The second half saw Cranleigh come out strongly, but the Brockham defence was equal to the task. A penalty awarded to the Badgers after a tackle in the box was converted by Murrell, to make it 4-0. But with the Sharks fighting hard, a goal was bound to come and, fifteen minutes into the half, they managed to break through the Brockham defence.  With tackles flying in thick and fast, a number of substitutions were made and, although Cranleigh scored again, the majority of play was with the Badgers. 

The fifth and final goal was made by a fantastic run down the wing by Clarke. His cross found Mackrell, who slotted home for the 5-2 win.

Report by Simon Winter

In many ways, this match sumed up the U10As' season. A beautifully worked goal after ten minutes, almost total domination for the next 39 minutes, then a soft equaliser in the final minute which gave South Park a very unexpected draw.

Countless games have followed the same pattern with the Badgers earning one point when they merited three - and they could be sitting on top of the table, instead of in sixth place, if only they had found that extra goal on those occasions.

That was the negative, now for the positive: manager Simon Coffey has been saying all season that, once his team moves up to 11-a-side next year and plays on bigger pitches, their intelligent passing game will flourish as the games open up. The South Park pitch was the biggest they have played on this season and, despite a gale blowing down the slope throughout the game, Brockham showed just how far they have come in maintaining possession and moving the ball accurately from back to front.

Their goal demonstrated this superbly. Michael Ellis bowled the ball out to Matthew Higgins, who let it run on to Oli Winter. He took it forward and sent Bertie Edwards-Hedges clear with a penetrating ball. Bertie's fierce shot was parried by the keeper, but George Coffey followed up to slot home.

This kind of simple but very effective move was repeated throughout the match. The solid defensive platform established by Alex Nicholson and Higgins (and later by Ross Bangs), who all showed excellent timing in the tackle, allowed the midfield the freedom to push forward. Winter frequently set Edwards-Hedges and William Mahoney off on strong runs down the wings and Coffey held the ball up to great effect, displaying superb one-touch control. In goal, Michael Ellis made one particularly brave challenge in the first half, and a very good save late on, and used the throw-out intelligently to counter the strong winds. Badgers were also delighted to welcome Harry Morland back from injury, his corners creating frequent danger in the South Park box.

But it was to no avail and when South Park earned a corner in the final minute, Higgins' claims that he was knocked off the ball were turned down by the referee, and the home side scrambled the ball over the line. Déjà vu.

Lad-of-the-Match:  George Coffey – superb at holding the ball up in attack.

The U10Bs travelled to the league leaders, Hook and Southborough, knowing only a very disciplined display could hold out against their very strong rivals. The task was made even harder by having to play the first half into a fierce wind. The Badgers managed to withstand a succession of corners, breaking every now and then to reply with their own attacks, and the first half finished goalless.

With the wind in their favour after the interval, Brockham started to create more and, early on, Brown was fouled just inside the Hook half. He drove the resulting free-kick goalwards and, with the aid of the wind, it flew in off the despairing keeper. Hetzel would have doubled the lead, but for a great save by the Hook goalie.

Hook battled to grasp an equalizer, but were thwarted by another commanding performance from Batts in the Brockham goal and the defensive partnership of Kensett and Newman. In front of them, the rest of the team worked their socks off to hold out for the win.

From the restart, Brockham carried on where they left off, dominating the play. A corner, crossed into the six- yard area by Chris Walton, deflected off a Holmbury player into the net, to double the Badgers' advantage at half-time.

The second half kicked off with Holmbury beginning to apply pressure and Brockham struggling to get out of their own half. Time for a change - and Charlie Dunleavy came on for Jason Clarkson. The Badgers finally moved into Holmbury's half and got back to their good passing game. The reward came when Chris Walton took the ball out of defence, made a good run past several Holmbury players and crossed a perfect ball just outside the six-yard area which Luc Jhugroo struck into the back of the net.

At 3-0, Holmbury were not deterred and responded by creating their first clear chance of the game - a difficult shot which was met by Lucas Fidgett. Ben Butterowrth and Danesh Amin joined the fray and more chances followed. A corner from Tom Hampshire was met with a towering header by Charlie Dunleavy, but was unfortunately parried away by Holmbury's keeper.

The final whistle brought cheers from the Badgers' players and supporters. A well deserved win!