross from the left hung in the air and Robert reacted quickly to power a header into the net.

Nine minutes later, the Panthers were level. Tom whipped a free kick in from wide on the right and Toby’s touch diverted it past the keeper.

Ross saw a shot headed off the line, but Shelf didn’t have to wait long for the winner, as Tom cut in from the left after 51 minutes and drove the ball low into the net.

CROWD HAIL BATTLING PERFORMANCE

2009-03-08T16:33:00.001Z

Shelf Panthers 2 YMCA 6

Urged on by shouts of “Tora, tora, tora” from Coach Tony “Kamikaze” Williams, the Panthers launched wave after wave of attacks as they threw caution to the icy winds in a breathless second half.

Playing down the Hipperholme slope in wintry weather more reminiscent of the Battle of Stalingrad than Pearl Harbour, Shelf turned their back four into a back three after the break and set about trying to overturn a 4-1 deficit.

Unfortunately, all descriptions of the away side’s four first-half goals have been obliterated by a notebook-rotting combination of rain, hail, sleet and snow (all at the same time). Fortunately, a detailed account does survive of the Panthers’ reply after 18 minutes, which followed great work by Toby. His strength and persistence took him past three players wide on the left, and his cross was whipped in venomously, forcing one of the YMCA defenders to head it past his own keeper.

The home side were unlucky not to reduce the arrears immediately after half-time. First, Ryan’s corner dropped perfectly into the six-yard box and in the resulting melee the ball bobbled tantalisingly on the line before being scrambled to safety by the keeper. Then, a minute later, Robert’s shot deflected wide off a defender.

Ryan and Sam both came close as the Panthers committed more men forward, but after 46 minutes the visitors made it 5-1 on the break.

Shelf’s heads could have dropped after that, but they fought back gamely and Toby pulled one back seven minutes later when he controlled the ball on the edge of the box and shot with deadly accuracy into the bottom right-hand corner.

Toby almost grabbed another one with a twisting header from a pinpoint cross from Man of the Match Robert, but YMCA immediately worked the ball up to the other end and made it 6-2 following a goalmouth scramble after the ball rebounded off a post.

Credit to both teams for putting on an entertaining display in foul conditions on a day when two other matches in their league were abandoned due to “inclement weather conditions” – and congratulations to Luke for picking up the Cadbury Trophy for services to heading.

After the match, Coach Tony Williams whispered: “There’s no need to shout. Ooh, my head. I shouldn’t have had that last pint of fabric conditioner.”

PLENTY TO SHOUT ABOUT

2009-03-01T16:42:00.001Z

Shelf Panthers 1 Rastrick 7

Radical changes are being proposed to football’s scoring system. The Shelf Panthers Matchblog can exclusively reveal that the sport’s world governing body, FIFA, is considering replacing the current method – based on goals – with a new one based on decibels.

If the plan gets the go-ahead, the Panthers are widely tipped for a place in the Premier League, thanks to the phenomenal vocal cords of coaches Tony Williams and Lee Marsh. The pair – whose skills have been honed through long years of bellowing at new recruits and shouting over the whine of faulty bus engines - put on another tonsil-busting display, with one cry of “Well in, Scotty” reportedly heard as far away as Cleckheaton.

Another proposal being considered by FIFA is to award teams points for making the ball ricochet at high speed off the referee’s backside – a feat which won Luke the loudest cheer of this match.

When the teams met earlier in the season, Rastrick hammered the Panthers 10-2, so they can take heart from a battling performance which restricted their higher-placed opponents to a paltry seven goals this time round.

With William and Dylan unavailable, and Scott playing despite a foot injury picked up in training the previous day, it was always going to be tough for Shelf against physically strong opponents.

The home side matched Rastrick for the first ten minutes, despite playing up the slope, but were then hit by a three-goal salvo in the space of five minutes. Shelf rallied again, though, and a shot across the face of goal from Man of the Match Sam Cox went agonisingly wide before the away side made it 4-0 at half time.

The Panthers adopted a shoot-on-sight policy in the second half. Tom tested the keeper with two well-struck long-range free kicks and Ryan crashed the ball against a post.

But, as Rastrick found the net three more times, Shelf’s one consolation was a 43rd minute goal from top scorer Tobias, who took his chance coolly after being put through by Ryan.

