Lots of promise but no end result

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

Overcast and cool for the Iguanas last home game of the season.

Oliver, Isaac, Mason, Coby, EthanT, Stanley, Travis, Thomas and Lewis take to the field for the kick off.

The Iguanas started strongly, pushing hard and making the Vikings work for the ball in their own half. Isaac, Mason and Coby were ensuring the ball rarely ventured too far into any sort of danger area for their team.

A free kick won by Travis was struck well by Mason, just going wide. Stanley showed some excellent skill, neat footwork opening up an opportunity for EthanT whose shot went just over the bar. A couple of corners were very nicely delivered by Travis, but nobody could connect and the Vikings eventually cleared their lines.

Halfway through the half, Jasper, George, Rui and EthanR came on in place of Isaac, Stanley, Travis and EthanT.

The Iguanas kept on putting on the pressure. More corners were well struck, this time by Lewis. Jasper came close with one of them, but again the Vikings cleared their lines.

Having been caught off-side a couple of times, the Vikings then beat the off-side trap on a rare break. Beating the Iguanas for pace at the back, Oliver came out to meet the attack but the ball was slipped past him and just inside the post. Very much against the run of play.

The Iguanas kept pushing, but try as they might could not convert good build up play into goals. The Vikings were defending well and breaking up play, but the Iguanas were looking slow and tentative in taking shots at goal.

James replaced Lewis for the final 10mins of the half.

Rui was showing some great skill on the ball in the middle of the park, very strong in his runs and staying upright to cause the Vikings some nervous moments.

A final Vikings break saw them beating the Iguanas for pace once more. When they managed to get the ball past the Iguanas’ midfield, they were causing real threats, but this time Oliver made a great intercept to snuff out the danger.

Half time.

Oliver, Isaac, Coby, Mason, EthanR, Travis, EthanT Lewis and Thomas restarted the game to see if they could capitalise on their possession in the first half.

This time the Vikings started off the stronger. The Iguanas’ defence were initially up to the challenge, but after a decent break by Travis, shooting just over, the Vikings broke again, and again comfortably beating the defence for pace. One on one, Oliver got a foot to the ball but not enough contact to prevent the scoreline increasing.

George came on for Isaac, Rui, James and Jasper for Coby, Lewis and EthanR.

More pressure from the Iguanas went unrewarded. A couple of solid Travis corners and another lovely freekick from Mason went unanswered by the other Iguanas. At the other end, Oliver was called on for more interceptions as the Vikings broke decisively, and Rui was all over the pitch, running back really well with a well-timed last-ditch tackle to disrupt a break.

Broomfield won a rare corner later into the half. Oliver met it really well, and react quickly for a second save. But the Vikings were still on the ball and whipped it back into the centre, where an attacking player was unmarked and had an unchallenged strike into goal.

As the game came to a close, the Iguanas still pressed for a goal. James and Thomas linked up for a fabulous 1-2, but this was not to be a day when the Iguanas would find the net, and this final move saw the shot go wide.

The full-time whistle blew with the Iguanas having the wrong sort of clean sheet.

The majority of the possession in this game was with the Iguanas, but they simply could not find the net today. And pressing deep into their opponents’ half left them vulnerable to the counter-attack, where the Vikings showed much more pace than the Iguanas. These two teams are well matched, as their previous results show. But the Iguanas know they can play better than this. One last hurrah for the season next week to show the team we know they are.

Iguana of the Match : Coby – rock solid and lightning quick. Coby’s been paying a lot of attention to his game and is a lynch pin down the left.