Cougars’ performance deserved the full 3-points in this entertaining match in the bitter cold at Ancaster. The game looked doubtful to take place early on, but the weather cleared to allow a mid-day KO.

Cougars looked in determined mood from the off but despite Jacob Mousley, Charlie Winfield & Jack Sprake taking control in midfield, Mowbray couldn’t capitalise. It was Ancaster who had the first couple of attacks, but both ended in nothing with Sam Booth catching solidly in the Cougars goal. Cougars played the better football in the first quarter of play with their passing & moving showing that they were not rusty after a weather inflicted 4 week lay off. Much against the run of play, Ancaster won a corner and the drilled ball across the box seemed to bob, drop, hit a couple of back-sides and crawl over the line for a very cheap goal.

One thing that cannot be said about the Cougars is that they drop their heads…almost immediately; they got back into the swing of things and were outplaying their opponents. A strong Matt Riddle at the back duly dealt anything that looked threatening – In fact, the only thing that Mowbray lacked was a bit of confidence in front of goal. Cougars were exceptional today in getting & keeping the ball in the other half and despite all their worth, Jonti Cole was the only person who got off a shot on goal with any note; a thundering shot from just outside the area and only the last minute touch of a defenders boot prevented a well deserved equaliser.

A quick turn-a-round at half time with instructions for more shots on goal resulted in an even grittier attitude from the Mowbray side. Matt Riddle continued to dominate from the back, winning nearly everything that came near him. Just as it was looking like it would not be Mowbray’s day – Jacob Mousley got hold of the ball just outside the box and fired the ball home with a perfectly struck shot. This seemed to ease the nerves a bit and even though Athletic came back at them, Cougars still looked the better side. 10 minutes later, the ball was pushed to Jack Young on the right who put a low cross in. Two defenders missed their opportunity to clear and the ball fell nicely to an unmarked Cameron Steans on the line to casually knock the ball in for a 2-1 lead.

Sprakey, Steansy & Mousley worked tirelessly in midfield, helping out Jack Young up front and supporting Matt Riddle & Ben Dawson in defence. With just 7 minutes left, Ancaster were awarded a dodgy free-kick on the left hand-side, some even dodgier defending from Cougars in the wall was probably the only blot on their performance…but take nothing away from Ancaster, the free-kick was taken well, giving Sam Booth no chance in his top-left corner.

Jack Young very nearly won it for the travelling team in the dieing moments, with a cheeky shot from well outside the box on the right. The home keeper only just got an extended leg to it, to stop the ball on the line.

This was probably Cougars, best all-round team performance to date. They looked and played like a football team today and with Matt leading from the back and such a good resolve, things are progressing well. Just that little bit of confidence in having a go at goal, is missing.

Despite that - everyone played their part today and although there were strong performances throughout - It was nice to see the team being unanimous in awarding Matt Riddle the player of the match, showing that they are a very fair & unselfish bunch of kids.