The coaches are aiming to work on the team’s heading skills on the parade ground – sorry, training ground – next week. Anyone who’s planning on ducking out of headers is advised to bring ear-plugs.

MOUNTAIN EXCITEMENT

2009-02-22T17:22:00.000Z

Shelf Panthers 2 Longcroft Lions 4

With both coaches and two players recently returned from the Alps, you’d have expected the Panthers to be at home on slopes. But they found it an uphill struggle in the second half as they toiled up Hipperholme’s answer to Mont Blanc.

This allowed the visitors – whose own home matches are played on the Huddersfield Matterhorn – to turn a 2-0 half-time deficit into a 4-2 win.

Shelf raced into the lead after just three minutes. Left-back Tom Wood picked the ball up on the edge of the area and blasted an unstoppable shot for his second goal since Christmas.

The Panthers could have doubled their lead after 15 minutes when Ryan was put through by Toby and unleashed a powerful drive, only to be denied by a diving save by the keeper.

Two minutes later, Shelf were two up. This time, Ryan turned provider and Toby steered the ball expertly past the advancing keeper to bring his tally for the season to 13.

But after the break, the visitors took charge of the match, orchestrated by their beanpole striker “Crouchy.” Scott “Franz Klammer” Williams could have done with a pair of skis to help him keep pace with the number 15’s giant strides. And the Lions’ first two goals – after 36 and 47 minutes – both resulted from perfectly-flighted corners from the boy who puts the Long in Longcroft.

The Panthers were given fresh heart by an exquisite chip from Toby that floated inches wide. But most of the action came at the other end. In the space of three minutes, Man of the Match Jonny Jones made a phenomenal goal-line clearance, goalkeeper Cameron Wells pulled off a great fingertip save, and a Longcroft shot bounced off the post.

As the Panthers tired, the visitors wrapped up the match with a third goal in the 49th minute and a fourth in injury time.

After the match, coach Tony Williams unfastened his ski visor and said: “To be honest, we needed some fresh legs…Alpine Fresh…the new washing powder from Bold. It’s what your shorts have been missing…”

THREE POINTS FOR 3Ds

2009-02-01T16:39:00.000Z

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.”

FAIRYTALE ENDING FOR SHELF

2009-01-11T16:16:00.000Z

Vision 1 Shelf Panthers 3

Last week’s hero Cameron Wells was enjoying a well-earned day off at the panto – but Ross Bickerton took centre stage to guide the Panthers to their second successive victory.

Ross often plays something of a Cinderella role for his team, toiling away behind the scenes in midfield, but he stepped into the spotlight today to win the Man of the Match trophy.

Shelf surged into a two-goal lead in the first two minutes. First, Ryan’s long-range shot was headed off the line by a defender, only for Ross to enter stage left and force the ball home from inside the six-yard box for his first league goal of the season. Then Robert burst into the penalty area, shrugged off a challenge and tucked home the second.

Vision’s keeper did well to tip a powerful left-foot shot from Tobias over the bar after 16 minutes, but he could do nothing about the Panthers’ third goal five minutes later as Ross crossed from the left and Robert fired an unstoppable shot.

Shelf almost made it 4-0 before the break as Scott hit a real screamer of a volley just wide from a corner.

Playing into the teeth of a howling gale in the second half, the Panthers found it hard to get the ball to the front men. But with Tom “Babes In The” Wood turning in a solid performance and coach Tony Williams bellowing “He’s behind you” at the first sign of danger, their own goal was rarely threatened.

It meant a quiet afternoon for Cameron’s understudy Jonny Jones, who was converted from centre-back to goalkeeper for the day. He didn’t touch the ball in the first half, pulled off a splendid diving catch after 36 minutes when a gust of wind made the ball dip viciously towards his net, and could do nothing about Vision’s solitary goal five minutes from the end.

It was just as well that he’d conspired to get his goalkeeping shirt caked in several layers of mud during the pre-match warm-up. “I’ll wash this,” declared Shelf’s very own answer to Widow Twankey with a glint in his eye. “This is a job for my new Australian bush flower and kangaroo oil detergent…”

PANTHERS MAUL HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS

2009-01-04T17:54:00.000Z

Kirkheaton 1 Shelf Panthers 2

This was FA Cup Third Round weekend – the traditional season for feats of heroic giant killing – and some of that magic had clearly found its way onto the pitch at Kirkheaton.

