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Weekend Round Up - 28th & 29th January

Weekend Round Up - 28th & 29th January

Victoria Boulton31 Jan 2023 - 16:02
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Senior badgers in action all weekend, with 4 wins and 4 losses.

Saturday 28th January

Ladies 1s - Away vs Letchworth - 2-1 loss

It seemed to be a tale of two matches for Broxbourne 1st XI this past double-header weekend, where the Badgers first travelled to Letchworth to take on their respective Ladies 1st XI in what was assumed to be a straight forward match off the back of a thrilling 5-4 win over Norwich City the previous Saturday. Despite being without captain Becky Scarrott who attended crisis talks with Pip Evans at the transfer window summit down in Brighton, and Kerri Marshall who has been sided with an injury after it was reported she accidently kicked a packet of frozen baps whilst preparing the teas, the team welcomed latest transferee Tabs Collier who had proved a force to be reckoned with at training earlier that week. With momentum running high the game got off to a strong start, with the Badgers putting the home side under pressure in the attacking half; however were unable to capitlise on their chances despite some close call deflections from fox in the box Gemma Wilkinson and Nads Wheadon. The pressure continued in the second half, but it was Letchworth who would be first on the scoreboard with a breakaway goal to put them 1-0 up. Joint player of the match Lisa Banahan commented in the post-match press conference that she was momentarily distracted by partnering center back Alice Brown's space bun collection. It didn't take long for the Badgers to gain a goal back, after a flurry of attacking corners saw Brown drive home a straight strike to bring the score back to 1-1, after a pin point injection from Kay Finch, who also secured player of the match with Banahan. Despite extensive attacking play from Em Wilkins and the forward line, the Badgers were unable to convert any more chances and were once more caught on the break as Letchworth secured a crucial last minute goal to win the game at 2-1. A disheartened travelling Badgers sought out refuge in a local curry house where the Hoddeson Hotties invited men's 1st XI player Sassy Stan to provide a motivational excerpt from his upcoming episode of 24 hours in A&E to get them motivated for their second game of the weekend at home on Sunday vs. Bury St Edmonds.

Ladies 2s - Home vs Bedford - 4-1 win

The Ladies 2s enjoyed their Saturday morning lay ins before heading to the pitch for the longest warm up known to man. Usually we are the unfortunate subjects of a 5 minute warm up in between games, but with the L4 game before us cancelled, we were able to utilise the pitch and get some good practice in before push back.

This must have helped, with Brox starting positively from the whistle, and winning a number of short corners early doors. A well-worked short corner allowed Vic to pass the ball to Beth on the back post to slot in the goal. 1-0 under 10 minutes in.

Some great team play, moving the ball round the back and hard work by the midfield allowed some great passages moving up the pitch with Mel passing a fab ball into the D for Vic to take on the keeper. Track record not the best, but a full stadium and encouragement from the fans found the ball slotted round the keeper and onto the backboard. 2-0.

The second half started convincingly for Brox with some lovely play in the middle from Lauren and Kirsty down to Hannah who drove the baseline. A hard slap onto the post allowed Vic to tap the ball over the keepers foot and into the goal. 3-0.

Bedford made a lovely run up the pitch, attacking with force and slipped one into the goal. 3-1.

Brox fought back hard and regained a goal with Charlie leaving her defensive box, running the length of the pitch and hitting it into the goal bottom right. 4-1.

A really fun game and great to come away with the 3 points. Super proud to captain a team that is known for being “friendly, honest and lovely to play against” - thank you Bedford captain!

Another great win for Brox L2s, still sitting 2nd in the league, 6 points behind top of the table.

The well-deserved player of the match was voted to Mel, and donkey almost without fail awarded to Poppy “at least I tried” Brewer for another spectacular aerial… off the pitch.

