A cracker of a match

Team Sheet : Cole; Ethan; Fearne; Freya; Isaac; Jayden; Lewis; Maddison; Oliver; Sierra; Thomas; Zach

Home again, and what a cracking match!

Another nice day for a game of football, Oliver, Fearne, Sierra, Freya, Maddison, Zach and Jayden getting us under way.

Both teams made a steady start, feeling each other out. Some early breaks by Danbury showed real intent and technical skill/strength. Today was going to be difficult. Maddison and Sierra were being kept busy defending our half and making strong clearances to relieve pressure. Fearne and Freya were also being called into action, along with Oliver who covered a 2 on 1 Danbury break well.

Just when it looked like the Iguanas would be spending a lot of time in their own half, a quick goal kick let Freya release Fearne into the Danbury half. Quick as a flash Fearne fed the ball onto Jayden who showed his usual composure and pace and released a left foot shot from the left….beating the Danbury keeper and we were ahead! The training the manager has been putting the team through in terms of speed and passing saw us ahead, possibly against the run of play at this point.

Danbury didn’t let this phase them and began to press again from the restart, bringing out more solid defensive work from the Iguanas. Danbury were struggling to get through our defence and in the moments they did, Oliver was typically there to collect.
Another rapid break from our own half saw Jayden run at Danbury fearlessly. He was so quickly through that I barely had time to register the shot that beat the Danbury keeper once more. 15 minutes in and the Iguanas extended their lead.

This quite possibly took Danbury by surprise, and our Iguanas were gaining massively in confidence now, attacking the ball immediately from the restart and not giving Danbury any opportunity to press. Zach latched onto the ball half way into the Danbury half and without needing to look up unleashed a fierce short towards the Danbury goal which their keeper had absolutely no chance of stopping. Top left corner and the Iguanas extended their lead once more.

Ethan, Isaac, Cole, Thomas and Lewis came on to continue applying pressure and to give Freya, Fearne, Maddison, Sierra and Jayden a well-deserved break.

The Iguanas continued to push, a shot from Lewis just going over the Danbury goal. But Danbury were keen to show they were still in this game and a nice break led to a goal mouth scramble, with Zach showing good defensive skills and Oliver recovering to collect the ball.
Freya came back on to relieve Zach. Danbury continued to push too.

Ethan was showing his usual skills in defence, but then out of nowhere a good quality break from Danbury saw Oliver beaten for the first time today.

Every Iguanas’ player was getting involved in the action, Isaac backing Ethan up in defence, and Thomas and Cole battling for every ball with pace and strength respectively. The two of them hooked up for the final break of this half, Thomas running clear but the shot just going wide.

Half time.

Oliver, Ethan, Isaac, Cole, Freya, Thomas and Lewis got us back under way. Cole and Thomas picked up from where they’d left off creating some nice breaks down both wings. Occasionally the ball would just get away from us, and the Danbury keeper was also forced into a couple of saves to keep the score line where it was.

Jayden came on for Freya just as Danbury made another of their quick breaks. A good shot looked goal-bound but Oliver tipped the ball over the bar to safety, the resulting corner coming to nothing with strong defensive work and organisation. The Iguanas were also once more showing speed of reaction from their own half with both Jayden and Lewis being released quickly and forcing the Danbury keeper into further saves.

Then a Danbury break up the right wing ended in a great shot. It looked like the Iguanas’ keeper slipped slightly or was wrong-footed and the ball just ended up in the back of the net.

Danbury were pressing hard now, looking to try and level the scores. Ethan was resolute in defence, making some quality last man tackles and not taking his eye off the ball and Danbury players. The Iguanas won a free kick in their own half which was very quickly and accurately taken by Cole, slotting between Danbury players and releasing Lewis. Lewis’ first touch was brilliant, allowing him past the last line of Danbury defence. Calm as you like, Lewis put the ball past the Danbury keeper.

Sierra and Maddison came back into the mix in place of Ethan and Isaac. Cole and Thomas paired up for further breaks, with a deft shot by Thomas just going over the Danbury goal. But the game was pretty evenly balanced now and Danbury then broke into the Iguanas’ half, forcing another “at feet” save from Oliver, the first of a few crunching collects.

Zach replaced Thomas just as I was needing a break myself – the game was high tempo, end to end stuff and it was clear both sides wanted a result, Danbury looking to find a way back into the game and the Iguanas hungry for the win.

Maddison and Sierra yet again needed to be robust in defence, with some brilliant last player tackling and calm clearances following incisive Danbury breaks. Fearne was always ready to play the ball through midfield, releasing Jayden again with the shot going just wide.

Freya came on for a final stint to give Cole a rest.

Danbury managed their final break of the game around 10 minutes before the final whistle. Their speed left them with some overlap and an unmarked player connected with a cross from the left, leaving little chance of it being saved.

Another nail-biting finish was on the cards, but our ability to also break from our own half with speed was demonstrated with Fearne and Freya releasing Jayden a few more times before the end of the game, shots only just going wide, but crucially maintaining the pressure on Danbury.

The final whistle blew with no further goals – a fantastic win for our team against plucky and skilled opposition. The most goals we’ve scored in a match to date and probably the quickest game we’ve played with both teams breaking with a lot of speed and accuracy. Whilst at times a little nervy for Iguanas’ supporters to watch, any neutral would love to watch our team play. Today they all worked their socks off, and put into practice everything they are learning in training, with nice footwork, great passing and good solid tackling all contributing to a well-deserved result.

Iguana of the Match : Zach – usual performance up and down the pitch with tons of hard work. Capped off today by a rocket of a shot into top bins!