M&T Jaguars vs Kings Copse – 9th Oct ’22

This morning saw us welcoming our friends from Kings Copse to the rec and try to maintain our unbeaten start.

The kick off was the highlight of our first half as we strung about 15 passes together from one side of the pitch to the other. I thought that would give us confidence but we never really got going.

We looked nervous and couldn’t deal with long balls again. We tried to dribble through the middle way too often and lost the ball every single time.

Kings Copse deservedly took the lead and we were actually lucky to not be 3 or 4 goals down before we eventually moved into third gear.

We ended the half strong and with players giving vocal encouragement to their mates on the pitch, we started to play better and look like we wanted it.

Harry came close with a couple of efforts.

Halftime Jaguars 0 – 1 Kings Copse

We were a totally different team in the second half and showed much more desire. Theo was outstanding at the back and we looked a lot more comfortable with his pace and strength.

Lloyd gave us some dynamism in attack and created a few good chances.

When we did get caught over the top, Thomas was there to sweep up from goal and also make 2 terrific saves.

Mally had a much better second half and imposed his ability on the game from midfield. He was realeasing the ball a lot quicker and setting up good moves.

It was Mally who got our equaliser when he shot which hit a defender and looped up. Mally calmly volleyed into the corner. It was just what we deserved now but did we have enough time to get a winner??

We pushed for the last few minutes and Harry again came close with a chance that he would 9/10 times finish with his eyes closed.

In the end the draw was probably a fair result. Our toughest game of the season so far but we didn’t help ourselves in the first half.

Full time Jaguars 1 – 1 Kings Copse

Votes for Mally and Lloyd for player of the day but we had joint winners today.

Thomas and Theo shared the honour.

Thomas looks more and more like a goalkeeper every game and even after he made a mistake or 2 (which he will while he learns) he made up for it with brave saves.

Theo had a brilliant second half at centre back and showed off just how good he is at defending. He read the game well, won every first ball and got us out of trouble more than once with his blistering pace.

Well done boys for showing resilience and maintaining your unbeaten run despite not being at your best. Let’s get back on it next week