On paper, it looked like a complete mismatch. Kirkheaton had only lost one League game all season, winning three of them by margins of 15, 13 and 12 goals. The Panthers, on the other hand, recorded their only victory of the campaign more than three months ago. And when the teams met in September, Shelf were thumped 8-2 at home.

But the Panthers confounded the statistics by putting on a magnificent battling display which saw them clinging on to win a hugely entertaining game.

Man of the Match Cameron Wells performed heroics in the Shelf goal with a series of fine saves and two outstanding ones – a punch over the bar from a free-kick which was heading for the top corner on the stroke of half-time and a reflex dive to his left to tip the ball round the post after 38 minutes.

A minute later, the Panthers were ahead through a delightful goal made by Tom Wood. He latched onto a loose ball on the edge of the Kirkheaton penalty area and steered it first time into the path of striker Tobias Mears. Tobias - bravely playing on despite a nasty first-half thigh injury – made no mistake from five yards out for his ninth goal of the season.

Five minutes later, Kirkheaton were level, forcing the ball home from close-range in a crowded penalty area following a corner from the right.

The home side must have fancied their chances of going on to win the match, but Shelf came back strongly with wave after wave of attacks. Ryan crashed a free-kick against the post from 25 yards and Ross almost turned the rebound in. Then Scott had a shot fingertipped around the post by the keeper after the ball pinged around the Kirkheaton penalty area.

The Panthers finally got their deserved winner ten minutes from time thanks to Robert’s blistering pace. He latched onto a through ball and outran the defence before being fouled in the box as he was about to score. Ryan blasted the penalty hard and high through the goalkeeper’s hands.

After that, Kirkheaton threw everything forward, but a combination of calm goalkeeping and last-ditch defending kept them at bay.

It was all almost too much for coach Tony Williams. “Where’s the nearest hospital? I’m going to have a coronary,” he gasped in those last frantic few minutes.

He later refused to comment on speculation that a top Australian club are trying to lure him with an offer of an unlimited fabric conditioner budget.

YULE NEVER WALK ALONE

2008-12-21T16:47:00.000Z

Shelf Panthers 3 Dewsbury Rangers 4

After the first 20 minutes, it looked as though Shelf were in for a real Christmas stuffing – but they fought back bravely and were unlucky to lose a cracker of a match by the odd goal in seven.

The Panthers were without top goalscorer Tobias Mears, rumoured to be locked in secret negotiations with Blackburn Rovers about replacing star striker Santa Cruz. Meanwhile, defender William Baker was battling fatigue after a gruelling sleigh-ride back from his skiing holiday in the early hours of the morning. And what kind of weather did he come back to? Rain, dear…

Dewsbury delighted their sponsors DHL by delivering three goals in the space of 11 first-half minutes – the best of them a perfect lob from 30 yards with Cameron stranded off his line.

But the Panthers hit back just before the break. Ryan crossed from the right, Robert’s shot was parried by the keeper and Nat seized on the loose ball to fire home his third goal of the season.

With no subs to bring on, coaches Lee Marsh and Tony Williams shuffled their team at half-time with all the tactical acumen of Wenger (a strategy known as Arsene around). They pushed Scott up into attack and within five minutes of the restart he earned his side a penalty when he was tripped in the area. Ryan gave the Dewsbury keeper no chance, blasting his spot-kick high into the net.

Dewsbury made it 4-2 three minutes later with a well-taken strike after a lovely ball through the middle. But the Panthers pulled one back after 41 minutes when Robert made mincemeat of the Dewsbury defence before unleashing a powerful shot for his sixth goal of the season.

The last 20 minutes saw the Panthers camped in the Dewsbury half as they went in search of a deserved equaliser. With Man of the Match Dylan turning in an all-action performance, Shelf created chance after chance.

The keeper pulled off good saves from a shot by Robert and a spectacular long-range volley by Dylan. But the best chances fell to Ryan, who beat the keeper twice in the last ten minutes, only to see his first effort headed clear by a defender and his second scrambled off the line.

In his post-match press conference, coach Tony Williams was positive about the future. “It’s a New Year,” he said. “Time to wipe the slate clean…as clean as this lovely freshly-laundered kit here. Oi – who’s got mud on my bibs?”

