Hat-trick hero Oliver Curtis set the tone with some finely taken goals, but joint lad-of-the-match, David Atkinson, controlled his defence with skill to ensure that Badgers dominance was duly rewarded.
On a full-sized pitch, Badgers quickly came to terms with the space and played some good passing football, leading to the first goal when captain Thomas Bletso put in Curtis, who calmly sidefooted past the keeper. With midfielder Matthew Gill driving his team forward, it was only a matter of time before Badgers made it 2-0, livewire Henry Smith producing a first class inswinging cross from the left for Curtis to head home.
In the second half, the Badgers were again able to control the game and when Curtis grabbed a well deserved hat-trick, to make it 3-0, the contest was as good as over. The U11 Black's were creating plenty of chances, with Toby Dowle becoming increasingly influential on the right, while Robbie Ventham, James Morgan, George Heymann, Tom Kinsey and Sam Norkett all kept their positions well to ensure no way back for Cranleigh. When Cranleigh did venture past the defence, George Corfield was producing some first class keeping in the Badgers goal. Indeed, it took a close range effort, late in the game, to prevent a clean sheet.
Even then, the three goal advantage was quickly restored with a well-taken Smith goal. The result might have been even more emphatic, with Alex Marshall, Max Ruff and Tom Kinsey all going close late on.
For their first home game of the season, Badgers welcomed Whyteleafe, who had made an equally good start to the season.
From the kick-off, we knew we
were in for a hard match as the visitors pressed relentlessly, dominating
the first fifteen minutes with some fluid passing moves. Michael
Ellis in goal and defender Matthew Higgins had to be at their best
to prevent Whyteleafe from taking the lead. However, it was the Badgers
who scored first, against the run of play. The goal came from
a brilliant opportunist effort from Harry Morland. Closely watching
a bouncing ball inside his own half, he unleashed a huge volley which
sailed over the Whyteleafe keeper and into the net with perfect
precision.
The boys showed their intent early with a trio of chances for centre forward Mackrell within the first twelve minutes. The first goal came from the game’s most influential player, Parker, who slotted home after a goal-mouth scramble on thirteen minutes. More pressure followed and led to a penalty for the Badgers on 18 minutes, which Bangs struck well only for the Heron keeper to make a good save. The second goal did come however, just five minutes later, after a superb move started by Mackrell and continued by Parker, whose cross was slotted home by the in-rushing Owen. Pure class and pure joy for coach “Arsene” Bangs watching proudly on.
More good football followed,
with Mackrell again instrumental, firstly setting up Knowles
who shot just wide and then having a superb shot of his own well-saved
by the Heron keeper. The whole team continued to perform well and
the odd Heron attack was comfortably repelled by a strong midfield
and a mean defence – stand-in keeper Thomas looked solid on the few
occasions he was called upon to perform and Mann stood out for his
tenacious tackling and intelligent passing. He was in fact influential
in starting the move that led to the third Badgers goal, slotted home
by Mackrell on 32 minutes. An excellent first half.
The second half saw some positional changes - Knowles in goal, Thomas in centre defence, Thorpe on for Brightman and van Acoleyen replacing Knowles in midfield - but the Badgers kept the momentum and went 4-0 up within two minutes of the re-start. More attacks followed with Mackrell shooting just wide, Owen hitting the post and then being just caught on the edge of the six yard box after a great ball from Sourris.
At the other
end, Heron scored a well-taken goal on 47 minutes, but their revival
lasted only two minutes as a great Van Acoleyen ball put Mackrell
in for his hat-trick. It was now 5-1 to Brockham. Two minutes
later Parker’s luck deserted him when his shot flew just wide
after a great run, but it returned almost immediately when he latched
on to a smart Mackrell ball to slot home his second and the team’s
sixth. After yet another Mackrell near miss, Heron scored a second
consolation goal. With the game over as a contest the boys lost some
of their shape so regular chances were now coming at both ends – Thorpe
(now in goal for Knowles) made two good saves and, at the other end,
both Owen and Mackrell went close, the latter with a beautifully lofted
shot which missed by inches. Well done boys, another great result.
