What happens when a plan comes together!

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

A nice warm day, away at Writtle. Mason couldn’t make the game today, so the Iguanas were down a player for the first time in a while.
Oliver, Isaac, James, EthanT, Travis, Lewis and Thomas took to the pitch first, and the team were full of energy straight from the whistle, putting Writtle under pressure and winning an early corner. This came to nothing, but the intent was there.

Writtle managed a break into the Iguanas’ half, but Isaac was on hand to collect the ball and clear it calmly. Writtle tried to break again, but the Iguanas were strong tracking back, James also providing solid cover, and there was no room for Writtle to play before an Iguana was on them like a flash.

A long ball from Writtle was launched into the Iguanas’ box. James tracked back for the ball, but Oliver gave clear comms, James was alert to it and the keeper collected harmlessly. A good lesson learned from the last game for the keeper.

Isaac showed lovely footwork, taking on players as he ran the ball up the pitch. Passing the ball to Thomas, Thomas found EthanT in the middle, both players battling hard and attacking every ball. The ball was played through to Travis, but his shot just went into the side netting.

Writtle managed to break free of their own half and forced a few successive corners, the Iguanas well organised to defend them. Oliver saved the final corner, and seeing EthanT free fired a lovely, accurate goal kick up the field. The bounce of the ball took out a few Writtle defenders, and EthanT picked the ball up and ran. Taking on the final line of defence, EthanT elected not to take a quick shot, but walked the ball past the goalie, calm as you like.

The Iguanas moved quickly straight from the restart, giving Writtle no time to regroup. Travis showed great control on the left wing, but his shot went just wide. Writtle cleared the ball, and Travis was involved again, defending like LeBron James….unfortunately with his hand!

The Writtle kick was pounced upon by the Iguanas, who again created a nice break, passing the ball neatly, Thomas and Lewis working together, the final shot just going wide. However, it had deflected off a Writtle defender to give the Iguanas a corner. Travis whipped the ball in, and initially it looked like the Writtle defence were onto the ball, but a mistake during trying to clear the ball saw Thomas onto it rapidly, and kicking the ball into the net.

Again, the Iguanas were quick from the restart, Lewis putting in a proper shift chasing every ball down from restarts. Thomas and Ethan benefitted from one such restart, Lewis passing the ball to Thomas who played a fabulous 1-2 with EthanT, a final ball into the box just not finding an Iguana.

Still the Iguanas pushed, and this time with a positive outcome once more. Travis broke down the left, threaded the ball to Lewis who hit a lovely strike from just inside the box. The ball hit the cross bar, and unluckily for Writtle right into the path of Thomas who had been watching the play build. No way was Thomas missing from there.

Writtle really didn’t know what was hitting them. Every time they tried to break, there were Iguanas on them in numbers, reading where the ball would be, tracking back and communicating really well. Everything the manager and coaches had been drilling into the boys had sunk in and was on display.

Thomas and Travis again linked up with nice passing, Travis getting the ball to Lewis. Lewis still had plenty to do, and showed very nifty footwork on the edge of the box, taking the ball away from some frantic defending. Pulling the ball out of his feet he hit a sweet shot at goal which the keeper couldn't stop.

EthanT, Thomas, Travis, James and Isaac were given a well-earned rest, replaced by Rui, Coby, Stanley, EthanR and Sam. If Writtle thought this might give some breathing space, they were wrong. Rui pushed through the midfield and hit a great strike, unfortunately saved by the Writtle keeper.

Writtle then managed to push into the Iguanas’ half for a small spell, creating a little bit of pressure themselves. A bouncing ball into the box was misconnected with by a number of Iguanas players, but Oliver was on hand to clear the ball with his hands. Stanley then showed good composure down the left, drawing in a couple of Writtle players before passing the ball neatly to Rui, who won a corner. Coby met the corner nicely, but the ball just went wide.

The team pushed quickly again from the restart, Rui and Coby getting stuck into tackling and winning the ball. A good ball from Lewis was brought under control by Coby, who just put the ball wide once more (but that wouldn’t last!).

A final break in this half for Writtle saw Oliver come out bravely, collecting the ball at the feet of a rushing Writtle attacker. A slow ball to Rui saw an attack start to build, just as the half-time whistle blew.

Wow! A fantastic display, and not just because of the number of goals. The passing, composure and communication were great to see. Could the Iguanas maintain concentration and energy in the second half?

Half time.

Oliver, Ethan, Sam, Rui, Stanley, Thomas and Coby took to the pitch to see the second half in. The Minors elected to take a “powerplay”, putting an 8th player on the pitch.

