Brockham Badgers U13A were fortunate to edge past ‘B’ league frontrunners Lingfield on Saturday, coming from two goals down at the interval to win a game that had been switched to Brockham after the rain made Lingfield's ground unplayable.

Making his debut for the ‘A’ squad was Ollie Legg, following his transfer from the Badgers’ U13 Black squad, and Legg led by example with a high-energy first half in midfield.  Legg though was unable to energise a lacklustre Brockham side who, apart from keeper Henry Warne and midfielder Henry Hill, were playing well below their capabilities.  The first Lingfield goal was a good strong effort from outside the box, the second a close range strike as Badgers failed to clear despite several chances to do so.  Brockham were indeed lucky only to be two goals down at the interval, such had been the domination of Lingfield.

A stern half time talk produced the desired effects though, and Brockham came out a different side in the second half, led by lad of the match Ryan Winter.  Suddenly Badgers began to string passes together as the midfield got a grip on the game, and when Winter scored with a sweetly struck half volley after Stephen Kehl had escaped the offside trap and crossed, Brockham were back in the game.

The equaliser soon followed, Winter feeding Mitch Ward whose shot was parried by the keeper only to see Kehl knock the ball home from close range.  With ten minutes to go, Ward netted the winner, pouncing on a great through ball from Winter and rounding the keeper to score.

Badgers had to weather a strong finish to the game by Lingfield though, and had keeper Warne to thank for two saves in the final minutes. But they held on to move into the quarter finals of the Horsham and District League Cup for the second year running.

Team: Henry Warne, Matt Gill, Tim Whybrow, Jack Hunt, Thomas Bletso, Joe Parker, Ollie Legg, Henry Hill, Bill Rowlands, Michael Carty, Ryan Winter, Mitch Ward, Stephen Kehl

With Broadbridge Heath looking well placed for a return to the Horsham and District ‘A’ Division at the first attempt, Brockham Badgers U13 Black, playing in the ‘C’ league, faced a difficult task going into this U13 Plate game.

To their credit, Brockham played with a conviction that belied their lower league status for the vast majority of the game, and it was only really two late goals that finally broke their resistance and perhaps put a slightly unfair gloss on the score line, although Broadbridge Heath fully deserved their victory.

Brockham had had two good chances to take the lead in the opening stages, Ollie Curtis' shot from outside the box just missing the target as the keeper came out of his area. But it was Heath who took the lead midway through the half as a corner was deflected into the path of a Broadbridge Heath striker, who headed over George Corfield in goal.  A head injury to centre back Sam Norkett, as usual marking his performance with some brave tackling, upset the Badgers’ balance for a while, and Broadbridge Heath took advantage to stretch their lead to two goals soon after Norkett was forced to leave the field. 

This stirred Brockham into action though and a great effort from Henry Smith on the left wing halved the defecit and saw Brockham go in 2-1 down at the interval.

Broadbridge Heath had more of the ball in the second half, but Brockham defended well, the back line marshalled by centre backs David Atkinson and Connor Mitchell, with Max Ruff once more doing well at right back. Keeper George Corfield was also in commanding form, pulling off several fine saves as Brockham dug in. 

However, Broadbridge Heath made the game safe with fifteen minutes to go, and two late goals were perhaps a little harsh on a battling Brockham side who never gave up, and even carved out several opportunities to reduce the arears in the final stages as Curtis once more looked dangerous in attack.

Team: George Corfield, Tom Kinsey, Max Ruff, David Atkinson, Sam Norkett, Connor Mitchell, Toby Dowle, Alex Ward, Henry Smith, Ollie Curtis, George Heymann, Robbie Ventham, Tim Hopkins

Brockham started at a blistering pace as Matthew Ford surged down the wing and whipped the ball into the box, earning a corner. From the resulting kick, Edward Denham came up from defence and took a powerful shot that was stopped bravely by the Hearts defence.

Upfront, Ford and Kemal Dogansoy were linking up well and it wasn’t long before Ford fed a superb ball into Dogansoy whose shot was just deflected wide by the Hearts keeper.

But from the corner, Hearts broke quickly and caught the Brockham defence asleep. Jacob Vaughan in goal didn’t have a chance as Hearts went 1-0 up.

Brockham were quickly back in their stride as Dogansoy fed a brilliant ball to Ford who was brought down in the box. Ford gave way to Dogansoy for the penalty and he calmly made the score 1-1.

Hearts played well but Brockham’s solid back two, Denham and Jamie Donagen kept their shape. And the Badgers were soon in the lead - Dogansoy took control of a superb ball by Leo Ruff and rounded the Hearts defence for 2-1.

Ruff was next on the score sheet. Donegan brought the ball through the centre before shooting and, although the goalie got a foot to the ball, Ruff was on-hand to bury the rebound – his first goal for the Badgers giving a 3-1 half-time lead.

The second half was much the same. Within seconds, Ford made a solo run passing everyone and placing the ball calmly past Hearts’ goalie for an untouchable score of 4-1.

Despite a comfortable margin, Brockham continued to play good football and every player showed great commitment. Chris Collis who was a bit quiet in the first half showed his presence in the second but, despite eight corners, the Badgers couldn’t break through the Hearts now-packed defence to extend the lead. Indeed it was Hearts who, with a spurt of energy and quick interplay, found the net for a consolation goal.

Man of the match: Dogansoy for helping all round and not giving up.

Team: Collis, Dogansoy, Denham, Ruff, J Finn, Ford, A Finn, Vaughan, Donegan

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