Brockham Badgers U16A 2 -1 Elm Grove Colts

A tight and scrappy game contested by two competitive teams won’t go down as a classic but Brockham Badgers U16A marginally edged their game against Elm Grove Colts to win by two goals to one.

Brockham soaked up a lot of pressure from the Colts in the first fifteen minutes with no less than eight corners conceded and defended.  Once that passage of play had passed and Brockham were able to get the ball on the ground and retain possession their fortunes changed.  Lewis Wood played a superb ball into Jordan Martin who shrugged off the close attention of his marker a showed great confidence and composure to place the ball past the Elm Grove keeper with his weaker left foot.

Elm Grove had a strong and physical spine from back to front, but it was the diminutive Brockham captain Sam Lloyd that won the intelligence battle.  Receiving the ball to feet from an advanced midfield position he ducked under the shadow of his towering minder, showed a clean pair heels and played another neat through ball to Martin who finished with his left for the second time.

The Colts wrestled back some control of the game towards the end of the second half, and their frustration threatened to boil over into cautions with a few late challenges coming in.  Brockham held their nerve and composure however and were good value for their lead going into half time.

As expected Elm Grove applied some early pressure once more, their No.10 in particular, clearly identified as a target and receiving every ball forward to his feet and muscling his way through the Brockham lines at times.  Injuries forced changes for both sides and following three changes to the Badgers’ right sided setup the Colts seized on a little bit of complacency and tucked away a scrappy goal to put them back in the game with twenty five minutes to play.

From then on in the game descended into a stop and start affair with both sides giving away silly free kicks.  Composure, patience, and control was lost to some extent but the negative results were mostly self-inflicted and felt by the visitors as it stifled their own ability to get back into the game when the momentum had been with them.  Brockham saw the game out and can credit themselves with a mature performance from all the team.

Man of the Match:  Jordan Martin

Sutton United 3 - 3 Brockham Badgers U11A

A stunning recovery and a deserved point was earned by Brockham Badgers U11A on their travels to league champions Sutton United.  Brockham had given Sutton two good games last season despite losing both, and had narrowly lost by one goal to nil in a summer tournament to the Us.  So a tight and competitive game was expected.

Both teams play out from the back and try to construct flowing possession in their game.  For the spectators it was a joy to watch as both teams looked well organised and showed the best of their respective talents.  Each had two or three decent chances on goal in the first half but where the Badgers never got a break, the Us did, an easy collect from a soft shot slipping through the wet gloves of the Brockham keeper to give Sutton the lead on 20 minutes.

Brockham can be thankful a penalty was not awarded against them shortly afterwards, but as to reverse what seemed a change in luck Sutton bagged a second from close range shortly before half time.

The black and whites were nowhere near out of the game though and were encouraged to press higher up the pitch.  The tactic paid immediate dividends when the Us were forced into an error.  Some excellent defensive work by the Badgers allowed Luke Page to drive into midfield and switch play to Harrison Watts who picked the ball up on the right and pinged it low into the area where a Sutton defender sliced his clearance across goal.  The keeper parried the ball but Joseph Rabbetts pounced from 3 yards out with a quick turn and a deft flick of his left.

Further pressure forced a corner five minutes later.  Louie Darlington lofted it into the danger zone where it came straight back out to him.  Without a touch he instinctively punched a side footed shot from a tight angle straight inside the near post for the leveller for what he described as the best goal he’d ever scored.

It was all Badgers now, and the home team were rattled.  Excellent teamwork was forcing pressure all over the pitch and disrupting the Us game plan.  When another switch of play put Callum Holder in at the byline, his neat cut back was met by the alert George Wryde who reacted first at a congested near post and bundled the goal over the line for Brockham to take the lead.

On their second half performance alone the black and whites deserved the three points, but lady luck decided to even things up three minutes from time.  A period of pressure from Sutton saw a cross into the box met by Harrison Watts.  The ball bounced awkwardly and met his protecting arm and the referee blew for a spot kick.  Sutton took the gift and the game finished all square.  It was cracker.

Man of the Match:  Luke Page