Brixington Blues Under-13s suffered their first league defeat of the season, going down 3-1 to Exeter Panthers.
In what was the first meeting between the teams, since they had met in the final of the Under-12 Cup at the end of last season, Panthers clearly looked set on getting revenge for their cup final defeat.
Blues made a good start and created a couple of early chances, but they could not quite match impressive approach play with a finish.
Panthers struck first in the eighth minute with a clinical goal, albeit one against the run of play!
Panthers extended their lead a few minutes later, and followed with a third before half-time, leaving Blues with an uphill struggle in the second half.
To their eternal credit, Blues started the second half on the front foot and, 10 minutes in, a fantastic strike from birthday boy Luke Ewing saw them back into the contest, Ewing rifling home from distance and the goal was no more than Blues deserved.
However, that was to be as good as it would get for Blues who ultimately succumbed to that first league reversal of the campaign.
Despite the result, it was positive to see strong performances across the team, with the likes of Bobby Pond returning to some of his best football.
Ewing bagged the Man of the Match award for his contribution and Blues are certainly looking forward to the return against Panthers later in the season!
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