The unbeaten run continues...just

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

Another full squad on what will hopefully prove to be the start of more summery weather.

Oliver, James, Isaac, Rui, Coby, Lewis and Travis saw the game kick off, and the Iguanas started off spritely, with some good probing play. But the Pumas showed they could also muster up an attack, forcing an early corner which was well taken, but missed by all the players in the box, leaving Oliver to collect cleanly.

More general open play led to the Iguanas being awarded a free kick from distance. Rui’s aim was good but the ball went over the bar, the slightly blustery conditions impacting range today.

The Pumas gained the upper hand for the next 5-10mins, the Iguanas putting themselves under unnecessary pressure by giving the ball away cheaply, passing back into the danger zone, being far more rushed than we’ve seen in the recent past and not pushing for the ball with any urgency at Pumas’ goal kicks.

Another free kick for the Iguanas, this time from closer range, went a similar way, but it led to a good spell of passing by the team, and some great chances. Coby, Rui, Lewis and Thomas were all stringing passes together nicely and making good ground, but nobody could find their shooting feet to convert.

Coby was closest with a solid break through the Pumas’ defence, the keeper saving the resulting shot. Unfortunately, during this move, Coby opened up an old injury and had to be replaced by Travis, unable to play a further part in the game.

Lack of concentration during Pumas’ attacks crept in once more, but Pumas’ corners were going harmlessly out of play. From one of these, Thomas, who was everywhere on the pitch today, played a nice through ball, cutting open the Pumas’ defence, Lewis just failing to convert as the Pumas’ keeper approached.

James and Isaac made way for Sam and EthanR. Their solidity in defence helped with several more breaks, but the Iguanas could not convert.

EthanT, Stanley and Mason replaced Lewis, Rui and Thomas.

The game continued to be end to end, despite the Iguanas having the more clear-cut chances. EthanT made some great defensive tackles close to his own box. Mason and Travis linked up brilliantly on the left, sliding the ball through to Stanley who ran well at the Pumas’ goal, his shot being nicely saved by the Pumas’ keeper. The Pumas returned the favour with a break of their own, Oliver being called upon to keep the scores level.

Late in the half, Travis had a couple of powerful strikes from outside the box saved. And Sam showed accomplished passing, looking to release Mason on goal. But it wasn’t to be as the half-time whistle blew.

Half time.

Oliver, Isaac, James, Rui, Travis, Lewis and Thomas resumed the game for the Iguanas.

The Pumas started off the stronger for the first few minutes of this half, putting the Iguanas under pressure from the whistle. An early corner seemed to bounce around the box forever, with nobody connecting and fortunately leaving Oliver to collect.

Then the breakthrough. A long ball down the left wing saw the ball crossed into the box by Lewis. The Pumas’ keeper saw the danger, but couldn’t hold onto the ball, spilling it into an alert Thomas’ path. There was still work to do, but Thomas wasn’t going to miss from that range.

The Iguanas were starting to look much more incisive now. Travis wasn’t afraid to have a shot from longer range, one effort being pushed wide for a corner. The team were unlucky not to convert this into another goal, the Pumas’ keeper getting the ball to safety. Lewis turned the ball nicely from a throw in from Thomas, the shot then just going wide.

A free kick for the Pumas from a handball went harmlessly wide, allowing the Iguanas to once more build from the back. Thomas was proving quick and strong in the middle of the pitch, hooking up with Lewis and then snatching the ball over the bar from the return pass.

The Pumas were mostly having to resort to long goal kicks to ease the pressure. But as the Iguanas had found in the first half, the blustery conditions were difficult to judge, and the vast majority of these dead ball situations either went harmlessly out, or were pretty readily collected by the Iguanas’ keeper.

Rui, Isaac and James were sub’d for EthanR, Sam and EthanT. The refreshed defensive line handled a number of Pumas’ attacks well, including a couple of well taken corners. Sam connected well with the floating ball, using all parts of his body to get the ball into Iguanas’ possession, and the team were able to convert these breaks into nice counter-attacking moves, both Lewis and Travis going close.

Then what looked like an innocuous attack led to another handball from the Iguanas, only this time just inside the Iguanas’ box. Penalty! Oliver stood tall for the kick, but it was well struck and levelled the score line.

Travis was rested for Stanley, and the Iguanas pushed, looked to take the lead again. Thomas put a shot just over the bar, and he and EthanT combined well to force good saves from the Pumas.

Whilst the Pumas were resorting increasingly to long balls, the Iguanas also dropped back into putting themselves under unnecessary pressure, once again passing the ball back into their own danger zone and being more careless than we have come to expect with their passing.

Mason replaced Lewis, but the Pumas continued to attack. A clear break through the Iguanas’ defensive line gave a one-on-one situation, but the shot went well over the bar. This was to be their final attack.

The Iguanas made another push forwards in the dying minutes. Breaking down the left-hand side, Stanley was fouled. The Iguanas team felt they had their own penalty, but the misdemeanour was outside of the Pumas’ area (the complaints from the Iguanas’ players suggesting they thought otherwise). Thomas took the free kick, but it fell just wide of the goal.

The full-time whistle blew shortly afterwards, leaving the score level.

This was a bit of a funny game today. Despite spells where the team were not fully alert, and putting themselves under unnecessary pressure, they never really looked that threatened in open play. They also created plenty of opportunities to put the game out of sight, but couldn’t convert. A basic mistake (undoubtedly not helped by windy conditions and the ball bouncing a lot) was punished, but the game could have gone either way.

Iguana of the Match : Sam – lovely, solid performance today. Knew his job and did it well.