The lead was short lived however, as two minutes later
the visitors equalised with the Badgers defence caught napping. Another
two minutes and Brockham had gifted Whyteleafe a second with a free
header from a corner.
The half time talk from manager Simon Coffey inspired the boys to believe they could get back into the game and, three minutes in, Bertie Edwards-Hedges, who was a strong presence throughout in attack, fired a left-foot shot over the keeper for 2-2.
The game became more balanced, the Brockham passing more assured and the defence much tighter, with Ross Bangs timing his challenges perfectly. But Whyteleafe continued to pose a threat to our goal and they eventually regained the lead from a long goal kick that the Brockham defence failed to deal with. None of the spectators could recall the last time this team had conceded three goals – possibly never in three seasons of league football – but they still had the strength of mind to rally for an equaliser, George Coffey finding the net to earn a draw that was a fair reflection of the match overall.
This was just the type of test the Brockham U10s
were expecting from their move into the Epsom and Ewell League, and
more tough matches surely await.
Lad-of-the-Match: Ross Bangs.
Caterham Pumas 2 - 4 Brockham Badgers U10b
This game was always going to be an interesting one, with only goal difference separating the sides before kick off.
Brockham got into
their stride quickly; a ball won by the industrious Ratcliffe was
fed down the left wing where an interchange of passes between Moriarty
and Hetzel led to a cross which was dispatched high into the roof
of the net by Brown.
Pumas fought back strongly and only a fine
save by Batts stopped them grabbing an equaliser. Brockham's
defence of Kensett and Bletso were holding firm, as was the Pumas
defence. There were a number of long range shots at both goals
which were either well saved or skidded dangerously past the post.
It
was Pumas hard work that paid off in the middle and sent their forward
racing clear to score. Brockham responded to the equaliser with
more pressure on the Pumas goal and a through ball by Brown was excellently
taken around the keeper by Moriarty to make the score 1-2 at half-time.
In
the second half, Hetzel gave way to Crook and Moriarty to Baty. Pumas were pressing for the equaliser and strong running by their
big right winger enabled them to do so when he crossed for an easy
tap-in.
In a David and Goliath battle, Baty seemed to be getting
the better of his counterpart with good timing of his tackles and
Crook was starting to look dangerous up front.
After another
change of personnel, Brockham started to seize the initiative again. A neat pass to Crook saw him add to his great goal of last week, and
he almost had another when the Pumas keeper saved brilliantly from
close range.
Pumas were still looking dangerous on the break
but their resilience was broken when Brown picked the ball up and
skipped past two players to fire a fierce shot into the left hand
corner of the goal.
Credit should be given to both sides for
a great end-to-end match.
Brockham Badgers U10C
team maintained their unbeaten record, putting in an impressive display
in a nail-biting match which moves them up to second in the league.
The
visitors started brightly, but it was Brockham who ended a goaless
first half as the stronger team. Alex Clarke, playing as a makeshift
goalkeeper, kept a clean sheet with some good blocks.
In the
second half, Brockham came to life and took the game to Ashtead with
Tim Hines almost converting twice and Axel Davies thumping the left-hand
upright. Finally, the breakthrough came when Brockham were awarded
a free kick ten yards outside the box. Tim Hines bent an unstoppable
shot into the top corner of the net to give the Badgers a deserved
lead.
As often happens after a goal, there was a lapse of concentration
and the visitors were level a few moments later from the penalty spot,
after a goalmouth scramble.
Not to be outdone, the Badgers found
strength to surge forward, playing some lovely football, with Alex
Dean and Michael Cooke joining the attack to add more pressure on
the Ashtead defence. With three minutes to go, Davies chased down
a ball on the right, turned the defender, and delivered the perfect
cross. It found Jamie Hanwell six yards out, and he buried the ball
into the back of the net for the winning goal in a highly entertaining
game.
Tadworth did not back down, even though the Badgers were applying good pressure. The Tigers had another great shot on goal, again finding the safe hands of Lucas Fidgett. Tadworth started to get into their stride, but Christopher Walton was not having any of it; the Brockham defender marshalled his back line with great conviction and made a great run forward to link up with Nathan Hughes. He fired a great shot on goal, which was saved by the Tadworth goalkeeper. The first half finished with neither side finding the back of the net.
