After losing our last match against the Honwarth Villa Tornados Reds, the onus lies on the boys in Yellow to bounce back as the season reaches the home stretch.

The home team donned the red jerseys, while the Pinewood Pumas wore their home yellow tops.

The boys showed that they were well aware of the expectations, as they didn’t take long to settle into the game, while grabbing the game’s first goal in the third minute. However, they were made to wait until the second half, before opening the floodgate of goals, as the first half only produced two goals for the Pumas, while the home team pulled a goal back, nine minutes before the break.

The second half began in similar manner as the first, as the Pumas came out flying to restore our two-goal lead in the second minute of the restart. Five more goals were scored by the Pumas, with the home team managing to reduce the deficit on a rare occasion in the second period.

Pumas’ first XI

James played in goal, with Isaac dropping into the back three(in the absence of Omar), alongside Jameel and Barney. Samuel, Ajay, Tom, Heath, Jacob, Shak; with Miles leading the line. Nathan, William and Kingsley started from the bench.

Omar was unavailable having taken a knock in our last outing and Tené continues his recovery from injury.

Pressing high and smart

The W&E Kites Gold got the game underway, with their no58 getting the game's first touch. The boys in yellow pressed the boys in red high in their own half, resulting in the first throw-in of the match. One throw-in quickly became four in quick successions, with the fourth throw-in falling to our no10. His cross was however, cleared by the W&E's defence line. They attempted to catch our defence line cold, through a long punt to the Windsor's right wing. This was promptly undone by the clever interception of Isaac, playing as part of the three CBs on the day.

Drawing the first blood!

Windsor's first throw-in of the game, ended in a cross into our area that swiftly headed out by Jacob to Shak. His pass to Samuel, eventually found its way to Jacob who in turn passed to Samuel.

With the Pumas pressing with so much will, the ball fell nicely to Miles, who had the task of shooting to the goalie's right. First shot, first goal!

Maintaining dominance

A pass with the inside foot by Samuel sent Miles through on goal in the sixth minute, but his shot at goal forced a desperate clearance from the W&E's skipper. Moment later, a short throw-in by W&E resulted in a clever pass to their no58, but his shot was blocked by the persistent Barney for the game's first corner kick. The resultant corner kick was aptly headed clear by Miles at the near post.

9’ - Our first corner arrived after Jacob made an incursion into the W&E's area. The resultant kick was floated in by Miles, with Jacob getting a firm header on target. Our no10's header was well saved by the W&E's goalie, but Jacob was again on hand to unleash a rebound that struck the goalie's frame. There was a brief pause in game, with the W&E's no1 requiring attention.

11’ - W&E's had a rare chance to attack the Pumas, as their no58 was put under pressure by a combination of Jameel and Barney.

19’ - Isaac's throw was blocked out, with the reds attempt to catch the Pumas out on a counter was intercepted by Jameel, who smartly found Jacob. Jacob's swift turn and pass to Shak was impressive, with our no99 showing some guile and skills to square a pass across to Miles in the six-yards.

20’ - Another sustained passing by the Pumas, ended with Jacob being harshly brought down by the unrelenting W&E's skipper.

23’ - James' long thrust found Shak, whose cushion fell to Ajay. Ajay in turn found Tom. Tom would quickly put Jacob through on goal, but could not beat the W&E's no1.

24’ – GOAL: Another throw-in by W&E was intercepted, when Jacob robbed their no40 and made a fast break down the opposition's left flank. His low cross was well weighted for the anticipating Miles to strike home, via the underneath of the cross-bar. Score: 0 - 2

26’ – GOAL: Lifeline for the home team!

An offensive foray by our no22, left our defensive unit exposed, when his initially impressive run was halted by the air-kick. The opposition took full advantage to attack down the Pumas' right of the area to pull a goal back, despite Nathan's frantic effort to stop the attack. Score: 1 - 2

35’ – VAR in operation?

The referee had rightly pointed to the spot, after our no99 was clearly brought down by the W&E's skipper. However, his initial decision was overturned strangely by the home linesman.

HALF-TIME

Making dominance count!

36’ - Our skipper got us underway in the second half, with normal service being restored

37’ – GOAL: We restored our two-goal advantage, with Shak scoring the third goal, after some persistent pressure by William and Miles. Assist: Kingsley. Score: 1 - 3

39’ – Goal but no Goal! Windsor & Eton put the ball in the net but the referee's whistle had gone before the ball touched the net. The move was rightly flagged for offside

39’ - GOAL: It was a quick-fire two-goals for the Pumas in as many minutes, as Miles bagged his hat-trick on the 39thminute mark. Assist: Jacob. Score: 1 - 4

48’ - GOAL: Pulling clear! Another attack by the Pumas from the left flank saw Miles displaying some fancy footwork, that ended up in a shot that was saved by the W&E's goalie. The goalie's throw was only as far as to Jacob, who punished his error for the Pumas' 5th goal. Score: 1 - 5

50’ - GOAL: The Pumas gifted the home side a chance, when our no10's attempted back pass fell short and the W&E's no44 pounced to score, despite Jameel's desperate attempt to block the shot. He would require attention for taking a knock in the process. Another case of giving the opposition hope! Score: 2- 5

52’ - Instant REPLY!

Fluid sequence of passing from James ended up with Miles assisting Jacob for the Pumas sixth goal of the match. It was a sweet left-footed strike from the edge of the box. Score: 2 - 6

55’ - Heath almost made it 2-7, after some good passing from Heath to Tom, Shak, with Jacob cross finding its way to Heath. His skewed shot was off target

57’ - Three should have turned four goals for our skipper, but he inadvertently blazed over with the goal gaping after some neat works between Heath and Kingsley, with Tom playing a marvellous through ball to the impressive Jacob.

59’ – GAME SET!

Another long throw by James to Miles, saw Miles playing a long defence splitting pass to Jacob. Our no10 required no second chance to bag a hat-trick of his own, after dribbling past the W&E's skipper. Score: 2 - 7

68’ - The last goal of the day showcased the lads' qualities on the day, with resilience, desire, strength and awareness all on display as the ball from Jameel found Kingsley, who in turn fed the ball to Tom. Again, playing a crucial role, Tom had the awareness to pick out the run of Samuel - who in turn laid the ball across to Isaac; now playing in forward role in the last 10 minutes of the game.

Our no8 displayed a calm head in cutting in and then firing across the right of the W&E's goalie, despite the desperate attempts by the diving and sliding defenders.

At this stage, the boys in yellow had already taken their feet off the pedal as the game petered out.

Goals:

Windsor & Eton Kites Gold: no44 26’, 50’;

Pinewood Pumas: Miles 3’, 24’ (assist Jacob), 39’ (assist Jacob), Shak 37’ (assist Kingsley), Jacob 48’, 52’ (assist Miles), 59’ (assist Miles), 68’ Isaac (assist Samuel)

Yellow cards: W&E 0 – P 0