The mens 4s continued their good home form in the early game of the day. The squad of 16 arrived earlier than usual to get used to the pitch speed, due to the recent weather, and this seemed to have paid off during the opening 15 minutes where they dominated possession, moving around Welwyn’s old boys. A penalty corner was fired just wide by Noah, while Elliot and Ethan were combining well down the left.
Simon in the Broxbourne goal was rarely troubled during the first half.
Unfortunately the possession couldn’t be converted into goals, and it was goalless at half time.
Against the run of play Welwyn took the lead early in the 2nd half, with a smart finish into the bottom corner.
Broxbourne rallied and drew level after Phil put Shane through, Noah distracted the keeper for Shane to fire home.
Late chances fell to Louis and Phil, but the winner was just beyond them.
Another fine performance from the development squad.

Mens 2s vs Rickmansworth 1 - 2-1 win

Broxbourne 2's returned to a wet badger field, buoyed by an excellent performance last week against St Albans. This week's opposition was Rickmansworth who sat 3rd in the league. It would be another tough match for the badgers. The game started at a high pace with both teams having chances. Baller kept their defense busy and with some super dribbling down the left and passed the ball to an unmarked Alex Brown at the top of the D. Unfortunately Alex slipped on some wet leaves and the chance was gone. 0-0 half time. There wasn't much space and time on the ball with Broxbourne surprised at the intensity of the opposition. Rickmonsworth won there 1st short corner of the game and duly scored with a pass back to the injector who deflected it into the goal. Broxbourne down in a game for only the 2nd time this season started to raise their game and create a few more chances. New signing for the season, Mullet had a great chance to put us level but couldn't find the net with only the keeper to beat, and quickly subbed himself off after missing. Some good play down the right from Ruddy, slipped the ball into Browny who fired the ball into Dan Ball, and with a deft 1st time touch had the ball in the net. 1-1 with a few minutes to go. A fabulous save from Joe down to his left hand side kept Broxbourne in the game. Brox won a sideline hit deep in the Rickmonwoth half which was taken quickly, catching the oppo off guard. Some strong dribbling down the byline from Dan, picked out top scorer Jack whose goalbound flick bouced off the tummy of a Rickmonsworth player and fall nicely for Captain Kav who calmly slotted into the open net. A great result for the 2's who remand 5 points clear at the top of the table.

Ladies 1s vs Cambridge City 2 -5-3 loss

The Badgers were back in the Badger Den this week, with a full squad of 15 on their home turf. The changing rooms and stands were full of their loyal fans (Gimli, Albus, Wednesday and new addition Otis). The fans were invited into the Badger’s changing room for Alice Brown’s sausage which is where the first concerns of bullying were raised to the animal welfare officer. At times the competition for No.1 fan became too intense with the new addition, Otis, bopping other fans in the face. Gimli was cowering in fear behind the legs of Em Wilkins or running for Bench to pick him up and keep him out of bopping danger. The situation will be carefully monitored by the animal welfare officer to ensure the safety of all fans going forward.

With full stands and the managerial team in matching jumpers (notably becoming less matching due to claims of a broken washing machine) and matching birthday socks (let’s just hope these have been washed), the game got underway. After a quick start from Cambridge, the Badgers found themselves 2-0 down in the first ten minutes. The fans were distressed, and you could hear Gimli crying from the stands. This drove the Badgers on to fight back and not disappoint their loyal supporters with a goal from Nads Wheadon who tapped the ball past the goalkeeper, following a deflection off the keeper’s pads after a strike from Gemma Wilkinson. Unfortunately, Cambridge managed to sneak in another past the defensive line but just as the half time whistle went the Badgers won a short from a Cambridge foot. With the whole team up around the D, Claire Cattermole slapped the ball past the keeper into the back of the goal bringing the goal difference back down to just 1 at half time.

With Captain Ellen Welsh empowering the Badgers in the team talk combined with strong tactical advice from Bench and Bobelicious the birthday queen, the Badgers went into the second half feeling ready to fight back against those Cambridge elbows. Storming up the pitch straight from the starting whistle we saw another strike from the NHS with Laura Wilsey finding the back of the net bringing the score to 3-3, two minutes into the second half. Unfortunately, despite how hard the Badgers fought, Cambridge scored twice during the second half leaving the final score at 3-5 to Cambridge.