Once more, the Iguanas were very quick to the ball straight from kick off. Within a couple of minutes, Rui had crafted a break through the middle. A terrific shot at goal was well saved, but only into the path of an onrushing Thomas who also thumped the ball in, the Writtle keeper saving once more. But Coby was in the right place to join the thumping party, launching an accurate shot that this time the Writtle keeper could not save. Coby’s first goal for the team being celebrated brilliantly!

The Minors brought on another player, bringing their total to 9 against the Iguanas’ 7. This started to allow them to find their way up the pitch, but their first break was a little long and Oliver was alive to the danger and again collected before a Writtle player could get there. More calm distribution of the ball from the back saw Rui moving strongly, his shot just going over the bar.

Despite the advantage of player numbers, the Iguanas were still quickest to the ball from the goal kick, Coby and Rui both having shots blocked by Writtle defenders, who were in their own box in numbers. The ball went out for a corner, which Rui took sweetly, whipping the ball across the goal. Coby picked it up on the left and hit the ball goalward. Despite a Writtle player getting a toe to the ball, it was goal bound anyway, and saw Coby bagging his second goal.

The Iguanas were showing every bit of concentration and strength that they finished the first half with, and showed no signs of letting up. Stanley, Rui and Thomas passed well to create another chance straight from the restart, Thomas dribbling the ball around defenders really well. The final shot went wide, but it demonstrated the team weren’t going to ease up.

Writtle were starting to show some ability to move up the pitch, but the Iguanas had someone to defend at all times, Sam showing lovely control, and being able to turn defence into attack, releasing Thomas on the right, Stanley being unlucky to just miss the crossed ball.

Writtle now started to find their own players from goal kicks (with numbers to choose from) and broke into the Iguanas’ half. A sniff of a break from a long ball up the left was read well by Oliver who ran out of his box quickly to clear the danger before Writtle could get to the ball. Writtle then managed another break, several players overrunning our defence. A well struck shot was met well by Oliver, pushing the ball onto his cross bar and pouncing on it to prevent a rebound goal.

Coby, Ethan and Sam made way for Lewis, James and Isaac. They came on to help deal with a spell of Writtle pressure, the extra players taking its toll on the energy of the Iguanas and allowing Writtle to close down attacks more effectively than they had managed thus far.

More breaks came to nothing as Oliver made several brave collects at attackers’ feet. Releasing his own team to break. Travis came close from the left wing, forcing a save from the Writtle keeper, who was having a slightly quieter time now. Thomas managed a mirror image break on the right, also coming close, but saved.

Then a throw-in deep in the Writtle half saw Travis throw the ball to Lewis who had found space. Lewis slotted the ball to Thomas, who struck the ball cleanly and quickly. The shot was saved, however EthanT was on hand to convert the rebound.

From the kick off, Writtle managed to build another attack. But just as they must have felt they were through on goal, Isaac stood strong and took the ball away from his opponents and cleared the danger. Writtle pushed again, but the Iguanas had regrouped once more, tracking back better than we’ve ever seen, and this despite having put all their energy into the game thus far. Travis and Thomas were being particularly effective in digging in and getting back to help defend.

As the game drew to a close, Writtle managed to win a corner from a decent break. Oliver had his defence well marshalled, and they generated another break into the Writtle half. EthanT passed the ball to Lewis whose shot just went into the side netting.

Still the Iguanas pressed from the dead ball. Lewis ran quickly to intercept the goal kick, getting to the ball first and passing to Travis, who had a shot saved. EthanT picked up on the ball, but his shot was also saved, the keeper pushing the ball out for a corner. Travis took the corner, and what would prove to be the final move of the game. The ball was delivered brilliantly, and Thomas was in the perfect position to convert the cross with a sublime header. The final whistle blew very shortly after.

A magnificent performance by the whole team. Every single player knew his job, and did it brilliantly for the whole game. The team really played for each other, watching every centimetre of the pitch and never giving Writtle any space to play, even when they had two more players on the pitch. This unusual use of the powerplay evened the play up a little, but the Iguanas still never looked in trouble.

All the excellent elements of the team’s play that we’ve seen at various times in spells over the season came together today, extending their unbeaten run to 7 and setting the team up well for their final game of the season. Can they make it 8 games unbeaten? On today’s performance, you wouldn’t bet against them!

Iguana of the Match : Coby – worked his socks off and kept plugging away. His first 2 goals incredibly well deserved.