STAT’S MORE LIKE IT

2008-11-23T16:15:00.001Z

Shelf Panthers 3 Norristhorpe 5

Football teams love statistics, so the Panthers have commissioned an in-depth analysis of their last two games to give them some pointers for the next few weeks – and the conclusions are hugely encouraging.

Last week, Shelf lost by eight goals; today the margin of defeat was a respectable two. Number-crunchers from the University of Stone Chair fed this data into a specially-developed computer programme to come up with the confident prediction that the team will beat Vision by four clear goals next week and be a massive ten goals better than Hall Green United on 7 December.

Just like Man United, it seems that the Panthers only really get into their stride once winter starts to set in.

On an icy day, goalkeeper Cameron Wells managed to avoid hypothermia by pulling off five energetic saves in the first ten minutes as Norristhorpe had the better of the early exchanges.

But Panthers striker Tobias Mears turned things round in dramatic fashion with a hat-trick in just eight first-half-minutes.

His first was a towering header from a perfectly-struck right-wing corner by Tom. The second was made by the pace of Robert, who raced down the right touchline to beat his marker to the ball and whip in a cross which Tobias struck past the keeper. His third was a powerful left-foot strike after he was played through by Jonny.

Using their sophisticated computer modelling, the university boffins reckon Tobias will score six against Vision and nine against Hall Green United and his dad Simon – who operates a generous cash-for-goals scheme – will be bankrupt by Christmas.

Norristhorpe pulled one back in the 22nd minute through a lovely chip from the edge of the area, and made sure of the points with four second-half goals as they played down the slope and kept the Panthers pinned in their own half for long periods.

Coach Tony Williams was philosophical in defeat. “I might change things around next week,” he told the post-match press conference. “Jojoba, peach and dandelion worked pretty well today, but next week I might pick lemongrass, guava and daffodil.

“Mmmm, smell those bibs – lovely.”

A RESPECTABLE SHOWING

2008-11-16T19:59:00.000Z

Shelf Panthers 2 Rastrick 10

This was the day when the Panthers players and spectators solemnly signed up to the FA’s Respect campaign – and it had an immediate effect.

Their new commitment to fair play meant the Shelf parents had to hastily abandon plans to give Rastrick’s two star players £20 each and escort them to Kendall’s to scoff as much ice-cream and as many milkshakes as they could force down just before the kick-off. Without several litres of extra-whippy strawberry and extra-creamy banana sloshing around in their stomachs, the pair – a big, strong striker with silky skills and a dead-ball expert to rival Beckham in his heyday – ran the game for the visitors.

So credit is due to Panthers central defenders Scott Williams and Man of the Match Jonny Jones for a brave display of last-ditch tackling, heading and intercepting. Jonny has long been recognised as the Panthers’ dirtiest player - he usually ends the game with half the pitch caked on him – and after this match his kit needed industrial quantities of coach Tony “Wishy Washy” Williams’ jasmine, passionfruit and pansy detergent.

Special mention should also go to Josh Shaw for gamely jumping to his feet and playing on after being felled by a point-blank piledriver from Scott which caught him full in the face.

And we shouldn’t forget the Panthers’ magnificent fans, who continued to cheer their team on in the face of adversity right to the final whistle while of course remaining outside the field of play and behind the Designated Spectator Area (where provided) and never engaging in, or tolerating, offensive, insulting or abusive language or behaviour.

It was always going to be a tough afternoon for the Panthers after Rastrick rattled in three goals in the first 12 minutes. But Shelf struck back on the stroke of half-time when Toby latched onto a long through-ball from Jonny, took it round the keeper and crossed from the left for Ryan to tap home his third goal of the season from close range.

Playing down the slope after half-time, Shelf had high hopes of staging a fightback – but Rastrick made sure of the points with four goals in the first eight minutes of the second half. It would have been worse if Cameron hadn’t flung himself down to grab the ball off the feet of an onrushing striker with the referee (whom we all Respect) ignoring an offside flag from linesman Ian Bickerton (whom we also Respect).

Rastick’s sixth goal was one of the best of the season – a beautifully-judged long-range chip from their answer to Beckham.

A club which hadn’t signed up to the Respect campaign might have questioned whether the seventh goal actually crossed the line (but not Shelf, of course). And things got worse when the Panthers found themselves 8-1 down after just 41 minutes and then 9-1 down with 12 minutes of the match left.

