Whaley Bridge Under 11s lost out in a five goal thriller to title chasing Mountfield Rovers.

On a frosty morning the Mountfield pitch looked worse than it was, and Whaley started in determined mood. They had most of the early possession, with Alfie Hodges dominating the midfield, and Ethan Williams causing havoc down the left. A throw in to the home side was picked up by their keeper, and this led to an indirect free kick. Bruce Glover and Williams tried some trickery, but the ball ended up at the feet of Isaac Longden who blasted home from a tight angle. It was Longden's first ever goal for Whaley, and he could not have provided a more emphatic finish. Whaley continued to have the best of it, but Mountfield looked dangerous on the break. Their centre forward was particularly quick, and he outpaced the Whaley defence to score the equaliser. Mountfield came more into the game, and Kieran Connell n goal ihad to be at his best to keep them at bay. He came to block one attack but the ball rebounded to a Mountfield striker. He had the simlpest of chances to put the ball away, but Ole Madden put in a tremendous last ditch challenge to clear, and the score remained at 1-1 at the break. The second half started evenly, with several goal mouth scrambles, but again Whaley were caught on the break. The Mounfield centre foward was 10 yards beyond the last Whaley defender as he received the ball, even though he was in his own half! He raced towards goal and coolly slotted the ball home. Moments later it looked to be all over when Mountfield scored a third from outside the box, but Whaley did not give up. Joint man of the match Hodges, an honour he shared with Callum Webb, went up front, and another goal mouth melee saw the ball fall to Casey Powner. Powner became the second Whaley player to score his first ever goal on the day as he lifted his shot into the roof of the net. His dad, never the quietest of supporters, went wild, and probably missed the final whistle shortly afterwards that saw a heroic Whaley performance despite the 3-2 defeat.