Brockham Badgers U14A contested their first ever Surrey County Cup Final, against AFC Wimbledon on a chilly Sunday morning at Chipstead FC. Wimbledon were chasing the treble, having already secured the Surrey Youth League title and the League Cup, and a decent crowd turned up to see if the Badgers would prevent that feat and provide an upset.
Brockham started full of good intent, moving the ball well and putting their opponents under some early pressure, with Josh Brown and Harvey Mewis working hard on the wings. And they took the lead after just eight minutes. Mike Richardson sent Chris Brooks on his way with a fine pass, his shot was saved by the keeper but Harry Ramsey was on hand to put the ball in at the far post.
The Dons reacted quickly, putting two shots just over the bar and, on 17 minutes, they were level from close range as the Badgers' defence failed to clear their lines. Several good chances followed for Wimbledon, but Brockham keeper Dennis Rapson was always well positioned to make the save, and good cover was provided by centre backs Matt Higgins and Will Bletso.
Badgers injected more life into their play towards the end of the first period, with full backs Will Mahoney and Liam Ratcliffe particularly prominent – jointly earning the Man of the Match award – and George Coffey holding the ball up well up front. But the half ended all-square at 1-1.
Ten minutes into the second half, Wimbledon took the lead with a fine strike across the goal. Rapson was again called on to keep out some accurate efforts on goal, and Brockham started to play with more urgency, Richardson and Oli Winter working hard for possession in the midfield. Jack Wyllie and Ross Bangs came on on the flanks, and their fresh legs injected some pace.
Badgers' best chance of the game arrived when Alex Nicholson collected the ball just outside the box, beat three defenders with some superb skill, but dragged his shot narrowly wide. This seemed to reawaken Wimbledon and, on 55 minutes, they put the game out of reach with a third goal.
Brockham rallied again and ended the match strongly, Mike Richardson coming close with one effort, but there was no way back and AFC ran out worthy winners.
It was a match played in a great spirit by two teams who know each other well now, Wimbledon just having the edge in terms of ball retention and composure, and Brockham manager Simon Coffey was rightly proud of his team’s achievements this season.
Squad: Dennis Rapson, Will Mahoney, Ross Bangs, Matt Higgins, Will Bletso, Liam Ratcliffe, Oli Winter, Mike Richardson, Josh Brown, Jack Wyllie, Harvey Mewis, Alex Nicholson, George Coffey, Harry Ramsey, Chris Brooks |
Their first opponents were their old rivals Holmbury and Westcott Wolves, who pipped them to the title last year. As expected it was a tightly fought contest with a single goal by Max Austin the only difference between the two sides.
Next up were Dorking Saints. This was another extremely tight contest with neither side managing to find the net. Going into their third match, the Badgers were clearly in need of some goals and Joseph Issberner managed to put two past St. Paul's Panthers. Knowing that they were behind on goal difference going into their next game against Greenway, the Badgers began to find the back of the net more regularly. Justin Hurst was the first to score, followed by Austin and then two more from Issberner.
Prior to their final game, the Badgers were keeping a sharp eye on the contest between Holmbury and Westcott Wolves and Dorking Saints. Holmbury went ahead in the first half with the Saints squaring the match in the second, leaving the Badgers requiring a win to take the competition.
Right from the off, they were at the Broadbridge Heath defence. Mid way through the first half they got their breakthrough with an excellent goal by Torpey. This was the switch that turned them into overdrive. Attack after attack resulted in three more goals for the Badgers, one for Torpey and two for Issberner. The defence had been tight all day with no goals conceded due to the solid performance of Callum Glenn, Harry Fairley, Matthew Ford and Fergus McGoogan in goal.
In the end it was a comfortable victory for the Badgers, winning this tournament for the first time and adding a second trophy to their 2010 cabinet. On top of that they were awarded the Fair Play Award which capped off a fantastic day for the youngsters.
They now hope to go one better than they did last year in their own tournament on June 12th, having lost by a single goal to AFC Wimbledon in the final last year.
Squad: Fergus McGoogan, Aidan Torpey, Justin Hurst, Matthew Ford, Callum Glenn, Joseph Issberner, Harry Fairley, Max Austin |
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