24th July 2022 at Sparsholt College.
The wait is over. The much anticipated Southampton Aztecs men's team took the court for the first time. The game took place at Sparsholt College, and the contest was against Compton Futsal, formerly Luisitanos.
The seven who took the the battle field in their brand new red training tops were; Ryan Brewster in goal, Sean Dye as the captain, John Rix, Laurynas Jonaitis, Mamadou Sané, Esteban Makoly, and Enrique Mbela.
As the more experienced and established team, Compton struck first, to take a 1-0 lead. The lead didn't last long, as Mamadou Sané scored the first ever Southampton Aztecs men's goal, assisted by Laurynas Jonaitis.
Compton regained the lead to make it 2-1, which lasted even less time than their 1-0 lead. From the resulting kick-off, Enrique Mbela played a through ball for Sané, which was turned into the Compton net by a defender trying to cut out the pass.
Again, Compton took the lead to make it 3-2, and again, the Aztecs equalised. Sané again, after playing a one-two with Esteban Makoly, who demonstrated great hold up play to slip in Sané for his second.
The first half finished 5-3 in favour of Compton, after a couple errors at the back for Southampton. The Aztecs played some good futsal and showed a lot of promise, coming back from behind three times in their first ever outing. The second half was evidently too much. The fitness and experience of Compton took over, and they showed their quality, running up a 17-4 victory.
The fourth Aztecs goal came from Mamadou Sané again, after Ryan Brewster, on an adventure out of his goal, was tackled, but took a quick kick-in to take advantage of the Compton disarray while changing their keeper. The close range finished supplied by Makoly for his second assist.
Much to learn from the first outing, but also much to be pleased about. The team showed great promise, and a lot of potential. The fitness and game understanding will come. The first half was a good display for a team that has had only three training sessions prior to their first game. It's the second half where the difference really showed, and that will be the gap that needs to be made up over time. The Aztecs have another friendly next Sunday away to Mavericks.
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