Despite having only twelve players to field this Sunday, Brockham Badgers U15A responded with a thoroughly disciplined display that ensured they shared the spoils with local rival Leatherhead in a closely fought 1-1 encounter.
Brockham setup to limit Leatherhead chances and play a counter attacking game. They enjoyed some good possession in the first fifteen minutes going close when Joe Silver was through one on one with keeper and drew a brave save. The Badgers maintained their shape and stuck to their game plan despite a concerted effort from the Tanners to force themselves into the game. Leatherhead chances were limited to long shots from outside the area thanks to some sturdy work from the tireless Sam Lloyd and Kieran Rice who had been asked to patrol midfield in front of the Badgers’ back four and break up threats before they had a chance to challenge Justin Tarrant who put in an impressive display as stand-in keeper.
If Brockham were going to break the deadlock it looked more likely to come from a wide position where Jack Coppin and Silver were enjoying some success but instead it came down the centre where Alex Mitrovic bagged his first goal for the black and whites. Receiving a high ball on his chest with his back to goal and under pressure from both Leatherhead centre backs, he had enough composure to quickly look over his shoulder and see the Tanners keeper off his line. As the ball dropped Mitrovic hooked a cheeky lob over his left shoulder which dropped under the cross bar and gave Brockham the lead.
The remainder of the first half was box to box stuff but with little in the way of chances coming for either team. Brockham were working hard and frustrating Leatherhead and deserved the edge going into the break.
The second half played out in a similar pattern to the first. To their credit Leatherhead started to look the more threatening but Brockham were happy to let them play in certain areas and break it down in others always, always on the look out to put their pacey wide men in for a counter. Both teams has some tight calls for off-side halt some fair chances had they run on, and Leatherhead had the ball in the back of the net only for it to be disallowed for off-side, whilst Brockham had a good strike cleared off the line by Leatherhead. The match had a narrow win for either side or a draw written all over it.
Leatherhead then snatched the equaliser. A corner to the Tanners was cleared, then pinged back in and half-cleared again, where it rolled into a space twelve yards out onto which a Leatherhead player was advancing. He struck it well and drove it powerfully into the Brockham net.
Leatherhead now had their tails up and fancied they might go on and win. Brockham were tiring and rolling one sub every five minutes to keep some legs fresh. The Tanners pressure was pretty relentless in the last ten minutes but Brockham steeled themselves and also had one or two opportunities that threatened of their own.
With a minute on the clock to go, Leatherhead put a through ball down the middle. Their striker latched onto it at pace and edged a yard past his marker into the penalty area. Tarrant had advanced quickly to close the angle but put in more of a defender’s challenge than a keeper’s. Penalty. Brockham hearts stopped. They’d fought doggedly all match for each other and now looked to lose a well earned point in the dying seconds. Tarrant stood tall and did enough to make the Leatherhead spot kicker aim for a low corner. Fortunately for the Badgers, and agonisingly for the Tanners, he put it marginally wide.
The final whistle blew and the spoils were shared. Both teams had equipped themselves well and a point a piece was the right result.
Men of the Match: Oscar Cremmen, Sam Lloyd, Kieran Rice