The second half started with more Brockham pressure. Thomas Hampshire's hard tackling was making sure the ball would not reach our defence. Going forward, there was some fantastic pinpoint passing from Luc Jhugroo, met by two to three Tadworth players. Tadworth were really on their back feet, defending in numbers. Another shot, this time by Luc Jhugroo, hit the woodwork, and then a shot by George Fenwick went wide. Another good attack on goal by Nathan Hughes again ended with the ball hitting the post.
Leading up to the final four minutes of the game, Badgers conceded a corner. Following some frantic defending to clear the ball out of the area, Tadworth attacked again with a shot that took a deflection on it's way in to hitting the crossbar and bouncing down across the line. Tadworth built on this lead and pushed Brockham back into their half to finish the game. Overall an enjoyable game to watch, but the Badgers clearly deserved much more.
The sun shone on the U9 (Whites) at the weekend, with a 4 -2 away win over last year's league champions Priory Panthers.
With an unchanged squad from last year, the Whites have high hopes for the 2005/6 season and a tricky first game would prove if all the hard work in pre-season training had paid off. The U9s arrived looking well disciplined and very smart in their new black and white Pizza Express kit - only to have to don green bibs to overcome a shirt clash with their hosts.
Jamie Luckins, the goal keeper and captain for the day, won the toss and decided to kick off, playing right to left and slightly downhill; the supporters hoping this would give our lads a first-half advantage.
This did not prove the case. Almost from the whistle, Brockham came under attack with Priory Panthers' big centre half causing most of the problems. Jamie was inspired between the sticks,saving shot after shot. Thomas Charman, and Ben Hounsfield, supported by James Rabbetts, showed great commitment in defence. They put in goal saving tackles time and time again but, in the end, the pressure told and the Panthers fired in from long range after five minutes, to take a 1-0 lead.
Rather than heads dropping, the goal - together with some extremely vocal support from the parents - spurred the Badgers on. The whole team starting to come forward with more and more confidence, and the game began to change, with both James and Daniel having good shots saved by the Panthers' keeper. The forwards, so effective last season, were starting to turn the screw!
The Panthers made four outfield substitutions in an attempt to hold back the tide. This had an immediate effect and only two fantastic saves from Jamie kept Brockham in the game.
But the wave that is the U9 (White) forward line could not be held back. James Rabbetts struck a perfectly weighted pass from deep within his own half to Cameron Boychuck on the left wing. Controlling it with his left foot, Cameron took on and beat the two defenders, passing the ball to Sam Lloyd in the middle who in turn slid the ball through to Daniel Mahony on the right wing. Riding the challenge of the Panthers' centre half, Daniel raced through and struck the ball home to level the score.
The game was starting to turn Brockham's way.The Panthers were beginning to tire and, with five minutes of the first half remaining, the White's front line burst through again, a deflected shot from Sam found its way to Daniel at the far post, who tucked it away for his, and Brockham's, second of the match.
Half-time came with Brockham in the lead. But it was a slender margin and Cameron Boychuck, who had been an influential force going forward on the left wing, was replaced by Oliver Vaughan as Brockham looked for a slightly more defensive formation.
The Panthers started the second half with a new lease of life, but Brockham weathered the early storm and started to come forward once more. Then, very much against the run of play, Priory forced their way through from the half way line and even tough tackles from James, Oliver and Ben could not stop them levelling the match at 2 -2.
Brockham's response was quick with Sam Lloyd crossing from the right to Daniel Mahony, who struck home with great style for his hat-trick, which restored the one-goal advantage for the Badgers.
Oliver Vaughan was replaced by the fresh legs of Henry Livett, who soaked up the Priory attacks with real enthusiasm. Brockham continued to press forward and, with five minutes to go, Sam burst through the middle and rifled home a shot to put the game out of the Panthers' reach.
Keeper Jamie Luckins was named player-of-the-match by the travelling support, although it had been a fantastic team effort and a dream start to the season.
