Arlesey U12s 3 Melbourn Dynamos Panthers U12s 2

For the second week running Panthers lost by the odd goal in five against an attacking Arlesey side.

As was evident in their game earlier in the season both sides love to attack with little emphasis on defence.

Chances went begging at both ends in an entertaining first half which Panthers just shaded. Luke Eades and Sam Austin were at the heart of all the dangerous attacks as the Arlesey defence looked fragile down the Panthers left. Finally one of those attacks paid dividends as Steven Day scored his first goal for the club with an accurate finish after a goalmouth scramble.

Arlesey had two or three good chances to equalise but Melbourn kept a clean sheet with some good interceptions from Andrew Chitty and Lewis Chessum.

When the Arlesey attack did get behind the Panthers defence Connor Patel made some fine saves in the Panthers goal. With less than a minute to go to half time Jack Brough score his second goal in two appearances to give Melbourn a healthy 2-0 lead at half time.

Unfortunately Panthers started the second half in the worst possible manner by conceding inside the first minute. Soon after Robbie Dingwell had a great chance to make it 3-1 when a pinpoint pass from Austin put him clean through on goal. To his credit the Arlesey defender made a great interception just as Dingwell looked set to fire home. A couple of niggling injuries took their toll on Panthers as they failed to match their opponents’ strength throughout the remainder of the second half.

Despite some heroic defending from player of the match Ryan Lees, it was no surprise that the Arlesey attackers got the upper hand and scored twice more without reply to give the home side a 3-2 win.