Brockham Badgers U10A 2 - 4 Old Coulsdon Colts

It wasn’t a great day at the office for Brockham Badgers U10s at the Big Field this weekend. The Barbarians went down 4-0 to Ashtead Colts whilst the Assassins missed out on securing 3^rd spot in the Premier Division of the Epsom & Ewell League when they were beaten 4-2 by Old Coulsdon Colts.

It was not for a lack of effort though.  Conan Torpey struck gold on five minutes to score for the third game in succession and give the U10As the lead following a long throw from Ed Russ.  The lead was short lived however when the excellent Harrison Watts was adjudged to have brought down the Colts forward in the penalty area, which he duly converted to level the game. 

Brockham continued to push forward and take the lion’s share of possession but were stunned when Coulsdon caught them on the counter and struck a sharp shot from outside the area.  Coulsdon bagged a third quickly afterwards, winning the ball in midfield they drove forward and switched the ball quickly left to right for a well worked goal.

Somehow Brockham still looked good for the points though and their good work was rewarded when again Russ provided the assist for Torpey to reduce the deficit.

How Brockham didn’t draw level in the second half is anyone’s guess.  Russ and Joe Rabbetts went close from long range, and when the two combined with fifteen minutes to goal only quantum physics can explain how Rabbetts’ header saw the ball drop on the line and then spin of its own accord around the outside of the post.  Will Timmons made two good drives into space from defence and could have scored with either had luck been wearing black and white on the day. 

The Badgers had read the direct and  long-ball goal kicks from Coulsdon all morning, but on the last occasion they failed to deal with it.  Confusion between Timmons and the otherwise excellent Huw Morgan in goal, allowed the ball to bounce over them and the Colts striker to sneak in and bag their fourth.  Fair play to the Colts, but it’s a funny old game!

Man of the Match: Harrison Watts

Molsesey Juniors 4 - 1 Brockham Badgers U15A

Brockham Badgers U15A undid themselves this weekend.  They dominated offensive play, and had they been more clinical in their finishing, the score line may have been different.  But their failure to organise defensively as a unit, combined with some nervous goal keeping, once again lost them the match and places them firmly in a relegation dog fight with only four games of the season remaining. 

The first ten minutes was a pretty even affair, both teams getting to grips with each other and trying to impose their own shape and tempo on the game.  The match ebbed and flowed with some half chances at either end.  Molesey opened the scoring at the end of this spell.  Brockham lost the ball high up the pitch in midfield.  Molesey played the ball wide to their right midfielder.  Brockham’s left winger failed to track and by the time he’d woken up to the threat Oli Gout at left back was two on one.  Molesey’s right midfielder was allowed to advance as Gout tried to cover both the threat and the potential pass inside, and enough space to shoot was all Molesey needed to put the ball in from 15 yards.

Brockham responded well.  Alex Mitrovic and Joe Silver both had chances cleared off the line, and Brockham looked more like the team who would go on to win.  It was a neat ball into Alex Mitrovic from midfield which he smartly switched outside right with his first touch which allowed the Badgers to level the game.  His pass was perfect – a yard or two nearer Jordan Martin than the Molesey goalie, forcing the keeper to advance always in the knowledge that Martin’s pace would get him their first.  Martin took a touch, rounded the keeper and drilled it home.

Brockham were immediately hit by a self inflicted succour punch.  Within two minutes of the restart Molesey went ahead again.  Again the threat came down the Molesey right.  Gout could have met the aerial threat early with his head but did well all the same well to recover and push the danger out wide from where an innocuous cross came in for the Brockham defence to routinely clear.  Inexplicably both centre halves and right back let the ball roll in front of them without an attempt to intercept and an advancing Molesey player cut in from the left and tucked it away.

Brockham looked a little nervous now and started to rush things.  Too much emphasis was being placed on getting the ball forward too quickly and as a consequence possession was being given away cheaply.  The next goal started from losing the ball too easily in an offensive position high up on the left but the result was more a stroke of luck than anything.  A Molesey striker took a speculative shot from 20 yards.  It was a simple collect for the Brockham keeper as the defence and the Molesey front line turned to jog back to the half-way line.  Somehow though the ball slipped through his wet gloves and rolled through his legs and over the line.

To their credit, Brockham didn’t drop their heads.  Two excellent chances to get back in the game were gifted on a plate but neither were taken.  The first came from some excellent combination work on the right from Sam Lloyd and Luke Brightman.  Lloyd put a peach of a cross in from the right, across the six yard box that just begged to be finished.  The ball passed all of the Molesey defence and dropped for Martin who elected to attempt to chest it into the goal rather than direct a simple header into the gaping net.  The ball went wide.  Next, Jack Coppin made an excellent run into the Molesey penalty area where he was brought down and the referee blew for a spot kick.  Coppin shot wide.

Luck just wasn’t helping Brockham’s attacking cause to balance their defensive shortcomings, and so the combination transpired for Molesey’s fourth.  A simple collect on the bye-line was fumbled by the Brockham keeper and the ball somehow rolled out for a Molesey corner when Brockham should have instead been on the counter.  The most obvious Molesey man to mark was the number 10.  He was the tallest, most vocal all match, and was their standout player and captain.  The corner sailed in, and the number 10 was there at the back post totally unmarked to head home.

Brockham have a front line to be feared.  They can score against anyone, but if they don’t defend as a unit and organise themselves on set pieces then no matter how many chances they create they will always be vulnerable even when the possession advantage is theirs.  The team is good enough to be at the opposite end of the table but instead it finds itself in a relegation battle.  The boys can get themselves out of it but it will require them to determine the outcome not the opposition.

Men of the Match:  Sam Lloyd and Luke Brightman

 

 

 

 

 

Surrey Youth League - Brockham Badgers U16A 4 Mitcham Imperials U16 0

Brockham Badgers U16A put their disappointing defeat in the quarter final of the Surrey Cup last weekend against lower league Corinthian Casuals by sweeping a decent Mitcham Imperials side aside at a rain swept Big Field on Sunday.

 

Brockham now sit in 2^nd spot in the division, and with three straight victories without conceding a goal Brockham seem to be on a good spell of form at the moment despite a mystifying loss of form in the Surrey cup clash. 

 

Sitting just 2 points behind Brockham at the start of play, Mitcham are a good footballing side, but Brockham were always on top and the 1-0 interval scoreline courtesy of a Will Mahoney goal was no more than Badgers deserved.  As the rain tumbled down, a second goal for Brockham from a busy Josh Brown set the tone for the game in the early second half.  Harry Ramsey used his pace to punish an indecisive defence 15 minutes from time, and then George Coffey rounded of fthe scoring via a direct free kick that evaded the keeper as players deceived his line of sight in the box.  Tom Ball made a good debut for the Brockham side with an energetic performance.

 

The Brockham clean sheet was almost threatened late on when the otherwise exemplary Brockham defence switched off for a second, but Dennis Rapson was his normal impressive self and he smothered the effort as Mitcham looked destined to score a consolation.

 

Team – Dennis Rapson, Will Mahoney, Connor Baker, Matt Higgins ©, Will Bletso, Tom Ball, Mike Richardson, Josh Brown, Alex Nicholson, Gecco Navalta, Frankie Routlef, Harry Ramsey, George Coffey

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