Consecutive losses over, and signs of more to come

Team Sheet : EthanR, EthanT, Isaac, Lewis, Oliver, Rui, Stanley, Thomas, Travis

Oliver, EthanR, Isaac, Travis, EthanT, Lewis and Stanley got us underway in another home game, this time a couple of players down, so the 9-man squad were going to need to work even harder this week.

Having perhaps been a little slower off the mark than usual in our last couple of games, the Iguanas got straight onto the job at hand this week, breaking quickly into the Radars’ half. Before the ringing of the whistle had left our ears, Lewis took the ball past two opposition players and his left foot shot crept inside the left-hand post, to get our quickest lead of the season.

The Radars were obviously a little put back by this, but were quickly onto the press themselves. Their attack was stopped by a free kick following a careless tackle from the Iguanas. Oliver set the wall for the kick, but it was excellently taken, with our keeper able to do nothing to keep it out of the top right corner. This looked like it might be a game with quite a few goals!

But far from lighting the game up, both teams now settled into a more cautious approach to the game and it lacked the speed that we have seen in the games to date this season.

The ball was in the Radars’ half for a good spell at this point, with a number of corners being given away that the Iguanas zipped into the box, but unfortunately there was nobody to gather the ball on each occasion. Travis did connect with one corner, but couldn’t control the ball fully and it went over the bar.

EthanT and Stanley linked up to push through the Radars’ defence. The ball was slipped to Lewis whose shot was just deflected out of play.

Thomas and Rui gave Isaac and Stanley a breather, and immediately stepped up the pace a little, the Radars’ goalkeeper being forced into a collect to break down the move just before Thomas could shoot.

It was then the Radars’ turn for a little bit of pressure, forcing the Iguanas back into their own half. A good long shot from the Radars went safely over the Iguanas’ goal, which then prompted a break by the Iguanas. Travis and Lewis hooked up well to get the ball into a dangerous position, but one pass too many gave the Radars time to defend more comfortably than they might have. A similar break by Thomas, proving really quick down the right side, resulted in the same outcome.

This relatively small amount of pressure from the Iguanas was ended by the Radars’ keeper saving a corner ball, and in the ensuing break EthanR and Rui were called upon to cover. They did this well, but couldn’t stop a shot being unleashed from outside the box. This hit the post, Oliver making a lovely save from the rebound. Quickly restarting, Travis and Lewis again linked up nicely to gain ground on the Radars, but the final pass to Thomas was again one too many and was handled well by our opponents.

Honours even was a fair end to the half. A little more speed to the ball and the score line could be different.

Half time.

Oliver, Isaac, Rui, EthanT, Lewis, Stanley and Thomas got the second half started. Again, the Iguanas started off brightly, but the Radars were not going to let us have the game our own way, and a long ball break ended in a strong shot which Oliver saved very well, and was then forced into a double save from the rebound, strong hands-on display to keep the ball out of the net.

A good throw from the keeper released Lewis into the Radars’ half, but the end shot was just tipped wide, the resultant corner coming to nothing.

A throw-in from the Radars was poorly marked by the Iguanas, but we were let off the hook as their own final shot went wide. A good spell of pressure by the Radars was met with some very strong tackling by Isaac, who was also careful with where passes were played, avoiding hoofing the ball in favour of using skill to take the ball past players and getting the ball to his teammates.

EthanR came on to rest Rui.

It was now the turn of the Iguanas to put their opponents under the kosh. A well taken corner by Lewis bobbled about in the Radars’ half, but none of the Iguanas wanted to hit the ball into the back of the net and the ball was collected safely by the Radars’ goalkeeper.

EthanT was strong from the goal kick, getting stuck into tackles and putting his body between opposition players and the ball.

Travis came on for Stanley just as the Radars started to get the upper hand once more. 2 corners came and went, with Oliver showing strong hands once again. Then on the third Radars’ corner the Iguanas’ defence unfortunately turned the ball into their own net. Thoroughly undeserved, but these things happen.

The Radars smelled blood at this point and were very quick to push from the restart. Another strong shot forced a diving save from the Iguanas’ keeper, a couple of other shots went wide and EthanR made a very nice last-minute tackle to keep the Radars at bay.

The Iguanas had a couple of corners following some pretty quick moves up the pitch, but the Radars’ goalkeeper was able to save them and play the ball out. This move was kept in check by a strong Iguanas’ back row, allowing Oliver to get the ball quickly to Isaac. Isaac saw a pass on to Thomas, who was quick to spot Lewis moving through the field. Drawing a couple of players onto him Lewis then played a nice final “1-2” ball to Thomas whose shot just managed to go over the line. This passing showed a bit more speed and awareness than we’d seen earlier in the match and was just what the team needed.

As it had been, on balance, through the whole game, the final 10mins were very evenly balanced. The Radars would break and get into shooting position thanks to some loose passing by the Iguanas, but their final shots were equally loose and didn’t trouble the Iguanas’ net. The Iguanas would then build some pressure but also struggle to make the final decisive pass or shot.

The final whistle blew with what was a fair result. A defensive error gave the Radars the draw, but the Iguanas were still looking a little less sharp than at the opening of the season, and despite some good pressure were a little too apprehensive to have taken all the points today. But a draw was both a fair outcome, and stemmed a couple of losses from which we can build.

Iguana of the Match : Isaac – tireless in defence with some great footwork (hard to know whether Isaac should be renamed Isaacaldo or PassIsaac). Isaac’s usual strength was needed throughout the game.