The U10 Assassins scored five high quality
goals to beat Caterham Pumas convincingly in the Epsom and Ewell
League. A sound defence, led by player of the week Tom Charman,
enabled Brockham’s fast counter-attacking style to exploit space in
wide areas and dominate the game. Only a missed penalty and
excellent work by the Caterham keeper, who thwarted half a dozen one-on-one
chances, kept the score in single figures.
Caterham showed their
intent at the start, packing the midfield and using their local knowledge
of the uneven muddy pitch. Early pressure was absorbed by Brockham,
who soon found the key to the game. Sam Lloyd released James
Rabbetts down the left, and an accurate cross allowed William Pereira
to turn the ball in at the far post.
As Brockham started
to turn the screw, the Caterham pressure subsided. A last ditch
tackle by Chris Walton marked the last serious attempt on the Brockham
goal in the first half and soon the score was doubled. Walton
stopped a Caterham attack and fed Pereira on the right. In turn,
Pereira found the tireless Luke Brightman in the middle who kept his
nerve and slid the ball past the keeper.
At half time it was
clear that Caterham could not match the Brockham pace, movement and
fluent passing. Brockham manager Jason Rabbetts exhorted his
team to avoid complacency, and they responded by delivering text book
football in the second half.
Almost immediately, Felix Saro-Wiwa
beat three defenders and crossed hard from the right. Sam Lloyd
met the ball perfectly at the near post for the third. Saro-Wiwa
was an ever-present threat and he received his reward when he beat
two defenders and placed the ball hard past the keeper.
During
the relentless Brockham pressure, Caterham managed one last chance
which Jamie Luckins saved well. Brockham responded with the
goal of the game. An accurate long ball from Tom Charman found
James Rabbetts free to drill the ball hard into the top right hand
corner of the net – a fitting finale to an impressive game.
Squad:
Jamie Luckins, Tom Hampshire, Chris Walton, Tom Charman, Luke Brightman,
Sam Lloyd (c), James Rabbetts, Felix Saro-Wiwa, William Pereira.
Player
of the Week: Tom Charman
Hook Youth beat us 2-0 on our ground amid a
torrential downpour and a horribly slippery pitch earlier this season.
So the lads were champing for revenge in this weekend’s match in marginally
better conditions. Unfortunately Brockham again fielded a weakened
team, without ‘Braveheart’ Ed Newman and four other players.
The
first half started well enough with Ollie Kong shaking off the Hook
defence to put the Badgers 1-0 up and this was quickly followed by
two further chances. From the first, Ollie hit the post and then narrowly
missed when clean through. He only had two weetabix for breakfast
this morning!
Hook, an intimidatingly physical side, bounced
back from their good fortune to equalise with a rebound following
a good save by Mike Ellis. Despite further pressure and a great free
kick by Tim Hines, Badgers were held to 1-1 at half-time, with the
tough task of defending the downhill slope in the second half.
From the kick off injuries to Mike Ellis and Tom Moriarty were to prove decisive, as Hook took advantage of Tom’s departure from the centre of midfield to power their way in front. At this point, there was no response from a weakened Badgers team and defeat looked the only option as Hook took total control of the middle of the pitch.
However,
the outlook improved as Moriarty steeled himself to return and
play started to move up the pitch again. New resolve and further pressure
from Brockham and, inevitably, another goal from Ollie Kong, strong
and fast - 2-2.
But Hook were not finished and a breakaway
provided them with a lead they were not to lose. There was more intense
pressure from Brockham during the last five minutes of the match in
which the ball pinged around in the penalty area. An equaliser came
agonisingly close, but was not to be.
So a very disappointing
result, but not a disappointing performance, and the lads can again
be proud of the way they played. Exciting football, some good passing
movements, and plenty of spirit.
Man of the Match: Andrew
Watson - an outstanding display showing great tackling and distribution
skills.
Returning
to league action after a two-week break, the U11As strengthened their
grip on first place in Division One with a tenth win in eleven games
and another clean sheet. The 4-0 scoreline looks comfortable enough,
but Stanley Park did not make it easy, particularly with the form
of their goalkeeper who patrolled his area to good effect.
Badgers
started well and, not for the first time, found the net inside the
first few minutes with a superbly worked goal. George Coffey played
a long ball out wide on the right which Josh Brown picked up, took
on and, beating his defender round the outside, played an accurate
cross into the box, where Coffey was on hand to finish from twelve
yards out. The rest of the half was well contested but, apart from
a couple of efforts that the Stanley Park keeper pushed over the bar,
Brockham were not really firing on all cylinders. They surprisingly
extended their lead on the stroke of half time when Liam Ratcliffe
surged forward and crossed well from the byline, forcing an own goal
from close range under pressure from Coffey and Ben Sawyers.
The
result was wrapped up ten minutes into the second half. First, Coffey
played in Sawyers and he finished coolly over the keeper. Then,
following a corner, a very determined Bertie Edwards-Hedges got the
goal he had been threatening with a low shot into the bottom corner.
Brockham continued to push forward and put in a much better second
half display, their passing more assured and their positional play
better organised. Liam Ratcliffe was named Man of the Match for a
very good performance in two positions – right winger and then centre
midfield.
Squad: Matthew Batts, Will Mahoney, Matt Higgins, Alex
Nicholson, Ross Bangs, Josh Brown, Harry Morland, Oli Winter, Bertie
Edwards-Hedges, George Coffey, William Bletso, Liam Ratcliffe, Dan
Hetzel, Ben Sawyers.