Ladies 5s - Home vs Rickmansworth - 2-0 win

After our cold but great win last week we were back at home this week to take on Rickmansworth.
Before pushback we held a minutes silence following the loss of one of Rickmansworth’s long standing members which was respected by all players and supporters – we are sorry for your loss.
Brox saw a bit of an unexpected shake up of the team this week as we were some players down due to absence or injury (get well soon Milly!), including 2 of our defence line being called up to the forward line – this was always going to be interesting! However, we were all there to support the team and hoped for a win….
The game started well and, not long in, a run from Ella resulted in a short corner – no score from this though.
Then, 5 minutes in, pressure and tenacity from Rachel sent the ball to Ella at the edge of the box. A hard hit went in off far post – 1-0.
Despite having only 10 players Rickmansworth started to mount some pressure and made some good passes and slick runs. There were 2 consecutive foot saves from Lily in goal (thanks Lily!). Following this, the middle part of the 1st half was end to end – with chances for both teams.
In the last 10 minutes Rickmansworth had a 1 on 1 ending with a great save for Lily. There was lots more sustained pressure from Rickmansworth and some good defending from the back line.
A break by Brox saw Ella start a run from our own half all the way to the opposition D. She slotted the ball to Mumma B just by the P-spot and a first time hit made it 2-0! Not bad for a right-back ?
During the last part of the first half Rickmansworth were down to 9 players due to an injury (although she came back on in the 2nd half, we hope the player is OK)
Following this, the last few minutes saw Brox take advantage of the space and started moving the ball well and there was some good passing play. A well-controlled passage of play by Brox meant we had control going into half time.
A positive team talk at half time about the press, space and passing meant we started the second half with some clear objectives.
There was some excellent positioning and passing in the second half with Broxbourne (mainly) holding shape. The team are (finally) becoming more vocal – both calling for the ball and trying to put a name on it.
Some great balls out from defence were finding our players and meant we had some excellent runs. Unfortunately, none found the back of the net.
Ella and Amy were causing plenty of problems for Rickmansworth in the middle but the Rickmansworth defence were quick of the mark with free hits and found their way through on a number of occasions – fortunately held back by the defensive line.
At one point, Rickmansworth managed to get the ball past about 8 of our players in one run – no idea how many nutmegs there were but it was entertaining to watch! Luckily, Rachel was the final player and cleared it from the D!
In the final minute with about 10 seconds to go, we were awarded a short corner. The whole team came up (well, apart from Lily – that would’ve been a fair trek from the other end!) which we hoped would secure a 3rd goal. Unfortunately, despite being like a dog with a bone, our persistence didn’t pay off this time and the final whistle went without us finding the net.
Well done to the team this week. Really positive game and I think we all agreed that we all enjoyed it. Thanks again to all the supporters that came along – we really appreciate it! (Glad you were warmer than last week….) and to Lauren and Rachel who came to help us from the 3s.
Player(s) of the match went to Sarah G for great clearances, interceptions and hits and Mumma B (Sarah B-A) for her cracking goal! Donkey goes to Amy for accidentally tripping the same player over twice and falling over. Maybe rugby?

Mens 2s - Away vs St Albans - 2-4 loss

This week it was St Albans who had the luxury of playing the mens second team quite an interesting game really, Mitch scored all of the team’s goals (they were quite good goals well done Mitch) however he did hook an aerial which almost landed upon broxbourne’s 19ft tall left back Andy Cooper who was staring peacefully into the car park.

The broxbourne side was very disjointed due to various different reasons with the captains missing their weekly phone call which normally involves Mr Brown being sat on his toilet and Lance not performing his pregame ritual we were already fighting an up hill battle.

I’m sure there were positives to take from the game

Man of the match - Mitch Chapman (well done Mitch)
DOD- Andy Andy C (try and pay a little bit more attention next time)

See you all Saturday for a lovely 12:00 home game

Mens 3s - Home vs St Albans - 3-2 win

A very exciting match for the spectators, with entertainment provided by both teams. A 3-2 win for Broxbourne with 1x goal for Sam.

Mens 4s - Away vs Bedford Vets - 3-2 loss

Well, this one was...eventful.

After a slow start from the away side, the hosts managed to establish a two goal lead. While the first came about due to some defensive errors, the second was a very impressive solo effort. A great strike fired into the top corner of the goal after some good control from a long ball. However, Broxbourne managed to pull a goal back before half-time. Devon Jardine finished off a lovely flowing move to give his team some hope of getting something from the game.

