It may have required a 5am start for some of the team, but the Panthers put in a really strong showing at the Charlton Invicta FC 8-a-side tournament on Sunday 22 June 2018.
We faced a strong line-up of London based teams: the London Titans (x2!), Romans, East End Phoenix, Charlton Invicta and Falcons.
In match 1 we came up short 1-0 against Titans 2 Brewers, but found our stride in the matches that followed. Kevin Basham and Dean May helped us to a 2-0 victory against our hosts Charlton Invicta. We then followed that up with a 2-1 win over Titans XXL, with goals from Chris Robinson and Mike Green.
A 0-0 draw against East End Phoenix and tired legs started to set in as we went 2-0 down to the London Romans. Our final group stage game saw us concede 2 goals against the London Titans.
We were thrilled to find out we'd made the 3rd/4th place playoff and we ended the day squaring off against the team we started against - Titans 2 Brewers. We held them to a 0-0 draw, but a strong challenge in the second half saw them earn a penalty - which they duly scored. A further goal put the match beyond us, and we ended the day in 4th place.
Despite the disappointment in the final match, we had a fantastic time (despite some injuries and some sunburn picked up along the way) and we were all really pleased at the strong performance we put in.