Report by Simon Winter

The visitors had hoped to repeat their earlier league win against our U15s but, this time, they found the opposition a much sharper and tougher side to deal with.

From the start, Capel played some attractive attacking football and were unlucky not to score in the first five minutes when a floating shot went over the Brockham keeper, only to be cleared from the line by the Brockham defender, Daniel Detri. Capel then saw a header cleared off the line whilst, moments later, Brockham worked the ball up through the middle for a Nathan Owen shot to go just wide.

Brockham refused to lie down and started to take the game into the Capel half, creating numerous chances. Tim Thorp came close with a good shot and Eddie Granville had a cracking header just wide of the post. The pressure paid off when a good attacking move by Sam Spall, Nathan Owen, Mitchell and Adam Davison eventually saw Davison pop the ball home to level the score at 2-2.

With everything to play for, both teams stepped up a gear with Brockham looking the stronger side, playing some clever joined-up football with very good midfield play from Joe Filgate and Dean Knowles. Capel had their chances; Coughlin, clear on goal and just the keeper to beat, was brought down on the edge of the area but the free kick was bundled away by the Badgers' solid defensive wall.

A Brockham corner lead to a surprise penalty, which again was taken by Nathan Owen. He made it look easy and put Brockham ahead for the first time in the match. The penalty decision seemed to deflate Capel and Brockham pressed home their advantage. In the last five minutes, the Badgers sealed the victory when a wide open shot at goal by Nathan Owen made the final score 4-2.

The match was characterised throughout by Brockham pressurising the Capel goal and Capel bouncing back on the break but, in the end, it was the improved form of the Badgers who saw off Capel, to move only a point away from them at the top of the league.

A very good game, as both teams played some excellent football but, in the end, a fair result as Brockham had the clear edge on Capel this time around.

Michael Ellis handled the ball well in goal and was given good protection by Alex Nicholson, Matthew Higgins and Ross Bangs. Bertie Edwards-Hedges, William Mahoney and Oli Winter won most of the midfield battles, and George Coffey kept the moves going up front. Brockham’s passing was swift and accurate and, at times, they bamboozled the opposition with some of their footwork, ball control and incisive movement - but, as so often this season, they failed to turn their supremacy into goals.

The Badgers' defence was having to work hard to cover the extra space afforded to the Stanley Park strikers but, ten minutes into the second half, the home side broke through for their second goal. At this point the game looked lost, but Brockham worked tirelessly to a man to get something from the game and pulled a goal back when Edwards-Hedges bustled through in typically aggressive fashion to score at close range. Soon after, Harry Morland won a ‘bounce-up’ outside the area, carried on into the box and saw his shot deflect off a defender for a richly-deserved equaliser.

The match was now wide open, but Stanley Park had some good players - notably their number 7 who was very strong in defence and their number 9 and captain who orchestrated most of his side’s best moves going forward. Both managers would have settled for the draw, but Badgers were to suffer another late blow when the Park striker slipped his marker and smashed the ball into the top corner for the winner, with only seconds remaining.

There must be something about sides with ‘Park’ in their name, after the recent last minute goal at South Park! Badgers’ stand-in manager Nick Torpey was nevertheless delighted with the application and skill level of his team and awarded a collective lad-of-the-match to all nine players for competing so well.

Lad-of-the-Match:  The whole team - despite the score this was a very accomplished performance.

Needing a draw from this last match of the season to avoid relegation, the U11 (Whites) went into the game with a very positive attitude and were rewarded with a superb result.

They nearly repeated last week's start to the game when narrowly missing inside the first minute. Apart from this opening attack,  neither team threatened to score until Michael Carty opened Brockham’s account in the thirteenth minute, direct from a well taken free kick just outside the area. Despite getting a touch, the Copthorne keeper was unable to stop it. Three minutes later, the Badgers got their second when Carty placed a superb through ball to Ben Stokoe. His shot along the ground easily beat the keeper, only to be thwarted when the ball stopped in the mud just inches short of the line. Fortunately for Brockham, Bill Rowlands followed in to score.

Brockham were buzzing now and it wasn’t long before Nathan Acheson made it 3–0, following a superb run down the right. Copthorne did not buckle though. They battled on valiantly, pressurising the Brockham defence on several occasions and forcing the first-half keeper, Daniel Hoad, to make a couple of excellent saves.

However, the Badgers extended their lead to five when Stokoe scored two quick goals just before the interval. The first came when he picked up the ball from a goal kick and the second resulted from a superb individual effort, which started in his own half. Still Copthorne didn’t give in and, with virtually the last kick of the first-half, a well-taken corner beat the keeper and cannoned in off a defender to make the score 5 – 1 at the break.

Copthorne came out fighting after the interval and were unlucky not to score when they also had a shot stick in the mud. Brockham defenders Jamie Davidson, Joe Stradling and lad-of-the-match Callum Tilling battled hard in the heavy conditions, coping well with the Copthorne pressure. With fifteen minutes to go, Rowlands scored Brockham’s sixth (and his second) with a superb, long-range shot. Brockham midfielders Harry Roberts, Josh Caldwell and Otto Young linked up well and made some excellent runs but were unable to breach the Copthorne defence further. Copthorne managed to snatch two late goals - one a goalmouth scramble and the other from a corner - but Brockham, now tiring in the heavy ground without any substitutes, defended strongly to preserve their place in the division with a well-earned victory.

Capel upped the tempo and an excellent through ball to Josh White put him in a great scoring position - but he was unlucky when his shot beat the keeper, only to hit the underside of the Brockham bar and rebound safely away. Brockham's chances came and went as Adam Geisler clashed heavily with Brand and a Nathan Owen cross drifted in front of the goal.

The second half started out at the same blistering pace as the first, with both teams playing their hearts out to try and win this local derby. Brockham had two good chances saved well by Brand. Capel's Chris Evans and Ollie Cape, working hard, won a corner, which was headed off the line.