Copthorne Youth 1 - 1 Badgers U9B (Horsham and District League)

The U9Bs opened their season with an away match at Copthorne Youth. Being new to the league, it remains to be seen how well the team will compete at this level; against this opposition at least, Badgers showed distinct signs that they would at least hold their own.

From the kick-off Brockham had most of the possession. Their rapidly developing sense of positional play kept Copthorne stretched and obliged them to work hard to gain a foothold in the match. Defensively, the Badgers were very sound, with William Glenn and Ben Mackenzie comfortably protecting their goal. 


After 10 minutes, Arun Watkins ended a penetrative run down the right with a neat pass to Ben Austin further down the wing. As the cross came in, Callum Holder’s decoy run took the Copthorne left back out of the game leaving Lily Turner unopposed to slot the ball home from the edge of the six-yard box.

Copthorne kept battling, and came more into the game in the second half. Still the Badgers coped well, with fine saves from ‘keeper Huw Morgan, and stout defensive work from Jethro Burton and Tom Ambrose.

Despite some neat passing moves, the second goal for Brockham did not come and Copthorne earned the reward for their persistence with an equalising goal following a penalty area melee in the final minute.

A little disappointed in the end result, the Badgers can nonetheless be proud of their start to the season, which augurs well for the coming games. Credit also to both teams for a very sporting and well-fought contest.

Report by Frank Holder