Dunstable came out of the traps quickly and immediately applied pressure which led to a corner. However, in what turned out to be a sign of things to come, Lazio cleared the danger then went straight down the other end and nearly opened the scoring themselves. Two good balls into the box created opportunities, the second of which Daniel got onto the end of but just couldn’t quite control his effort.

The half largely continued in this manner.

Dunstable probably edged the possession and had a number of shots on goal but found Caelan, who had stepped up to play in goal with Chris being away, too good to get past. Caelan pulled off several stops, the best of which was a great tip round the post, getting down low to his right.

Lazio played more on the break but were looking dangerous every time they went forward, with several chances coming and going. Josh and Alex were delivering good balls into the box from the flanks, while Daniel, Josh and Blake all had decent efforts saved by the Dunstable keeper. Cyril then nearly enjoyed a dream debut, coming on and getting on the end of a cross with pretty much his first touch, but unfortunately the ball was just too high and his header went over.

Kingy and Jelani were in the engine room of the Lazio midfield and both had a strong first half working hard for the team, typified by a crunching tackle from Kingy which saw him limp off for treatment just before the break. And right on the stroke of half time Lazio again nearly grabbed the lead as Joe played a lovely through ball down the left channel for Daniel, who just couldn’t quite find the finish.

0-0 the halftime score.

The second half continued in the same manner and was a see-saw affair.

Within the first few minutes Caelan made an unbelievable double save, with a point blank reaction save followed by him clawing away the follow up.

Five minutes later it was Lazio’s turn for a great chance. They won a free kick 10 yards inside the Dunstable half, on the left flank. Blake floated a free kick into the box, Alex got up to knock the ball down and it fell perfectly for Adam who, cool as a cucumber, slotted home. 1-0 Lazio.

Lazio were looking good but within a few minutes Josh picked up what looked like a serious injury, thankfully it wasn’t, which seemed to impact Lazio’s focus for 5 or 10 minutes. Dunstable applied the pressure in this spell but body on the line defending from our back four of Joe, Tycho, Adam and Oscar, kept them at bay.

As in the first half, Lazio were still dangerous going forward and mid-way through the half they were unlucky not to double their lead. Great play from Daniel saw him work an opening before getting a strike in on goal which the Dunstable keeper did well to tip away. It actually still looked like the ball might dribble into the back of the net, in the end just bobbling the wrong side of the post.

With the way Caelan and the Lazio back four were performing it looked like Dunstable needed something special to find an equaliser and 10 minutes from time they got a bit of luck which they may argue they deserved. Blake blocked a shot with his chest. The ref saw it differently and pointed to the spot for handball. After a consultation with the linesman and confirmation that, for some reason VAR was not yet installed at Linslade Middle school, the ref stuck to his guns and gave the pen. Dunstable slotted it home to make it 1-1.

The last 10 minutes were intense and it was like a basketball match with each team taking turns to attack.

Tycho and Adam were immense at centre back for Lazio with several last ditch blocks, tackles and clearances, while Caelan was still there making saves. Alex twice thought he’d won it for Lazio, firstly denied by a great stop from the Dunstable keeper just after he’d cut inside to get his shot away and then secondly by a late linseman’s flag as both he and Josh were through on goal.

Even in the final minute there was time for one more heart stopping moment, as a Dunstable player burst through on goal. Caelan made an initial stop, then some combination of Caelan, Tycho, the post and for good measure an offside flag, kept the ball out of the goal.

The ref blew for full time shortly after, 1-1 the final score.

Great game, the two teams gave it their all and deserve a lot of credit. Both teams will go home thinking about missed chances and wondering how they didn’t win the game but in the end, for my money, a draw was about right.

Well played to Lazio today, another great team effort. Caelan gets a special mention for picking up the GK gloves and putting in an exceptional performance. But this week’s Gartec Player of the match went to Adam who also wasn’t playing in his usual position but was outstanding at centre back, and grabbed a goal for good measure - very well played Adam.

Dave K had the lino’s flag for us this week, not the relaxing Sunday morning he’d hoped for, but massively appreciated by us for running the line.