Player of the Match went to Lisa Banahan for Cambridge blocking, run stopping, goal defying tackles. Notable comments include “best flat stick tackles in East Prem” although it remains unconfirmed as to whether this vote had come from Banahan herself.

Donkey of the Match went to Hannah Baker for walking in amongst the opposition and high fiving their team rather than shaking their hands. The Badgers have accused Baker of being a traitor by celebrating Cambridge’s win, but Baker claimed that missing Umpire Alan had been on her mind, and she got “confused”. Hopefully with some fresh umpires next week for Harleston Magpies 2:30 at Home, her head will be in the game and the Badgers will be back to their winning ways.

Ladies 4s vs Bedford 6 - 1-1 draw

Ladies 4s took on Bedford 6s on a grey afternoon at Badger Field. The first half was fairly even and saw some great passing and tackling from Sam. There weren’t too many clear cut chances for either side, but Lisa helped keep Bedford at bay with some superb blocks and clearances in our defending D. The first goal of the match went to Bedford, but Broxbourne responded really well and got back on level terms before half time. Following some good pressure from Broxbourne, we won a short corner. Roisin injected the ball which eventually fell to Brawny and from a tight angle, she gave their goalkeeper no chance with a powerful shot to make it 1-1 at half time.

In a second half which saw both teams win several short corners and Broxbourne create lots of good chances, but we unfortunately couldn’t find a way past the Bedford keeper. On many occasions when Bedford attacked our D, Lorraine was there with a timely interception to clear the ball away. Our midfield kept battling as each team continued to push forward in search of a winner, and Roisin drove forward several times to keep us at the edge of their D. Despite late chances for both teams, ultimately neither could find a winning goal and the game finished 1-1, but the point was enough for us to stay top of the league!

Player of the match went 4 ways this weekend for great defending and great team work between these 4 players - Lorraine, Lisa, Sam & Roisin.
Donkey this weekend went to Callia for receiving the ball inside the D on a short corner and trying to score.

Away Fixtures

Ladies 5s vs Welwyn Garden City 3 - 2-0 loss

Some last-minute changes to the team meant that we were only fielding 11 again this week. This was nearly 10 with Teagan managing to go to entirely to wrong place – still not sure where she actually went! Maybe next week we should put the venue, postcode and maybe even a map of where to go on the Whatsapp group …….. guessing that would be handy!!!! However, she managed to arrive at the pitch as the whistle went. Obviously, this resulted in a unanimous decision from all the players to ensure that she retains the donkey title from last week.

We were trying out a new defensive strategy this week, had Hannah returning from injury and also welcomed Fran to the team. Nothing like being thrown in the deep end as centre-forward having never played a match with us and only notching up 2 training sessions. You played amazingly Fran – well done.

The first half started a bit wobbly with the newly-shaped back 4 finding their feet and the press at the other end looking at little mis-shaped. However, we had a bit of a gear change and then some strong play followed. WGC were a strong team with good formation, some hard hitting and a great press. We battled on with some great interceptions in mid field and some amazing runs down the right by Rachel who was very much putting into practice some fabulous rollouts.

Unfortunately, we conceded a number of short corners which on the whole we defended well. However, a cheeky take from the opposite side and a strong hit from WGC saw the ball sneak between Sharon on the left post and Hannah the keeper taking the score to 1-0.

We had some opportunities on the attack and a couple of shots on goal. Milly had a couple saved by the WGC keeper which took us in to half-time 1-0 down.

We played much better in the second half with a strong press and some great runs. We moved up and down the pitch well as a whole and, with a slight change round at the back Mumma B was free to run the right hand side which created some good attacking play. With some great play across the pitch we managed to fire some more into the D but weren’t able to convert any.

WGC took advantage of some space and charged down the pitch to secure a second. Being 2-0 down it was all hands to the pump and we all pushed up the pitch leaving Teagan watching our backs. We managed to secure a short corner in the dying minutes and were praying and willing for it to go across the line. It was not to be and so we finished 2-0 down.

Well done to everyone for a great match. Player of the match was Fran with 6 votes for her excellent debut – thanks for throwing yourself in at the deep end! Other players with votes were Jess, Sharon and Rachel. Bring on next week!

