Wyrley Panthers v Ashmore Park Rangers Friendly Match

The Panthers fixtures were hampered by strong winds which made it difficult to keep the ball on the deck like the boys like to.

During the first half of the game the Panthers were camped in the APR half without really creating too many chances and the half ended a stalemate.

APR came into the game a little more in the second half when they had the wind behind them. Lewis ‘the Cat’ Rochelle made a good save from a superb free kick from an APR player. However, he could not keep out a scrappy goal-line finish from an APR player following a frantic ping-pong game in the penalty area.

The Panthers came storming back and at the very least deserved a draw. Two great strikes by Sam ‘Scotty’ Scott deserved an equaliser, but one was brilliantly saved by the keeper and the other was well blocked by a defender in the area.

Man of the match in this game was Rio Parkes-Mahoney.

Wyrley Panthers v Hamstead Diamonds Friendly Match

Hamstead were unlucky not to win this game as they created plenty of clear-cut chances and missed a penalty.

The Panthers were asleep from the off and George Whitehouse and Josh ‘Smasher’ Mason were under constant pressure at the back, with the latter fortunate not to give away a penalty himself.

Hamstead took a deserved lead early in the second half with a shot that hit the bar, bounced over the line, and was rightly given.

However, the goal woke up the forwards and the Panthers began to create chances with Louis Beesley finding himself in good positions on the right side of the box but finding himself unable to hit the target on both occasions.

As a result of this pressure, the Panthers broke the deadlock, a beautifully taken corner by Ashton ‘Goals’ Cooper was despatched into the bottom corner of the net with brilliant technique by Ben ‘Tank’ Maginness.

However, the Panthers put themselves under more pressure near the end when they went chasing the win and nearly got hit on the break late on.

Man of the Match was George Whitehouse for his commanding performance at the back.