With the momentum on their side going into the second half, Broxbourne swiftly completed the come-back through Kieron Purver. Once again, the goal was the result of a well-worked passage of play.

However some very dubious umpiring, coupled with fiery altercations between players, proved to be an effective means of slowing the progress of the away side. While tempers flared, Bedford took the lead once again. Unfortunately the provocation from Bedford and highly questionable, and notably one-sided, decisions from those with whistles resulted in Fresh and Max picking up undeserved yellow cards. A game of hockey was taking place, but it became secondary to the myriad other eventful moments taking place.

Sadly, the dramatic encounter ended with Bedford taking all of the points. On another day, and at an alternative venue, the result could have been very different. Still, the promising performances and notably tight score-lines this season are a clear indication of how much the team has improved recently.

On to the next game.

Sunday 29th January

Ladies 1s - Home vs Bury St Edmunds - 3-1 win

Sunday's game welcomed back captain Scarrott, but there was concern in the pre-match build up over the absence of Brown who claimed to be on recruiting activities before the end of day transfer deadline but was spotted in a nearby launderette frantically trying to wash her pink kit, and earning yet another donkey award after arriving and being told the team would be playing in blue.
The Badgers got off to a perfect start in the first half with a series of attacking plays down the right and left hand side by Tor Stacey and Charlotte Skipp, to link up with Ellie Welsh and Baz Bombshell Sparrey in the forward line for some exquisite pick ups and short corner assists. The Badgers executed on consecutive straight strikes, with two from Em Wilkins and a third from Scarrott to put the home team 3-0 up before half time. The second half proved more challenging, and despite some superb link ups between centre back Laura Wills and Collier in the midfield the Badgers were denied any further goals and finished the game 3-1 after a late short corner for Bury. Wills welcomed a player of the match award, which she celebrated with daughter Esme who was delighted to have father figure Josh Chapman on the slideline during the game.
Despite securing 4th spot on the league table the Badgers are at the mercy of the rest of the league over the coming weeks as they wait for the other teams to catch them up on their 16 matches played. A welcomed rest weekend will see the Badgers take on their favourite recuperation activities including another audition for Wilkins in the upcoming West End performance of Notre Dame.

Mens 1s - Away vs Upminster - 3-2 loss

Broxbourne slumped to a disappointing 3-2 defeat away to Upminster, a result which dented their hopes for promotion. Having twice squandered a lead the defeat was especially hard to swallow.

The Badgers edged a tight first half and took a deserved lead in the 26th minute. Mitch Chapman’s drag flick from a short corner was expertly deflected in by injector George Blemkin at the near post.

Upminster levelled 2 minutes into the second period. A forward was allowed to dribble into the D unchallenged and found the roof of keeper Joe Wilkinson’s net.

Broxbourne regained their lead soon after. Another Chapman flick was stopped illegally on the line by a defender’s foot. Chapman stepped up himself to calmly convert the penalty flick.

The old adage about being most vulnerable when you’ve just scored proved to be true. Sam Groves made what could generously be described as a forward’s tackle and conceded a short corner. The resulting shot was unfortunately deflected into the net by a Badger stick and the scores were level again at 2-2.

A card happy umpire proceeded to ruin the game as a spectacle as Phil Bryans, Blemkin twice, Henry House and Charlie Frederick were all sin binned at various points in the half. At one point the Badgers were down to 9 at Upminster took full advantage scoring what proved to be the winning goal with 10 minutes remaining.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for Broxbourne with a trip to league leaders Bishops Stortford next Saturday looming on the horizon.

Coming up next weekend…

Saturday 4th February
Ladies 2s - Away vs Saffron Walden
Ladies 3s - Home vs Saffron Walden
Ladies 4s - Away vs Chiltern
Ladies 5s - Home vs Stevenage
Mens 1s - Away vs Bishop’s Stortford
Mens 2s - Home vs Stevenage
Mens 3s - Away vs Stevenage
Mens 4s - Home vs Letchworth

Further reading