LTHC Men’s 3rd XI 5 vs Panthers (Leicester) Men’s 1st XI 1
MRHA T2 – East Midlands 1
Saturday 30th November 2019
Following the previous two defeats from the past two weeks, Loughborough Town 3rd XI set out to end this small losing streak and come out victorious against Panthers. This would be no easy task if Town were going on last year’s results which were all close.
In the first half Town despite starting the game lethargically, managed to execute a slick move down the left hand side involving interplay between Pete Hayes, Kaylan Mistry, Jono Griffiths which was subsequently finished by Arun Mistry, a great team goal. However Panthers weren’t going down without a fight as they conjured a lot of chances which were expertly saved by Jamin Metcalfe.
Town’s solid defence was eventually broken though with Panthers scoring from a scrappy short corner. Throughout the first half Town did manage to soak up a lot of pressure and meant that the counter attack was inevitable with Arun Mistry scoring his second of the game for a 2-1 lead at halftime.
A stern team talk at half time from captain Hayes, Town’s message for the second half was essentially to sharpen up and be more ruthless when attacking and defending.
Panthers although dominating the possession became very exposed at the back with all of their players committed to levelling the score. Ultimately this allowed Loughborough to score three more goals.
Elliot Crocker scoring two sumptuous goals one being a top corner drag flick from a short corner, and the other being a first time finish which he stroked the ball into the bottom corner. Lastly Arun Mistry scored his third completing his hat trick. This allowed Town to cruise to a comfortable 5-1 victory.
Overall this was a win that allows Town to build on an already strong start to try and consolidate a top half finish.
