A classic Iguanas performance and a good win

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

The wintery days were certainly settling in at Valley Green Pumas in Witham today. The corner flags weren’t just horizontal, they were blowing off the poles! And whilst the rain did ease up for a chunk of the first half, I’m sure it turned to hail at one point. But none of that mattered today as the boys turned in a fantastically warming performance.

Oliver, the two Ethans, James, Travis, Lewis and Thomas kicked us off in pretty poor conditions, most of them (especially the keeper) looking very muddy even after their warm up.

The Iguanas started well again, something that seems to be becoming customary now, applying immediate pressure through jinking runs from EthanT. A few early corners were won, but Valley Green handled them well and then started to push themselves. The first 10 minutes or so of the game were pretty even, end to end stuff.

To the Iguanas’ fans and the team, there looked to be a clear handball in the Valley Green area, but the weather conditions likely obscured the referee’s view as he waved to play on. Then to rub salt into that wound, a less obvious handball was given just outside the box at the other end. Despite the ball sticking in the Iguanas’ box for longer than was comfortable, the free kick was eventually dealt with by the Iguanas, and Thomas picked up on the cleared ball, causing Valley Green problems that only their keeper managed to stop with a decent save from a good shot.

Good interplay between Travis and EthanT saw a neat break on the left-hand side, but Valley Green covered the move and broke themselves. They were playing much more cohesively than the last time the two sides met with far fewer long balls. Fortunately, James was on hand to stop them encroaching too far with solid tackles, good defensive clearances/passes and fantastic communication between him and EthanR so that our defensive line kept strong.

The windy conditions meant judging the flight of the ball, and power to use on passes/crosses was difficult for both sides. James came quite close to scoring from a cross that went much further than anyone expected.

A couple of Valley Green corners were handled well by the Iguanas, and a shot was left to go wide of the Iguanas’ goal. Further pressure was applied on the Valley Green half from the goal kick, resulting in another corner for the Iguanas. Lewis played a dangerous ball into the Valley Green area, and with plenty of Iguanas ready to strike, a Valley Green defender went to head the ball clear only for the ball to be directed into their own net. An unfortunate mishap, but the Iguanas deserved the lead.

Stanley, Isaac, Rokas and Rui came on for EthanT, Travis, EthanR and James, this time the subs coming on to get warm with the weather conditions getting worse!

Rui immediately made his presence felt from a quick break, unleashing a nice shot but wide of the target. Rokas was ensuring Valley Green knew he was on the pitch too, battling in midfield without fear. A nice quick ball out to Thomas needed the Valley Green keeper to make a decent save once more to stop the lead growing.

The Iguanas were much quicker onto restarts from goal kicks than they have been in recent games, giving Valley Green no chance to build momentum. Thomas was once again instrumental in a darting run to the right and delivered a lovely cross across the face of goal. This time the Valley Green keeper couldn’t keep hold of the fizzing, wet ball and Lewis was perfectly placed to scoop the loose ball into the net, increasing the lead.

The Iguanas were again quick onto the ball at the restart, not letting up on Valley Green. Thomas played another super pass into the centre, Rokas coming close to converting but the shot just going wide.

Valley Green managed to regroup at this stage of the game and managed a number of breaks. But Isaac and Rui both stood strong, with good anticipation of danger, good communication and neat footwork to both win the ball and play it such that the pressure was reversed.

A couple of Valley Green throw ins and corners looked like they might cause some issues, but Stanley was on hand with solid marking, winning the ball and providing some great passes down the line. In the last few minutes of the half a great ball down the centre of the pitch left Lewis sprinting on goal. Valley Green’s defenders couldn’t catch him, but unfortunately the final shot went wide.

Half time.

Oliver, James, EthanR, EthanT, Travis, Thomas and Lewis started the second half, with the wind getting worse and rain starting to come down hard.

Valley Green were quickest to start this time, and won a couple of early corners. But the Iguanas are well drilled on these now, with Oliver marshalling his players and the team knowing their roles and listening and communicating well. James, Travis and Thomas linked up nicely to remind Valley Green they weren’t having this game their own way. A corner was won, Lewis lofting the ball in and James very nearly converting, his shot just saved, somehow, by the keeper as the ball went towards the top corner.

Valley Green tried to build some sustained pressure from the goal kick, but EthanR showed fantastic defensive holding play, winning the ball and keeping it with good footwork while he looked for a strong pass to Thomas. Valley Green were having real issues containing Thomas, who didn’t seem aware he’d won a freekick outside of their penalty area as he picked himself up and kept running! Travis took the free kick very nicely. Valley Green managed to clear it, but Thomas again collected the ball, running at his opposite number(s) and releasing a lovely shot that just went wide after possibly one touch too many.

More attempts at building pressure by Valley Green were handled really well by James and EthanR, Oliver collecting the remaining loose ball very securely. Creating another break from the goal kick, Thomas again flew at the Valley Green defence and was brought down once more. The free kick was played wide, and Lewis’ cross was handled well by the Valley Green keeper, just managing to prevent Thomas latching onto the ball.

A bit of a mix up between Lewis and Travis, both going for the same ball, resulted in Valley Green being released into the Iguanas’ half. They played the ball well through the field and looked to be clear on goal. A well struck shot zipped towards the Iguanas’ goal but Oliver made a great diving save to his left, holding the ball and stopping the move.

Isaac, Stanley, Rui and Rokas once more came on to join the action, this time in place of Lewis, Thomas, EthanR and James. And once again showed they were more than capable of maintaining the pressure on their opponents and showing we have a very good squad with strength in depth.

As the weather got colder, EthanT moved even quicker, dribbling the ball well and making Valley Green wonder where the pressure was going to come from next. A few corners resulting from these breaks were well covered by the Valley Green keeper, though, frustrating the Iguanas’ attempts at extending the score line.

Stanley picked up where he’d left off in the first half, winning the ball in the midfield by persistent tackling of some of Valley Greens’ bigger players, and creating dangerous through balls at eery opportunity.

With the Iguanas pushing for another goal, Valley Green started to find a little bit of space to generate pressure themselves in the last 10 minutes of the game. On a couple of occasions, they were clear on goal leaving Oliver with 1 on 1 challenges to handle. One of these was very cleanly saved. A second was well struck by Valley Green, Oliver diving to save and just missing the ball which fortunately for the Iguanas hit the post. Despite being in the mud of his area, Oliver was quick to react and smother the ball, preventing any further attempts.

The full-time whistle blew shortly after, I think everybody present being relieved as the weather was getting colder and wetter!

A well-deserved score line today. Valley Green were much stronger than at our last meet, but every single one of the Iguanas rose to their challenge and played brilliantly. Good teamwork, great communication, using their skills and footwork to use the ball intelligently and being solid in every area of the park. A clean sheet, and on another day, in better conditions, we might well have had more goals. But this was a top performance reminiscent of the first two games of the season, and despite the weather, it was a joy to watch.

Iguana of the Match : Stanley – battling performance, getting stuck into tackles and timing passes very well. Left everything on the pitch.