Spirited performance but a game that got away

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

Another home game and after practicing in torrential rain the game was going to kick off in 20degC temperatures. At least the rain had softened the pitch a little.

Oliver, Zach, Sierra, Maddison, Fearne, Cole and Freya got the game under way for the Iguanas and immediately put the Falcons under pressure. A lovely dribbling run by Freya ended with a shot that forced a save from the opposition keeper to his left.

Some heavy tackling, a feature of the game, gave the Iguanas a free kick but the ball went wide from a powerful Cole kick.

The game was almost entirely in the Falcons’ half for the first 10 minutes or so, a solitary break nicely snuffed out by Sierra.

Another Iguanas’ free kick was very well taken by Zach, forcing another diving save from the Falcons’ keeper. A break by Cole and a nice cross was very nearly connected with by Freya. The resulting two corners unfortunately came to nothing for our team.

Zach, finding himself in a little space, had a very long shot from one break again prompting a good save from the opposition keeper.

Ethan, Isaac and Lewis came on in place of Fearne, Maddison and Sierra. The Iguanas were a couple of players shorter than usual today meaning more game time for each player which in hotter temperatures was proving tough.

The Falcons then won a free kick which Zach blocked well, and a spell of Falcons’ pressure was broken down by Freya battling in the midfield. A couple of Falcons’ breaks and shots were easily covered by Oliver.

Two more Iguanas’ free kicks were once again nicely taken, but saved by the Falcons’ busy keeper.

Maddison and Fearne came back into the fray to give Cole and Zach a breather.

More tidy defending/keeping from Ethan and Oliver kept the Falcons’ breaks in check, Isaac also tracking back really well from a quick Falcons’ sprint down the left wing to nullify one break.

Freya joined back in the game in place of Sierra, but the Falcons continued to press forwards on the break.

One such quick break came down the left found the Falcons in some space as they moved towards the middle leaving the Iguanas out-numbered. A very nice shot from the Falcons saw Oliver beaten to his left. The Falcons led.

In our usual spirited restarts, the Iguanas put pressure on the Falcons once more. A strong break by Maddison was cruelly stopped by a trip from a Falcons’ player bring Maddison down heavily. Isaac took the free kick well and Lewis connected with the ball but the Falcons keeper managed to save it.

The half time whistle blew with the Iguanas having the majority of the play in this half, undone by one nice break and shot.

Oliver, Ethan, Zach, Isaac, Cole, Freya and Lewis got the game back under way, pressure being created on the Falcons from the outset. A great cross from the right by Cole was met with a deft little chip from Zach that just went wide. Cole then broke down the left but some good Falcons’ defending saw our threat closed down.

An Iguanas’ corner was put just wide by Zach, but this led to the best move of the game. Freya charged down the Falcons’ restart and showed brilliant skill on the ball to take it around a couple of Falcons’ players and release a sweet pass with perfect timing towards Lewis. Lewis’ first touch was also perfect, catching a Falcons’ defender off-balance. Keeping his composure Lewis slotted the ball past the Falcons’ keeper. The game was now even with one of our best goals of the season.

The Falcons had taken a leaf from the Iguanas’ book and broke immediately from the kick off. Oliver made a nice save to keep the scores level. The Iguanas then broke into the Falcons’ half, but we were starting to look a little tired and lacking in power in the last quarter of the pitch, the heat no doubt taking its toll.

The game was very evenly balanced with a lot of play in the midfield. A Falcons’ break was cleared well by Ethan. The resulting corner was well dealt with, but the ball was bobbling around the Iguanas’ penalty box menacingly with the Iguanas unable to clear it. Oliver saved a point-blank shot but the Falcons latched straight onto the rebound and put the ball over the Iguanas’ keeper. The Iguanas were behind once more.

Maddison, Sierra and Fearne gave Cole, Freya and Zach well-earned rests.

The Falcons were on top during this spell of the game, putting a lot of pressure on the Iguanas’ half. The Falcons started to bring more saves out of Oliver, but all were neatly dealt with. Despite the pressure, the Falcons couldn’t relax as the Iguanas counter attacked. Some nice passing from the midfield by Maddison almost releasing Lewis, and similarly good play by Fearne nearly seeing our team free on goal. We just couldn’t make these breaks count in the last 10 minutes of the game with a number of shots rolling just wide.

Zach and Freya came back on in place of Isaac and Ethan, Fearne was replaced by Cole.

Some nice defensive work by Zach was met by Cole who put a good cross into the Falcons’ box which Lewis couldn’t quite connect with. The Iguanas were pushing for an equalising goal, but despite further nice passing we were losing energy and unable to make the breaks from the centre count.

A final break by the Falcons was well blocked by Oliver, just before the final whistle blew.

A tough game and arguably one that was there for the taking by the Iguanas. A spirited fight back wasn’t quite enough to get more out of the game, but we had some very nice passages of play and our goal was a cracker. So, plenty to take away from the game and we move on!

Iguana of the Match : Freya – another week showing huge tenacity, great tackling and passing and a real example to the team for never giving up and putting every last ounce of energy into the game.