M&T Jaguars vs Hedge End Rangers Tigers – 25th Sept ’22

Another beautiful day at the Timsbury Rec to see the Jaguars take on the Tigers. GGGGRRRRRR!

The game started well for both sides which led to a very entertaining opening. Hedge End were using the wings well with their right winger giving Theo a really good race. It’s not often we see Theo tested like that but as always, Theo did really well.

Harrison had a go up front and was unlucky not to get on to a good through ball. He collided with the keeper and now has a very wobbly tooth (thankfully it’s one that needs to come out anyway).

Ollie was doing well in CDM and a couple of times defended very cleverly by just holding up the oppo’s play to allow his team to get back.

At the 15 minute mark the bench came in and made a massive impact. We have such a strong squad now and it was great to see that whenever someone came on they affected the game.

Mally and Harry combined really well and caused all sorts of problems.

Mally got the breakthrough when a Harry shot was deflected out. Mally stayed calm and finished well.

Mally made it 2 soon after with a goal of his own making. He flicked the ball over the defenders head, showed pace to pull away and then powered the ball home into the net. No bobbles or moles today hey Mally 😉

Half time. Jaguars 2.0 Hedge End.

The effort had come at a cost though as we now had Riley, who played outstandingly in the wing back role and listened to all the coaching given, Mally and Harry who had to come off with knocks.

Again, our squad strength showed as the players who came on all did well. Lloyd really came to life and was winning balls up the pitch for us and dribbling well. Aidan came out of goal with bags of energy and covered across the whole pitch.

The main thing now was the clean sheet. Keep everything tight and do nothing silly. William, Eddie and Thomas in goal added lots of reassurance. They all kept calm and won the tackles they needed to. Eddie was definitely back to his best, won every tackle and distributed the ball well. William was excellent with one of his best games for a long time. Never looked troubled and on several occasions showed a real turn of pace. Thomas’ distribution from goal was spot on.

With that solid foundation, we could hit Hedge End on the counter. With Glyn winning the ball in the middle many many times and then releasing his team mates, we created a few more chances.

James was unlucky with a lob shot which just drifted wide.

Harry came close when he broke free, rounded the keeper expertly but just put it wide from a wide angle at pace.

It didn’t matter as he still got his goal. Another strikers finish from an assist by Riley.

Full time. Jaguars 3.0 Hedge End

Another superb team performance. The coaches are so happy with how we are working for each other and this is definitely the best squad we have ever had. Let’s keep it going.

The votes for player of the day were well spread again. This is a great sign!!
Votes for William, Riley, James and Glyn.

We had joint winners today.

Lloyd – Already playing a year up, he has now made a step up in standard. I was thinking it may take him until Christmas to get used to it but today he showed that he is hitting the ground running. Showed physicality to win the ball and stay on his feet under pressure from much bigger kids. Well done Lloyd. Brilliant.

Mally – Due to injury Mally was only on the pitch for 15 minutes but it shows what an impact he had to receive so many votes. It wasn’t just his 2 excellent goals, it was his intensity of play and composure on the ball. A great weekend (apart from the injury) as he took trainer of the day and player of the day. Awesome work Mally!