A game of two halves

Team Sheet : Cole; Ethan; Fearne; Freya; Isaac; Jayden; Lewis; Maddison; Oliver; Sierra; Zach

Away once more to Great Notley Falcons on a lovely autumnal day.

Iguanas got the game under way, but Great Notley Falcons showed intent from the outset and put the Iguanas under early pressure. And it would prove to be pressure that lasted much of the first half.

Despite this, after sustained pressure but no massive threat from Great Notley, Fearne showed some strength on the right wing and released Jayden on goal. A decent shot was deflected wide for a corner.

More Great Notley pressure led to a corner that the Iguanas defended well. Good marking of opposition players and watching of the posts was necessary as the corner came in but led to nothing.

Zach showed lovely skill and power on the left wing, releasing Cole. But some tough tackling – another theme of the day – stopped the Iguanas attack and resulted in a freekick. Cole delivered a good ball into the Great Notley half, but no Iguana could make contact to make it count.

The pressure was then on again from the Falcons, but some firm marshalling of his defence by Oliver (the loudest person on the field) and a very strong display from our defensive pairing of Ethan and Zach saw the Falcons’ attacks snuffed out before they could pose any real danger.
A classic Fearne turn showed the Falcons what good footwork looks like and released the ball to Cole, but again a freekick was the only result which only managed to relieve the pressure.

Freya and Sierra came on to give Fearne and Lewis a break.

Ethan was called into action once more, making a couple of well timed tackles and sprinting back for more.

Isaac and Maddison then came into the fray for Zach and Cole.

Further pressure from the Falcons resulted in a high ball floating into the Iguanas’ area. With most players in the area the ball bounced horribly and was struggling to be brought under control when a Falcons’ foot poked the ball goal bound. An unsighted Oliver saw the ball too late and it went under the Iguanas’ keeper. A scruffy, unfortunate goal that the Iguanas’ defensive performance did not deserve.

Cole came on for Jayden and Zach was switched out to give Ethan a well-earned rest.

Maddison was very strong in midfield as we’ve become used to. Isaac was showing he too wasn’t afraid to get stuck in and took a couple of knocks whilst putting in some nice clearances. Sierra was pushing forwards when possible, dribbling the ball nicely too, but chances in the Falcons area were few.

A nice free kick from Zach saw Cole released, but a speculative shot went wide.

A Falcons throw deep into the Iguanas’ half left Oliver with a 3 on 1 attack but he stopped it readily.

This led to the strongest spell of the half for the Iguanas, pushing the Falcons out of their half. Sierra, Maddison and Freya were solid in midfield with some good footwork and speed, and not letting the increasing physicality of the game get to them. A long throw from Maddison saw Freya released down the middle, but she was just caught as she was about to release a shot. This didn’t stop her getting stuck into the tackling too though, ensuring the Iguanas kept the ball.

A little more pressure from the Falcons in the last few minutes, and then half time. The Iguanas were unlucky to be down in the game, but had suffered the most sustained pressure of the season thus far.

The second half started to turn the tables on the Falcons. The Iguanas were much harder in the press and this period of the game was consistently in the Falcons’ half of the pitch.

Fearne and Lewis came on for Freya and Sierra. Lewis was straight on the ball with an attacking run, but his shot went well wide.
Jayden and Maddison also increased the tempo for the Iguanas, forcing a corner. Lewis showed great skill in delivering a dangerous corner. Jayden was quick onto the ball but the Falcons keeper saved the effort.

Great Notley made few breaks in the second half. A couple ended in corners which were dealt with nicely. Oliver distributed from the corners well with some solid goal kicks that very nearly released Jayden at the other end of the pitch.

Cole replaced Maddison, who had put in a solid shift and was looking puffed out, and Zach came on for Isaac.

Consistent work in midfield and through the centre saw the Iguanas pose real trouble for the Falcons, just petering out in the final few touches.
Great Notley were far from rolling over, calling both Ethan and Oliver into action again later in the second half, but our backline remained resolute.

A final Iguanas’ attack led to a corner on the right. A lovely delivery from Cole saw the ball whip dangerously into the Falcons area and a couple of Iguanas were very close to connecting with the ball, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be and the full-time whistle blew, a little too early for our plucky Iguanas.

Two words were repeated way more than others in my notes today. The first was “unlucky”. Our Iguanas definitely deserved more from today’s game, were unlucky to concede and unlucky not to level it at the end, but that’s the way the game goes. Once we unlock our shooting boots and capitalise on our strength in defence and moving forwards (as we demonstrated well in the second half), we’ll be a massive force to be reckoned with.

(The second word? The name of today’s Iguana of the Match!).

Iguana of the Match : Ethan – big performance in defence. Tough tackling, great clearances and selfless tracking back. Never mind Ledley King, every defender from Franco Baresi to Virgil van Dyke would have been proud of today’s display.