“Boys, I want one goal, one goal,” Tony thundered respectfully from the touchline. Robert obliged by forcing the ball home from close-range after Rastrick failed to clear a corner.

Rastrick’s star striker had the last word, scoring his umpteenth goal of the match in the last minute.

Having reread the Respect code, there isn’t actually anything in it about force-feeding opponents gargantuan quantities of ice-cream before kick-off…

TALL ORDER FOR PANTHERS

2008-11-02T14:56:00.001Z

Longcroft Lions 5 Shelf Panthers 2

Fans of Peter Crouch may have thought England’s beanpole striker moved from Liverpool to Portsmouth in the summer. He didn’t. He was snapped up by Longcroft Lions instead.

Suspicions were aroused right from the kick-off, when a figure resembling the nearby Emley Moor mast took his place on the windswept pitch alongside the Panthers’ pocket dynamo Josh Shaw, who bravely went in for challenges with his head against his opponent’s sharp kneecaps.

The lofty striker – whose identity was confirmed when team-mates began calling him “Crouchy” – played a part in the match’s pivotal moment seven minutes into the second half. Shelf were trailing 2-1 but enjoying a good spell of sustained pressure as they searched for an equaliser. Longcroft eventually managed to clear the ball into the Panthers’ half, where defender Jonny Jones appeared to have it under control but suddenly ended up sprawling in the mud, leaving the Lions a clear run through to make it 3-1.

The referee allowed the goal and dismissed claims for a Shelf free-kick, ruling that Jonny had “tripped over his own feet.” Panthers supporters argued that an outstretched spindly leg – which could have reached several yards if fully extended – had rather more to do with it.

The match saw striker Tobias Mears score a brace of goals to take his tally for the season to five. The first, after 16 minutes, was a simple tap-in to put the Panthers 1-0 up after Longcroft failed to clear a right-wing corner from Ryan.

The second, after 41 minutes, was a sublime piece of skill: put through by Robert, he controlled the ball inside the penalty area with his left foot before steering it past the keeper with his right.

Tobias – who proved a real handful for the Longcroft defence – looked certain to get a hat-trick when he was tripped in the penalty area six minutes from the final whistle. But his penalty was easily saved by the opposition keeper.

In the end, even a Man of the Match performance from hardworking midfielder Ross Bickerton couldn’t save Shelf from defeat.

Two criticisms of Longcroft: is it sporting to name your team after vicious wild animals? And should talented visiting teams be expected to play on a pitch which slopes markedly from one goalmouth to the other?

The Panthers will be hoping to roar to victory in the return match later in the season, when Longcroft will have to scale the “Hipperholme Eiger” – and Shelf officials will be scrutinising the visitors’ registration cards for any mention of the name Crouch, P.

HEADING FOR STARDOM

2008-10-05T17:28:00.000+01:00

Shelf Panthers 1 Collingham 4

Fear of imminent decapitation is one of the main barriers to progress in junior football.

Many promising young careers have been ruined by the failure to realise that the object hurtling towards their head is actually a football, rather than a live hand grenade.

So today we salute Panthers coaches Lee “Boot Camp” Marsh and Tony “Sergeant-Major Shut-Up” Williams – who’s had all sorts thrown at him during his 25 years in the Army – for finally managing to teach their team the difference between balls and bombs.

In a tough Saturday training session, the players were given intensive heading practice – “enough to make their heads bleed,” according to the coaches – and the following day it paid off with an aerial display worthy of the Red Arrows.

One of the leading exponents of these new-found heading skills was central defender Jonny Jones (who does have an advantage because his flowing locks help to cushion the ball). In a Man of the Match performance, he used his head repeatedly to thwart the quick and skilful Collingham attackers. His most spectacular intervention came in the 24th minute, when he saved a certain goal by acrobatically booting the ball high into the air off his own line and then waited for it to drop again before rising above the strikers to head it away from danger.

Scott and Dylan also produced magnificent headed clearances in a fine defensive performance by the home side.

When the draw was made for this first-round Cup match, Panthers supporters were left asking “Who are Collingham?” in the same way that Spurs fans might search for information about some obscure Ukrainian UEFA Cup opponents.

