The U15Bs well and truly kick started their season with a comprehensive victory over newcomers Copthorne B. This followed an uncertain start to the season the previous week when the lads went down disappointingly to promotion aspiring Ashington.

Manager Bangs remains adamant that his team also have what it takes to clinch one of those promotion slots at the end of the season. However, ten minutes into this game and promotion was the last thing on the spectator’s minds. They were more concerned with their team coming to terms with a small, sloping pitch and their determined opponents who seemed more at ease. But Brockham were led by the example of Jack Owen who, playing like a man possessed, took on the obdurate defence on his own and when perhaps a pass was the professional option opted to surge through the penalty area for an excellent individual goal.

This settled Brockham down and they started to play decent  football. Shortly afterwards they made it 2-0 when Moorcroft’s cross found Robins unmarked and he finished with aplomb. More pressure led to a corner taken by Goddard with pin point accuracy on to the head of new boy Naser who fired home a spectacular header. Self belief spread through the team and, much to his and his team mates' delight, Brightman made it 4-0 following another mazy run from man of the half Owen. The team statisticians had to research thoroughly before confirming this was Brightman's first goal for a year following his unfortunate bicycle accident.

Brockham came out for the second half confident that they could add to the score line, but it wasn’t to be. Goddard’s penalty kick against the post following another excellent run from Moorcroft  seemed to set the tone for the second half and, to their credit, Copthorne were not discouraged by the half time deficit. Thanks to tireless work from Knowles and excellent defensive work, particularly from Thomas, Brockham did hold on to a clean sheet and finally extended the score to 5-0 towards the end when Robins took his chance following a defensive mix up.

Man of the Match: Knowles

Team: Hern, Sourris, Thomas, Bangs, Moorcroft, Owen, Knowles, Goddard, Mansfield, Mackrell, Robins, Naser, Penny, Brightman    

This match proved a real test for Brockham Badgers U12A as they progressed to the second round of the Surrey Youth League Cup.

It all started brightly enough, George Coffey finding the net after only three minutes, but the effort was ruled offside. Feltham looked to have some pace, matching Brockham in the early exchanges and, on six minutes they took a lead that owed much to a strangely wobbly Badgers defence.

Thereafter the home side began to carve out some chances, though most shots were directed straight at the Feltham keeper. His opposite number Matthew Batts brought off a fine save towards the end of the half, which kept the half-time score to 0-1.

The break brought about a sea change in the attitude of the Brockham players, and they quickly got into their stride with some quick, incisive passing moves and an increasing grip on possession. Eight minutes in, Harvey Mewis played a lovely ball through to George Coffey, who ran on and calmly rounded the keeper to score the equaliser.

Another eight minutes, and another goal of striking similarity. This time Mewis won a crunching tackle on the halfway line before playing a long ball forward to Coffey. Once again he had the beating of the Feltham keeper, and Brockham had a lead that they would work tirelessly to preserve.

The lively Ben Knight-Sawyers saw an effort hit the post, while at the other end Ross Bangs made one particularly crucial covering tackle to deny his opponent a clear run on goal. Matt Higgins had a typically dominant game at the back, timing several interceptions to perfection and seemingly always in the right place at the right time.

By the end Brockham looked quite comfortable for their 2-1 victory, once again having showed their determination and competitive spirit, allied to a very good level of fitness which told in the latter stages on a big pitch.

George Coffey was a deserving Man of the Match for two fine goals and for posing a constant threat in the opposition box.

Brockham maintained their 100% record in the sunshine at Southwater with a comfortable 4-0 victory.

The most pleasing aspect of this match was the clean sheet kept by the defence who played with a lot more discipline than the previous outing at home to Ashington Cougars. Southwater never really looked like scoring with Ed Newman reinstated in the back four alongside Harry Kensett. Their only real chance of the first half met with a good save from Michael Ellis, who kept his concentration well.

At the other end, it was drove after drove of attack with Tom Moriarty, Tim Hines and Andrew Watson dominating the midfield, and releasing Jamie Hanwell on the left on a number of occasions. It took twenty minutes to score but, when it came, it was a beauty. A good interchange of passes in the middle, a cross from the right to find Jamie at the far post. Confronted with three defenders, he dummied to shoot, cut inside, and clipped the ball into the far corner. That broke the deadlock and Ollie Kong added a second before half time.

The second half began with the Badgers continuing where they left off before the interval, with Jamie soon adding his second goal. Throughout the entire match, the Southwater goalkeeper played very well, and it was he who kept the score to a reasonable figure, thwarting a number of attempts from the Brockham lads.  Finally he was beaten again by a dipping shot into the corner from Tom Moriarty, sealing a comfortable win and keeping the Badgers at the top of the league.

Lad of the Match: Dan Baty – a solid intelligent performance.

For the second week running, the U11As received an education in the importance of organisation and commitment, as they lost 12 – 0 to a classy Epsom Eagles U11A in the County Cup. 

For the first fifteen minutes, both sides showed promise and looked dangerous on the break.  Brockham were unable to convert a series of corners and Epsom showed their pace up front. 

But then, the wheels fell off for Brockham.  A goal with a disputed offside decision and a defensive error gifted two goals to Epsom. 

The game established a clear pattern.  Epsom ran the midfield and won the 50:50 balls leaving Brockham’s defence exposed.  Epsom were also able to use Brockham’s uncertainty with the offside rule to play their forwards through on goal. Brockham’s forwards showed good pace up front, especially through Jordan Martin on the right, but lacked composure against a good defence.

Epsom played four divisions above Brockham last season, so this was always likely to be a hard game.  Brockham can take comfort from the start of the game, when they matched Epsom.  The boys learn fast so, as they get used to playing at this level, they will start to flourish.

Players of the week: Alistair Masson, Sam Lloyd.

Team: Jamie Luckins, Cameron Wallis, Ashley Marshall (c), Chris Walton, Luc Jhugroo, Tom Charman, Luke Brightman, Cameron Boychuk, Alistair Masson, James Rabbetts, Lewis Wood, Alex Flint, Jordan Martin, Sam Lloyd, William Pereira

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