MK started the stronger of the two teams and nearly got through on goal in the first minute but Tycho got across with an excellent piece of covering - something that would be a theme throughout the match.

MK continued to enjoy the lions share of the play in the opening stages but Lazio stood up to the task with some solid defending. It was disappointing therefore when, just as it looked like Lazio had come through this opening period of pressure, they gave a goal away. A dangerous corner and a good header from the MK centre back made it 1-0 to the home side after about 15 minutes.

Lazio steadied themselves and slowly came more into the game. Poor decision making in picking the right pass and generally over complicating things saw Lazio waste a number of promising moves forward. Clear cut chances were at a premium and Lazio’s best chance of the half came from a corner that Tycho got on the end of but headed down and wide.

At the other end MK continued to look dangerous, in particular from corners of their own, where the height difference between the teams meant Lazio were always at a disadvantage. However, some good saves, good defending and a bit of luck meant Lazio managed to scramble away a couple of efforts in the run up to the break.

1-0 MK at halftime.

The second half was a close affair with both teams knowing the importance of the next goal.

MK generally had the better of the play and the openings, with their best effort being a one on one towards the start of the half that was well saved by Chris.

For Lazio it wasn’t quite happening in terms of free flowing attacking football, time and again we had opportunities to release a wide player or a forward but just hit a poor pass. Nevertheless, the boys kept going and kept knocking at the door for the equaliser. As in the first half, Lazio’s best chance came from one of Blake’s corners. This time it was our well known big man, Theo, who got on the end of the corner with a good firm header that went narrowly wide.

As the clock ticked down both teams were getting half chances that just wouldn’t quite fall for them. For Lazio, on what was quite a small pitch, Chris’s long goal kicks were proving effective and Josh Green, who worked hard up front by himself all game, was unlucky not to get on the end of something from these.

In the final minute a second goal of the game did finally come…..but unfortunately for Lazio it was MK that grabbed it to seal the win.

The final whistle went just after, 2-0 the final score.

Well played to the boys today, battled hard and couldn’t be faulted for their effort. But for the avoidance of doubt, we will be working on our final through balls in training this week.

The back four in general played well today and the Gartec Player of the Match was split between two of them - Tycho who was outstanding at centre back and Adam who was equally impressive at right back. Well done both.

Well done also to our two linos this week, Andre and Ben, big thanks as always. And thanks also to Jen, Abbey and Zuzana, who stood close to the high vis jacket throughout the game, ready to spring into action as our match day delegate at a moments notice.