U15 Lazio made the short trip to Creasey Park today for a lunch time kick off against Dunstable Town Panthers. By Creasey Park standards the wind wasn’t blowing too hard but it was still gusty enough at times and, combined with the slope and bobbly surface, both teams faced tricky conditions.

The game started relatively evenly but it was Lazio that had two good chances inside the opening 10 minutes. Firstly Theo played Josh Green through on goal, Josh was unlucky to see his lifted effort go over the keep and just the wrong side of the post. A few minutes later though Josh made no mistake with his next effort. The ball started with Chris, in goal for Lazio today, his throw found Harry on the left wing who turned his man beautifully before knocking a ball down the left channel. Josh latched onto this, drove down the left-hand side of the penalty box, then cut across the defender before finishing at the near post. 1-0 Lazio.

The goal gave Lazio confidence and they looked relatively in control for the remainder of the half, maybe without creating lots of clear chances. Their next chance came midway through the half when Blake played a lovely ball into the box to find Sher, who couldn’t quite find a finish past the advancing Dunstable keeper. 10 minutes later Blake was again the provider and this time Lazio did take advantage. After winning possession back in midfield the ball fell to Blake midway in the Dunstable half, Blake turned and hit a diagonal ball to pick out Philip’s run into the box between two defenders. A great first touch and an even better second touch saw Philip smash the ball home to make it 2-0 Lazio.

The Lazio back four of Joe, Charlie, Tycho, Oscar and then later Cyril had been solid all half, giving away very few chances. In the run up to half time Lazio were guilty of getting caught in possession a few times just outside their own box and the second of these nearly saw Dunstable pull a goal back with their best chance of the half. However, good recovery play from Tycho and Cyril and then an excellent block from Josh Goble saw the ball go safely wide for a corner.

2-0 to Lazio at half time.

The second half was very similar to the first. Now shooting downhill, Lazio generally had the better of the play, looking dangerous going forward and sound at the back.

Grabbing the next goal of the game 5 minutes into the half certainly helped. A counter attack from Lazio saw Josh Green go screeching down the right wing. Josh got to the byline and squared the ball across the face of the goal for Harry, who had sprinted like a mad man to get to the far post and was rewarded by smashing the ball home into the empty net. 3-0 Lazio.

The final goal of the game came midway through the half. Good harassing from Thomas, who came on up front, led to Dunstable losing the ball playing out from the back. Theo jumped on the opportunity like a rat up a drainpipe, calmly knocking the ball round the Dunstable keeper and slotting home. 4-0 Lazio.

The remaining 20 or so minutes saw half chances at both ends. Lazio had good positions they didn’t quite take advantage of. Dunstable had some openings too, with Chris called into action a few times and Cyril, Tycho, Charlie, Abdul and Joe all getting in some great blocks and tackles.

4-0 to Lazio the final score.

A very clinical display from the boys today. We worked hard, looked defensively sound and showed enough quality in tricky conditions to score some really good goals. Well played to all, especially this week’s Gartec Player of the Match, which was Tycho. It wasn’t a day for pretty football at times and we needed our defence in particular to stand up and be counted. They all did this and we just gave Tycho the nod for countless clearances and covering at the heart of the back four, very well played.

Finally, big thanks to Will who was on lino duty today, swapping golf in the sun for the lino’s flag in the wind, which was nearly (but not quite) as much fun…..