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Monday, 23 January 2012

Brockham Badgers U15 0 - 1 Corinthian Casuals

When will luck roll the way of the Badgers U15As?  In a game where Brockham dominated possession and chances, they still came away without reward.  The ball hit the Corinthian cross bar, skimmed first the left post and then another attempt skimmed the right, was cleared off the line, fizzed across goal tantalisingly inches from a Brockham toe, and drew an assortment of saves from the Casuals keeper, but still it wouldn’t find the net.

Every Brockham player to a man had an excellent game from start to finish.  The back three of Luc Jhugroo, Justin Tarrant, and Simon Vakeva-Baird were magnificent.  The midfield battled for possession and retained the ball better than they have all season, and both Joe silver and Jordan Martin were a constant threat up front, using their pace to break the Corinthian off-side trap time and again.

Any neutral observer would have expected the game to go the way of the Badgers, even when at 0-0 with only seven minutes to go the Casuals countered and took the lead with a poachers goal from short range.  Lady luck and the clock were having none of it though, and despite their superior performance the black and whites found themselves empty handed once again.

Sunday, 22 January 2012

NPL Youth 2 - 1 Brockham Badgers Barbarians (U10) (Epsom and Ewell League, Division 3)

Brockham Badgers U10 Barbarians team travelled to Teddington to play NPL Youth who were currently occupying the top spot in Division Three of the Epsom and Ewell League.
Brockham started strongly from the whistle with healthy contests for the ball all over the pitch. On three minutes Brockham's Ben MacKenzie managed to break along the wing and cross to Tom Ambrose for a first Badger's strike which was only kept out by a NPL defender on the line.
Some fine defensive work by Brockham's Ben Austin and William Glenn gave protection to their goal and also created options for quick counter attacks. With Brockham's players pushing forward, a long range ball from NPL found their lone striker who volleyed past Brockham's Josh Snow to put them in front after nine minutes.
From the restart Brockham quickly gained the upper hand and a great move from Arun Watkins gave Callum Hollder clear sight of goal but the ball fizzed just wide. With just one minute remaining of the first half, Brockham's Ambrose made a sublime pass to Holder who skipped past the NPL goalkeeper to coolly slot home the equaliser.
In the second half Brockham were again on top as MacKenzie and Austin terrorised both wings. Brockham's defenders were pushing forward and an audacious strike from the half way line by Bailey Osbourne only narrowly prevented Brockham from taking the lead.
About half way through the second half and against the run of play, Brockham were defending in numbers, as a scuffle in the box enabled NPL to grab another goal and take the lead 2-1. With ten minutes left, Brockham continued to push forward and showed no signs of tiredness when dealing with some quick NPL counter attacks. Although Brockham had the lion share of the chances in the remaining minutes, they were unable to find the all-important equaliser and the game ended in a narrow victory for NPL.

Final Score NPL Youth U10 2 - 1 Brockham Badgers Barbarians U10

Man of the Match: Tom Ambrose

Brockham Badgers: Thomas Ambrose, Ben Austin, William Glenn, Callum Holder, Bailey Osborne (Capt.), Josh Snow, Ben MacKenzie, Arun Watkins