PEABODY — The Tanners’ high-powered offense was held in check by the Beverly Panthers on a rainy Monday evening. Both teams fought to a 0-0 draw at Peabody High School.
Sitting at 5-7-1 on the season, the Panthers were fighting for their playoff lives with urgency and desperation the entire match, helping to neutralize the normally-potent Peabody offense.
Defensive efforts were solid for both teams. Beverly was able to withstand spans of the game where Peabody was dominating ball control and pressuring the defense.
On the other side, Beverly got players past Peabody’s last line of defense throughout most of the game, yet the Tanners’ closing speed allowed them to make quick recoveries and either kick the ball away, or block shots and passing lanes.
Peabody goalie Paul Drilon had a great night in net, but was also the beneficiary of a bit of luck towards the end of the first half. With roughly eight minutes remaining, Beverly broke through the Tanners’ defense on the left side. The ball was crossed towards the net when a Panther took a shot that rung off the left goal post, bouncing right in front of Drilon who attempted to cover the ball up. He couldn’t corral it and Beverly had another wide open shot attempt. This time, the ball hit the upper right corner of the opposite post, leaving Beverly stunned. Peabody finally cleared the ball afterwards.
Luck then favored Beverly late in the second half. After a timeout by Peabody Head Coach Stan McKeen with just under 10 minutes remaining, the Tanners started to put the pressure on. Peabody kept the ball in the offensive zone and had multiple scoring chances from Ryan Alves and John Arruda, but their shots were blocked or wide.
Finally, the Tanners appeared to have broken through on a corner kick with just two minutes remaining. The kick was crossed in from the corner and Beverly’s goalie initially made the save, but Peabody striker John Arruda was there to kick the ball into the net off the rebound. However, the goal didn’t count as Peabody was ruled offside.
This was the second time the teams have faced off this season, and the second time they’ve drawn – the first being a 1-1 result earlier this fall. McKeen knew coming in that it was going to be a tough match.
“They’re [Beverly] a good team, they’re a big, physical team,” McKeen said. “I knew it was going to be a tough game, they needed the game more so than we did.”
Despite the tie, McKeen noted he was happy with the way his team controlled the ball for a good portion of the game, and was proud of the way his defense played. Peabody’s defensive efforts were led by Michael Sablone, Elijah Loring, Kyle Lobao, and Yanni Pappas.
Frustrations grew for the Tanners due to their inability to capitalize off their chances, and McKeen knew his team had a great opportunity to come away with three points instead of one.
“We didn’t finish when we had the opportunities. We got a point out of it, it would have been nice if we would have won, would have been nice if we could have put one in, but what are you gonna do?” he said.
A win would have kept the Tanners in a battle for first place with Masconomet in the conference, but the tie almost certainly secures Peabody a second place finish. Peabody still holds a very impressive record of 12-2-3 and with one more regular season game to go, that being a home game against Saugus Wednesday at 4 p.m., McKeen feels good about his team heading into the postseason.
“It’s a strong group, we should hopefully be able to play some games into the tournament,” McKeen said. “We should do very well.”
