Brockham Badgers U16A’s long awaited return to football following a weather enforced extended break that stretched back to December was a disappointment. They went down four goals to three in a scrappy Surrey FA County Cup match and missed the opportunity to make it to the quarter finals for the first time.
The six week break certainly showed. The Badgers were second to the ball for most of the first half and their usual composure on the ball and the team shape, that otherwise allows them to dictate the rhythm of a game, were missing. Warlingham capitalised, time and again finding dangerous central balls through a flat back four that were too stretched across the field when defending, with little protection in front of them to help them organise themselves. After two good chances Warlingham’s big and powerful forward didn’t need to be asked a third time to give the Colts the lead with a well placed ball that had been threaded through Brockham’s centre halves beating the off-side with ease.
Against the run of play however Brockham quickly equalised. Warlingham conceded a free-kick 20 yards from goal and Michael Cheeseman expertly drilled a low and direct shot past the keeper with great precision.
Had Brockham been in the right frame of mind they’d have tightened up, got the ball on the ground, and used the perfect playing conditions to suit their game. Instead they continued to play off tempo and allowed Warlingham back into the game with a soft goal that should have been extinguished three times as the Colts midfield runner skipped along the defensive line left to right jinking past desperate lunge after desperate lunge before laying a short pass into the path of his right winger who finished inside James Rabbetts’ outstretched foot.
Despite not playing to their usual standard it still felt as if Brockham could turn the game around but fortune had other ideas. Another through ball behind the line of Brockham’s rear guard should have been left to run and an off-side dead ball awarded. Unfortunately the linesman was still recovering his position from an earlier move and despite three Warlingham players being at least a meter or two advantaged no flag went up. With three racing strikers bearing down on Rabbetts he stood no chance and Warlingham duly took their cushion to two goals.
A simple half time chat and one or two tactical tweaks saw a different Brockham team appear. Alert, organised, positive. Within minutes of the restart Brockham had forced two corners and had two shots go narrowly wide. They were rewarded with a cheeky short range goal on their next attack when Jordan Martin’s first shot was parried and Lewis Wood followed it up to drill home from 6 yards out. Game on.
Brockham then levelled the match with the best move of the game. Jack Coppin played a ball inside from the left to Sam Kandalaft, who was proving an inspiration in midfield. Kandalaft’s vision and Martin’s enthusiastic running opened up a pass and space in a wide left position. Under pressure from his marker Martin’s footwork took him one way and then the other before drilling a superb cut back cross from his weaker left foot to Cheeseman who advanced through the middle and finished first time. Pure unabandoned beauty and art in motion.
With their tails up and most definitely in the ascendancy any betting would have favoured the Badgers to go on and win. Unfortunately the game deteriorated into a verbal and physical spectacle that left a sour taste in the mouth. Most of it was unnecessary but perhaps with some intention from the visitors to upset the balance of the game and gain a psychological advantage. Disrupt it did. Brockham lost their patience and with it their rhythm and advantage. One or two key injuries from strong Warlingham challenges then disrupted their pattern further.
Warlingham capitalised with a simple cross field ball that fell to the feet of their striker who did well to stay on his feet despite close attention from Christian Parsons and crunching dive across his body from Rabbetts, slamming the ball into the top of Brockham’s net from 2 yards out. Discipline and control deteriorated further in the last five minutes despite a strong effort from Brockham to equalise once more but time ran its course and the Badgers were out of the cup.
Man of the Match: James Rabbetts
