Iguanas v Burnham Ramblers

Great individual performances as Iguanas face Burnham Ramblers.

Iguanas made a positive start to the first half, with early chances for Cole and Zach, supported by Fearne Dolly in midfield. The teams looked evenly matched and for every chance Iguanas had Burnham countered, keeping Ollie and Lewis busy, with some crucial clearances for Lewis in defence. Ollie was strong in goal as usual, and it was great to hear him find his voice during the match, letting his team mates know where he wanted them to be during set pieces.

By half way through the first half Iguanas were two nil down, despite chances for Fearne-Dolly, Zach and Cole, all being denied by good saves by the Burnham keeper.

Jayden, Rafe, Jake and Ethan came on half way through the first half with Ollie remaining in goal.

Burnham were now really pressing for a third goal, making it difficult for Rafe, Jake or Jayden to get into Burnham half. There were lovely moments of creativity on the ball from Jayden and Jake, and Jake was looking threatening as he tried to break through their defence. Rafe was finding space but getting a pass to him was proving tricky.

Back in our own half, Ethan and Ollie were both playing well under pressure, but Burnham got a third and then a fourth in quick succession, and then scored a fifth from a corner just before half time.

The second half saw Zach, Cole, Fearne-Dolly and Lewis back on, with Ollie in goal.

Early pressure from Burnham saw some good defending from Iguanas, with both Lewis and Cole making good decisions under pressure, and Ollie making two great saves in quick succession. Cole battled hard to try and get a run going, and his strength on the ball looked like it might be rewarded but Burnham’s defence held strong.

A counter attack from a blue throw lead to a sixth goal for Burnham. Blues kept their heads up though, and Cole, Zach and Fearne-Dolly continued to create chances, and there were some nice bits of play from throw-ins making use of space down the wing. Cole and Zach both had shots which went wide.

Lewis was doing well holding his position in defence, helping to protect Ollie in goal who was being pressed into action as Burnham pushed again. A free kick for Burnham just outside the area saw a fantastic save from Ollie.

Half way through the second half, Jake, Jayden, Rafe and Ethan came on, with Ollie staying in goal.

Iguanas enjoyed a spell of pressure with Jayden, Jake and Rafe working well together with lovely movement up the wings but they couldn’t capitalise for the finish. Jake made a good run from inside his own half only to have the shot saved well by the Burnham goalie. Rafe managed to get a good pass into Jayden who had a great shot, but was again denied. Ethan held his position strongly, allowing his team mates to push up, giving Ollie a breather for the first time in the game.

A few late attacks from Burnham threatened to add to the score line, but Ethan and Ollie worked hard to keep them out, with Rafe, Jayden and Jake tracking back to support. They sneaked a seventh with a minute to go.

There were a lot of positives to take from the match, despite the score line Iguanas looked much better defensively, with Lewis doing well in that position making some cool headed clearances and decisions under pressure, and Ethan always strong defence.

Fearne-Dolly and Rafe were good at finding space going forward, and just need to make themselves more visible to encourage their team mates to pass to them. The combinations of Zach and Cole, and of Jayden and Jake working to get the ball forward was exciting to watch and Iguanas were unlucky not to be rewarded for their efforts on goal. Olli was excellent in goal as usual, and made some really brave saves in both halves. It was good to see Ollie orchestrating his outfield players when it came to set pieces.

Man of the match - Lewis, who worked really hard in defence and kept his position well, making some important clearances and keeping calm under pressure. Well done Lewis and well done Iguanas!