The answer is that Collingham are a fine side from the Wetherby area, who were unbeaten in the Garforth League all last season – so this defeat was no disgrace.

Playing down the slope on a gloriously sunny afternoon, the visitors raced into a 2-0 lead within 15 minutes.

But within two minutes the Panthers had clawed one back, Robert hammering his third goal of the season from a seemingly impossible angle far out on the right flank.

Collingham made it 3-1 after 21 minutes, but, with the slope in their favour in the second half, Shelf threw everything they had at the visitors’ goal. Striker Tobias Mears – keen to add to his three-goal tally for the season – was denied by three good second-half saves from the Collingham keeper.
Collingham killed the game off after 47 minutes with a coolly-taken goal, but even then the Panthers refused to let their aching heads drop.

They may be out of the Cup, but the message from this game is – keep using your heads…and you’ll keep heading up the League.

ONE HULL OF A BEATING

2008-09-28T14:43:00.000+01:00

Shelf Panthers 2 Kirkheaton 8 (28/9/08)

The visitors may have called themselves Kirkheaton, but that didn’t fool anyone.

With their distinctive orange and black striped kit and tigerish tackling, we all knew they were really Hull City, fresh from the previous day’s victory against Arsenal at the Emirates.

It gave Panthers goalkeeper Cameron Wells a chance to shine on the big stage against Premiership opposition – and he turned in a Man of the Match display with a succession of spectacular saves.

Pick of the bunch was probably his 19th minute dive low to his right to fingertip what looked like a certain goal away from the corner of the net. Cameron’s dad Richard must take some of the credit for buying him new goalie gloves: one size smaller and he wouldn’t have reached it.

Showing courage as well as agility, Cameron thwarted the Hull strikers in one-on-one situations time and time again as they ran onto long balls through the middle.

Meanwhile at the other end, Ryan got the chance to practise his new goal celebration again with a powerful run and long-range shot after nine minutes.

And Tobias grabbed his third goal of the season after 20 minutes, latching onto a ball over the top into the penalty area and stroking it past the keeper with his favoured left foot.

There were other positives, too. A huge crowd meant record match receipts (from the raffle), though this may have had something to do with the two other matches taking place on neighbouring pitches at the same time.

The Panthers could also take encouragement from the post-match stats: they were ahead for 23% of the game and on level terms for a further 32%.

And supporters can take heart from the fact that coaches Lee Marsh and Tony Williams clearly don’t have anything wrong with their vocal cords.

Hull’s eight goals were scored by players with blond Mohican haircuts.

NAT KING GOAL

2008-09-21T14:55:00.000+01:00

Dewsbury Rangers 3 Shelf Panthers 6

Nathan St George got on the score sheet for the first time since switching from goalkeeper to midfielder as the Panthers stormed to their first win of the season.

After last week’s mauling against Batley, Shelf fans feared the worst when Dewsbury’s pre-match warm-up appeared to be led by a giant dog - but in the event it was the terrier-like tenacity of central defender Scott Williams that set up the first goal after six minutes. He pounced on a loose ball and half-volleyed it into the opposition penalty area, where Ryan steered it on for Nat to tuck it into the net.

Dewsbury were level eight minutes later when Scott mistimed a tackle just inside the area – his only blemish on an excellent performance – and the resultant penalty was blasted to Cameron’s right.

The Panthers got their noses in front again after 26 minutes when Ryan lifted the ball high into the net from a tight angle near the right touchline. But their lead lasted for less than a minute as Dewsbury raced to the other end and unleashed an unstoppable shot.

The second half brought a Man of the Match performance from striker Tobias Mears, who scored twice and was only denied several more by some brave goalkeeping. He made it 3-2 after 47 minutes with a neat left-foot finish following a defence-splitting through-ball from Scott. Four minutes later Tobias latched onto a long ball from Robert and coolly rounded the keeper before rolling the ball into the empty net.

Four minutes from the end, the roles were reversed – Tobias surging down the left and crossing for Robert to grab the fifth.

Dewsbury reduced the deficit on 60 minutes with a powerful and accurate free kick from the edge of the penalty area – but Robert had the last word with only seconds of injury time remaining when he hammered the game’s most spectacular goal from far out on the right.

So the Panthers roared back after last week’s setback – and this nine-goal thriller even managed to stop the 3am Girls falling asleep on the touchline.