The boys are back

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

After a tough opener, the Iguanas were still not at full strength, missing EthanR and Mason this week. And facing a team who the Iguanas haven’t played for a while, but had shaky results against when they did.

Oliver, Isaac, Sam, EthanT, Coby, Rui, Stanley, Travis and Lewis got today’s game under way.

The game started tentatively by both sides, Radars edging possession for the first spell. A corner was won early but dealt with well by the Iguanas’ defence. A break then led to a shot which was put over the Iguanas’ goal. Oliver was also called upon to make a decisive intercept (keepers intercepting becoming a theme of games so far this season, as teams get used to the new format of the game, size of the pitch etc).

Travis, Stanley, Coby and Isaac all needed to be sharp in their defensive duties, and did a good job of covering Radars’ attack. Isaac and Coby, particularly, were demonstrating a lot of energy, tracking back and being strong in tackles.

The Iguanas had a break of their own, taking the ball down the left side. Travis showed that he wasn’t only on the pitch for defensive duty, firing a very strong shot from distance, which the Radars’ keeper tipped onto the post and out. Iguanas’ attacks were starting to build, the team able to play out from the back well, with strong goal and drop kicks finding players able to take the ball forwards.

Thomas came on to give Rui a rest, and was straight into the attacking action, the move being judged offside. Then EthanT and Thomas worked together to put pressure on the Radars’ keeper, their opponent being up to the task and the shot being saved.

Sam and Stanley made way for Jasper and James.

The game remained evenly balanced, then the Radars crafted a lovely break with some neat passing that opened up the Iguanas’ defence. A decent shot left Oliver no chance and the deadlock was broken.

Much like Tillingham last week, this seemed to spur the Iguanas on. Breaking immediately from the kick off, they were unlucky to find themselves offside for another break, but they won the ball from the resultant free kick and pushed once more, Radars forcing the ball out for a corner. Travis fired across a great corner that Thomas latched onto, to level the scores.

With spirits up, the Iguanas attacked the ball straight from the restart, giving the Radars little space to operate and winning the ball more often than not. When the Radars did break, the ball was usually quite long, which Oliver was typically alert to. Collecting one ball, he recognised some space up field quickly, and launched a goal kick that saw three Iguanas players through the Radars’ defensive line. Lewis picked up the ball, running at the Radars goal and unleashing a lovely strike which left the Radars’ keeper no chance. Momentum was building.

The Radars did manage a few breaks into the Iguanas’ half, but Coby was strong in tackles, picking up from where he left off last week. The Iguanas were defending corners well, with good organisation and strong clearances. They were also then managing to develop decent attacks into the Radars’ half. The final move of the half being brought to a halt due to an injury for a Radars’ player.

At the half-time whistle, the Iguanas were looking in control of the game, and came off with spirits high.

Half time.

Oliver, Rui, Lewis, Thomas, Jasper, Travis, James, Sam and Isaac opened up the second half.

Jasper featured heavily in the opening spell, creating an early foray into the Radars’ half. This was dealt with by the opposition, who then pushed hard themselves, ultimately forcing the ball out for three corners in quick succession. But again, the Iguanas were well organised and clearances were working well. From the last of this trio of corners, Thomas broke down the right-hand side. Whipping the ball in, Jasper had followed the play and was on hand to put the ball into the net.

The Radars were making sure that the Iguanas couldn’t rest up in defence, but the team were on form to deal with proceedings readily. This period was all the Iguanas, Lewis made a nice break, forcing the Radars into kicking the ball out of play. Travis received the throw in well and whipped the ball across the face of goal, but unfortunately nobody was there to collect.

The pressure built. Lewis crossed the ball into the Radars’ area and Jasper nearly bagged a second, the shot hitting the post. Then, just as the Radars thought they were going to be able to free their area, Thomas took the ball from a Radars player and created a lovely solo goal, rounding the keeper and slotting the ball home.

Things were a little more even after the restart. Rui made a few great defensive tackles, distributing the ball carefully. The Radars did make it through the Iguanas’ defence, but their shooting was a little awry, Oliver watching shots go wide. Travis also showed good awareness, tracking back and making tackles count.

At the other end of the pitch, Thomas and Jasper continued their good work together, Jasper’s final shot being saved by the keeper. Lewis also helped the dynamic duo out, creating more opportunities, but the Radars’ defence stayed resolute.

Stanley and EthanT gave Jasper and Rui a well-earned rest. The toing and froing between pitch halves continued.

Then, from what looked like a normal break, a Radars’ attacker moved down the left wing from an errant Iguanas’ pass, and cut in towards the box. Rather than try and play the ball into the middle, he fizzed a shot from the left into the top right corner of the goal. Oliver dived for the shot but had no chance.

Jasper came back into the mix, giving James a break. The Iguanas then started to press forwards more assertively once again. Lewis and EthanT teamed up, the final product just going wide of the goal. But the game was now settling down evenly once again, with perhaps the Radars just getting the slight upper hand in terms of possession, but unable to capitalise.

Rui came on for Lewis.

The Iguanas pressed into the opposition half, EthanT seeing his shot saved. The Radars then broke really quickly down the right-hand side. Isaac had seen this move building and accelerated across from the centre, catching up with the Radars’ player just as he was about to shoot, blocking the shot beautifully. That would prove to be the last, meaningful, attacking move by the Radars. The Iguanas controlled their half of the pitch, and were still managing to release players up field. Rui had a decent shot saved, and immediately ahead of the final whistle, Jasper had one more shot saved.

A proper turnaround from last week, with a confident, assured display. The Iguanas looked in control for the vast majority of the game and didn’t look like losing after the equaliser – the second Radars’ goal was even a little surprising.

Passing was back on form, the defensive performance was solid with first touches being made well in the majority of cases. Tracking back to defend was as good as we’ve seen, and the team built attacking moves really well. A real team performance, and this with the team still not at full strength.

A very nice result.

Iguana of the Match : Jasper – first Iguanas goal and nearly had a couple. Good movement on the ball and nice positioning saw him always in threatening positions.