A Tough Game, But With Many Positives

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

Another home game and another lovely day weather-wise.

Oliver, Zach, Fearne, Sierra, Freya and Jayden got the game under way for the Iguanas and were under the cosh quickly with the Vikings breaking early. Sierra and Maddison were alert to the danger and calmly cleared the ball well.

The Vikings continued to press, but the Iguanas’ defence kept them in check, and managed to get the ball out of midfield, but unfortunately Fearne couldn’t quite get to the ball.

The Vikings pressed again, with a bit of a goal mouth scramble being cleared by the Iguanas, but after a little more pressure a shot from the left managed to uncharacteristically slip underneath the Iguanas’ keeper and the Vikings pressure paid off as they took the lead.

At the restart the Iguanas broke free of their own half and Freya’s resulting shot went just wide. But the Vikings weren’t lying down and managed another strong break, just beating Oliver but fortunately for the Iguanas bouncing off both posts and then being cleared.

Almost immediately after this the Iguanas built up a very strong break, starting with Sierra in defence, quickly passing to Jayden who flicked the ball on to Fearne up the left wing. Fearne’s customary deft footwork saw a brilliant first touch take her up the pitch and with no notice whatsoever she unleashed a fierce shot that left the Vikings’ keeper with no chance at all. A great goal to level things up.

The Iguanas started to show some pressure now, with confidence building. A couple of Vikings’ corners were nicely collected by Oliver. Jayden was really unlucky not to put the Iguanas ahead, hitting the post after another quick break right from the very back, from Oliver to Sierra to Maddison. Zach also made a break of his own but the Vikings managed to block the shot.

Sierra, Fearne and Jayden made way for Ethan, Lewis and Cole.

Ethan was in action very quickly with some hard tackles helping his keeper out. Zach made another break and went for another long-range screamer which the Vikings’ keeper managed to tip over the bar.

Fearne and Jayden gave Freya and Maddison a well-earned breather, Fearne immediately into the mix again, just shooting wide after another quick break from the back.

Just as the Iguanas were building some pressure, the Vikings managed a break that broke through our defence. A stray foot just inside the box resulted in a Vikings’ penalty. The Vikings’ no9 took a very, very good penalty that wasn’t going to be stopped.

The Vikings also broke immediately from the restart, building in confidence once more. This forced a great save from Oliver, diving to his right to tip the ball out, the resulting corner being well defended by the Iguanas.

Sierra came back on in place of Zach.

Ethan was again battling in defence, and then Cole made an excellent strong run up the pitch with the ball, slotting Jayden through whose shot went just wide. The Vikings’ restart was short-lived, however, and Cole again made the same strong move through the middle of the pitch with the ball. A well-timed pass to Jayden drew 2 Vikings’ players in, and another excellently timed pass saw Lewis through on goal. Just as last week, Lewis stayed calm and put the ball in the back of the net. Level again.

The Iguanas finished the half strongly, with a shot from Lewis finding the side net at the onset of half time.

Oliver, Sierra, Lewis, Cole, Jayden, Freya and Ethan got the game back under way.

The start of this half was very backwards and forwards with neither team finding a decisive move on the other. The Iguanas’ defence stayed solid, Oliver anticipating danger well and Sierra releasing the ball for more quick breaks. Lewis and Cole had a couple of shots go just wide/over the bar.

The game started to get tough in the middle of the field. The Vikings won a free kick in a dangerous spot which was dealt with neatly by the Iguanas. Then Freya was injured in a very tough tackle. With her usual bravery it looked like Freya was keen to carry on, but wasn’t able so Maddison came on in place of our battling midfielder.

The Vikings then put together a good break that the Iguanas never quite connected with. Oliver was quickly off his line but the Vikings managed to slip the ball past him.

Zach came on for Cole, just as the Vikings started to string together a sequence of good breaks, putting the Iguanas under a lot of pressure. A powerful long shot was well saved by Oliver, and Ethan put in some fabulous last-ditch tackles once more. Zach was also called into this defensive effort, clearing a couple of Vikings’ corners.

A brief respite came from a rare break in this spell. A long ball from an Iguanas’ goal kick saw Jayden force a nice save from the Vikings’ keeper.

Fearne came on to give Ethan a rest. Another Iguanas’ break from a goal kick saw a powerful shot from Lewis bravely headed over by a Vikings’ defender. However, the Vikings’ pressure would not let up, and a very nice break with nice passing ended in a good shot from the right beating the Iguanas’ keeper once more to extend their lead.

Sierra came on for Cole, but the Vikings still kept applying pressure. Jayden, Zach and Lewis hooked up forcing a save from the Vikings’ keeper once more, then another Vikings’ break ended with a long distance shot that somehow managed to go through the Iguanas’ keeper’s legs and dribble into the net.

The Iguanas didn’t let this get them down and continued to try and break, Cole pushing through midfield but the Vikings intercepting the move well and pushing forwards themselves, forcing a couple more good saves from Oliver. Maddison was also continually getting stuck into the action, stopping Vikings’ breaks in their tracks and judging when to clear and when to play the ball out really well.

Time was now pressing on and just as a breakthrough for the Iguanas was looking unlikely, a really nice move down the left saw Jayden taking the ball past the Vikings’ defence and slotting the ball past their keeper.

Sadly, the whistle blew not long after this, leaving the Vikings victorious at full-time.

This was a tough game against a decent side, and felt a little deflating at the time. A few small, and uncharacteristic errors were the difference. Reflecting on the game after a few days, the team had solid performances across the pitch and the game could really have gone either way. A number of different players are starting to find the net (a great first goal from Fearne, and 3 goals from our team would often be enough to see teams off!), we are breaking quickly from the back with good decision making and slick passing and…well we can’t win every game! Much to build on. Onwards and upwards.

Iguana of the Match : Maddison – worked tirelessly once more in a difficult game, and made some top tackles.