PANTHERS continue to struggle to put their best side on the turf and again had to work hard just to register a 2-all draw when they travelled to Orange to take on the Wanderers in the Premier League hockey competition.
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Panthers' striker Tom Piggott broke the hearts of the Wanderer players when he slotted home the goal to lock up the match.
Conceding a short corner with 60 seconds to go, Wanderers' goalie Kennewell stopped the initial shot, but Piggott swooped on the rebound to punch in the deflection and level the scores.
It would have been a real body blow had the Panthers' loss as they had a number of scoring chances throughout the game, but could not capitalise on their good play.
Wanderers' coach Pete Shea said: “I know they had opportunities, but to compete with them for so long and get to within 30 seconds of a win was very disappointing.”
Orange took the lead after only 12 minutes when Nick Sharp converted a short corner with the Wanderers holding on to their lead to the halftime break.
The Panthers' equalised when Michael Charlton got a touch on a Nick Milne pass to make it 1-all.
Wanderers hit straight back when Nick Sharp scored his second goal for the match to put his side 2-1 up.
Wanderers then were made to defend for their lives with the Panthers mounting enormous pressure with the Orange side hanging on right up until the Piggott goal to tie up the scores.
Panthers' captain Trent MacDonald said his side was frustrated not to be able to secure a win.
“We probably needed a win to be honest as all points around this time of the year is crucial.”
“We've been doing it all year.
“We play for five minutes at the end and that's it.
“We seem to bumble around for 65 minutes and then at the end we decide to have a go.
“It's the way it has been and we will have to change if we are to defend out title.”
Best for the Panthers were Nic Milne and Gav McKenzie.
The Panthers are on the road again when they travel to Dubbo and will be looking for a win to give them a chance to push their way into the top two in the weeks to come.