A grim day all round

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

A grim day today. Those without waterproof clothes regretted it, and those with waterproofs noted they needn’t have bothered! The rain was torrential, and got steadily worse throughout the game, at the same time as the temperatures seemed to drop. But we had a full squad (for three quarters of the game at least) for the first time this season. Could the team break the two-loss run?

Oliver, Mason, Isaac, Coby, James, EthanR, EthanT, Thomas and Lewis would take to the pitch first.

Maldon started with a bit of pressure, but Mason and Isaac dealt with it well. A neat pass to EthanT forcing Maldon back into their own half.
Maldon looked very cagey in their own penalty area, but as would become a trait throughout the game, the Iguanas failed to capitalise, leaving Maldon too much time on the ball in a dangerous area.

After a few more minutes, Maldon managed to clear their lines, but only into Thomas’ path. Thomas broke quickly, as we’ve become accustomed to, and was duly brought down. It looked like it was inside the area, but the referee signalled for a free-kick just outside the box. It didn’t really matter what type of kick it was. Lewis hit a sweet kick that left the Maldon keeper with no chance, the ball hitting the top right corner of his net.

Maldon pushed initially from the restart, but were pressed into putting the ball wide. The Iguanas’ goal kick saw the ball move well up field, the attack eventually being put out by Maldon. The Iguanas’ corner missed all players in the box, but it was whipped back in, only for the Iguanas to hit an open goal wide!

Lewis and Thomas played some decent 1-2s up the right-hand wing, but the final balls were lacking. Maldon then created a decent break from their goal kick. The Iguanas failed to make any decent connections with the tackles or open balls. They were also a little unlucky, with balls bouncing off of Maldon players. The ball fell loose towards the Iguanas’ goal, and whilst Oliver came for the shot, it slipped underneath him.

Keeping their heads up, the Iguanas got back under way with purpose. Lewis broke up the pitch, switching the ball to EthanT who quickly passed it onto Thomas. Thomas took a shot on goal, which was parried, but there was no mistaking the second shot, giving the Iguanas the lead once more. (There was a suspicion of off-side from the linesman, and the Maldon players weren’t happy with the goal standing, but stand it did).

Maldon attacked now, but Mason was strong and resolute in defence, blocking two efforts in quick succession. The corner led to a good shot that Oliver saved neatly.

Coby, James, and Lewis came off for Travis, Rui and Jasper to have a run out. Substitutions helping those getting cold off the pitch as much as those being tired on it.

Maldon attacked immediately. Coming in from the right, a crossed, slippery and spinning ball was spilled by Oliver and unfortunately onto the feet of a Maldon player who converted the opportunity. The conditions were starting to take their toll, with the ball and grass proving problematic.

Not long after the restart, the ball was played into the Iguanas’ box once more, and an errant hand made contact (a similar situation to a couple of weeks before), giving Maldon a penalty. There was some debate over who was going to take it, after which Maldon put the ball over the bar. Penalty missed!

Stanley and Sam came on for Mason and EthanT.

Maldon broke again, and again the Iguanas failed to make meaningful connection with the ball. Isaac tried to recover the defensive situation, but Maldon were through in numbers and the ball was slipped past again.

Maldon were smelling blood now, and pushing more strongly. A good collect from Oliver did little to relieve the pressure, the ball not making it back into the Maldon half before they attacked again in numbers, very few players being effectively marked and the ball being put into the Iguanas’ net in a terrible spell for the team.

Lewis replaced Rui, who was feeling the affects of the conditions. A corner for the Iguanas was taken by Travis, but only managed to find the side netting.

The Iguanas were all looking a shadow of their usual selves. Very little press on the ball, poor connections in tackles and giving their opponents way too much time on the ball. Too many players were running after the same ball, and it seemed like the poor weather conditions were really impacting the Iguanas far more than Maldon. The half-time whistle blew, just after a good save by the Iguanas’ keeper.

Half time.

Oliver, James, Mason, Coby, EthanR, EthanT, Rui, Thomas and Lewis got the second half under way, the weather getting steadily worse.

Maldon picked up from where they’d left off. A strong attack forced a great diving save from Oliver, a strong, outstretched right hand putting the ball wide.

The Iguanas then managed a neat break that just fell a little short of a final shot, EthanT, Thomas and Lewis linking together nicely.

Rui managed to clear a Maldon corner, but seemed to hurt himself in doing so, having to be substituted by Sam. But Maldon made no mistakes from the second corner, the Iguanas not covering Maldon players effectively enough.

Jasper and Travis came on in place of Thomas and James.

The Iguanas now started to steady the ship a little. Far from perfectly, but things were starting to move in the right direction. A nice break led to a scramble in the Maldon penalty box. This had been something we’d seen earlier in the game, where Maldon were very cagey in their own defensive area. Yet again, the available Iguanas seemed not to want to hit the ball into the net, despite it sitting invitingly several times. Maldon half-cleared the ball, but only for EthanR to pick it up outside of the box. Not wanting any more team chances wasted, EthanR thumped the ball into the net.

Maldon continued to push, often breaking numbers. Coby and Sam were battling to the ball at every opportunity, tracking back to break down offensive moves where they could. Mason continued to be available to mop up and prevent breaks where possible. Oliver made a few decisive intercepts and brave charge downs. He also stood up a Maldon player, one on one, putting the ball out wide. Jasper was looking assured in the middle of the pitch, helping break up moves and attempt to play the Iguanas into dangerous positions.

Going forwards, EthanT and Thomas were showing their usual pace, but the Iguanas were finding themselves offside frequently now, and touches on the ball were getting weaker, leading to further Maldon breaks.

The rain and cold were not letting up in the slightest, and a sodden Isaac and Stanley needed to call it a day. A final free kick for the Iguanas could not be capitalised upon, and a quick EthanT break would be the last move of the game before the full-time whistle blew.

The boys were all clearly very, very cold and wet, and also disappointed. For the first quarter of the game, this looked like a winnable fixture with the way the team started. But, bluntly, it went to pot very quickly, with mistakes throughout the team and little of the energy, grit and determination that was a hallmark of the first part of this season.

Then a slight ray of sunshine on a generally grim day – the manager noted that Maldon had had to field some players from a league above us, as they were struggling making numbers. The Iguanas would be awarded a win as a result.

The points are obviously welcome, but the Iguanas know they can play significantly better than they did today. The weather did not help at all, but that’s a common factor for both teams. On to the next fixture, where hopefully our mojo will return and we can start to build a winning streak again.

Iguana of the Match : Mason – cracking defensive play today, in very tricky conditions.