The U15s faced a challenging last four games, which were scheduled to be played in only eight days to clear the fixture backlog and the end of the league season. At this stage, they were still in with a chance of ending in second place depending on the results of the other two top teams, Capel and Henfield.
On Tuesday, they played away against Partridge Green, and despite Partridge Green holding the attacking Badgers to only 1-0 at half time, the Badgers soon recovered their recent form and finished the match with a convincing 8-0 win. There were two goals from Sam Spall and Dean Knowles, along with a goal a piece from Adam Davison and Eddie Granville. Mitchell Alsabti and Peter Walker also found their way onto the score sheet, netting their first-ever goals for Brockham.
On Thursday evening, the Badgers entertained Lingfield at home, and a tough match again found the Badgers the superior team, running out 3-0 winners. This time, the goals were shared between Sam Spall, Dean Knowles and Joe Filgate.
And so to Saturday when the Badgers played away at Lower Beeding, a well respected side, in a fixture which was always going to be toughly fought.
The teams were very evenly balanced during the first fifteen minutes, with Lower Beeding successfully playing the offside trap on a number of occasions. Finally, a through ball from Dean Knowles put through Nathan Owen - onside - and he who made no mistake in finishing the move to make it 1-0 to the Badgers.
Lower Beeding soon recovered, and were unlucky not to score when a floating shot went over the Brockham keeper, only to be cleared from the line by defender, Eddie Granville. More attacking moves from Lower Beeding were repelled by the stalwart defending of Eddie, Tim Thorp, Luke Cauldwell and Nick Woods, who fought hard against some strong and physical play.
Brockham had further chances of their own. A long soaring shot by Mitchell was unlucky to bounce just over the crossbar, and Adam Davison came close with a shot from a corner. The continual Brockham pressure paid off shortly after when Sam Spall doubled the lead with a well taken goal, following an excellent cross by Mitchell.
After the half time break, Lower Beeding came out refreshed and re-invigorated and attacked the Badgers goal, reducing the arrears to 2-1 from a goal-mouth scramble. However, Brockham came back strongly and a corner by Nathan Owen found Sam Spall, who coolly put the ball in the back of the net to make it 3-1. Owen was unlucky not to score his second when a powerful shot hit the crossbar.
Brockham's attacking forwards were well served by some excellent midfield battling by Joe Filgate, Dean Knowles, Adam Geisler and Peter Walker, who all contended with the physical challenge posed by Lower Beeding. Another corner, this time taken by Dean Knowles, found the head of Sam Spall, who again made no mistake to score his second goal of the match - and Brockham's fourth.
Still Lower Beeding didn't give up and when the Badgers defence were caught napping, allowing their opponents much too much time on the ball, a long shot that couldn’t be saved by the Brockham keeper, Matt Hillson, pulled a goal back to 4-2.
The final Brockham goal came again from Sam Spall, after a strong shot from Owen was only partially saved by the keeper. The ball bounced back to the feet of the waiting Spall who slotted it into the net to make a final score of 5-2 to the Badgers.
Despite the three wins in five days and an unbeaten run stretching back to mid-November, results elsewhere mean that the U15s will remain in third place. The final match of the season is away to top-of-the-table team Henfield, and although Brockham cannot now make the top two, this match is likely to be toughest of the year.
Lad of the match:
(vs Partridge Green) - Dean Knowles
(vs Lingfield Youth) - Nathan Owen
(vs Lower Beeding) - Eddie Granville
Report by Simon Winter
After the Easter break, despite playing some football in the Hastings 6-a-side tournament, the U10As looked a bit out of practice in the early stages of their final away game of the season.
Old Coulsdon Colts were well on top for the first fifteen minutes, giving Brockham little space to develop their passing game. The Colts' captain was a dominant force in defence but, in the seventh minute, pushed forward to drive a hard low shot into the Badgers’ net and take a deserved lead.
It
wasn’t until late in the first half that Brockham began to gain a
foothold in the match and, on twenty minutes, top scorer Bertie Edwards-Hedges
netted a superb equaliser, turning his marker in the box before striking
a shot low into the bottom left-hand corner leaving the keeper no
chance.
After this, the game really belonged to Badgers and they could have had a hatful of goals in the second half as the passing began to find its range. George Coffey earned the lad-of-the-match award for a highly skilled performance up front, controlling passes, laying the ball off well and getting into dangerous scoring positions. Josh Brown was a livewire throughout, Harry Morland was strong in the tackle and, along with Bertie and William Mahoney, came very close to getting a winner on several occasions.
Matthew Higgins was
as powerful as ever at the back and Ross Bangs rediscovered his best
form but, at the final whistle, there was a feeling of unrealised
potential. It was another match Badgers deserved to win ending in a
draw, which accounts for the mid-table finish to the season. Credit
nevertheless to the Colts for providing a strong challenge.
Lad-of-the-Match: George
Coffey – technically outstanding.