Ladies 2s vs Welwyn Garden City 1 - 3-2 loss

The Ladies 2’s had a much more cheery start to the day despite the weather, when one of our many youngsters, Kelly, decided that the team are now going to start doing Tiktoks. With great commitment skills her phone got tapped to the ceiling to record the Tiktok, however after filming what would have been a great video, her phone had run out of storage half way through filming, gaining her Donkey before the warm up had even started.

During the pregame team talk, we established that we had gone from 15 to 13 players in the space of 24 hours, with one of those players, Jess, making it clear at 7 in the morning on Saturday that she was still too drunk from her night out to play, getting herself overall Donkey of the Day.

The game started off strong for the Brox Ladies, holding possession throughout majority of the game. The team were working well together to move the ball around the Welwyn players, and after much effort, the ball got played to Ella, who had 1 on 1 with the keeper and scored an amazing goal early on in the first half.

During the half time team-talk, we decided that we wanted to make one of our infamous second half comebacks, so during the second half, our captain and right back, Millie, decided that she wanted a goal of her own, so ran the ball into the D, and took a hit close to the baseline which deflected off of a defenders foot and into the goal, so she has claimed the goal as her own. However despite our best efforts, Welwyn came back stronger in the second half and scored 3 goals within about 8 minutes, gaining them the lead.

At the end of the first half, we earned a short corner at the very end of the game, so it was all or nothing to win some points. The shot was taken well by Lydia with a straight strike, however Kelly decided to become one of the oppositions defenders and deflected the ball that was going in.

The final score was a 3-2 loss to Welwyn. Man of the match went to Ella for overall great play throughout the whole game, and Donkey of the day went to Jess for being too drunk/hungover to play and to Kelly for a failed attempt at a Tiktok and deflecting a much needed goal.

The 2s rule this season is whoever gets donkey should write the match report. Two versions were available; one from Kelly and the other from Jess. We'll let you guess who wrote the chosen match report.

Ladies 3s vs Cheshunt 1 - 3-1 loss

Local Derby Knock Out

The Ladies 3’s made the long journey to Cheshunt this week, where they faced an established Cheshunt side, currently sitting top of the league, and who were clearly going to present the Badgers with a challenge.

Despite making her debut as a team captain this year, Hannah has been benched as a result of a prolonged period of cramp, which inhibits her from playing, so therefore has become our nonplaying team manager and captain until the New Year. We hope to have her back playing soon.

The team were also missing Freya this week, who we hope is celebrating in Paris and having a ‘bon anniversaire’ by making the most of a prolonged welcome to Club 30!

Even before the match had started, there were a few mishaps for the team this week. Lauren was without her mandatory eyelashes and hangover, Tors was unable to find her kit, and Tara arrived at the pitch nearly 2 hours early!!

Thankfully, the duo of Olivia and Isobel were available to help the team out this week and increase the numbers, providing much needed subs.

Despite initial fears, the team did present Cheshunt with a challenge. After a settling in period for the first 10 minutes or so, it was pretty even. However, the slick one touch passing from the opposition enabled them to gain the upper hand and take the lead through a well worked team goal.

Unfortunately, two more goals followed in quick succession, taking the opposition to a 3-0 lead at half time.

Halftime came and at that point the sweets were emptied into the bowl for the team to enjoy. After a slight delay, the team were able to take stock and work out ways to prevent Cheshunt from increasing the lead further. With the strength of Cheshunt troubling us in the first half, the badgers realised they needed to work around and build the play up the pitch. Outstanding performances from Kirsty, Millie and Sharon in the mid enabled the ball to be taken forward and frustrate the opposition.

Despite some promising drives from the opposition, they were unable to break the defence who dealt with pressure effectively. Broxbourne maintained possession and were able to win a number of short corners. After an unusual slow injection, they were able to hold onto the ball and find a consolation goal late into the second half. For our fan base out there, this was caught on camera by Captain Hannah, who also can be heard cheering very loudly (so do be sure to turn phone volumes down). More opportunities did come and the Badgers were unfortunate not to get a second goal as the ball ran along the line.

To add to the excitement of the game after Laura explaining at half time that at short corners, she was going to pass it round the number one runner as she runs at her, she actually ended up with a large bump on her head after being knocked to the ground. Thankfully this was actually caught on camera by Captain Hannah, who, upon returning to Broxbourne, enlisted the help of the youth to create a TikTok of the moment (thank you Ella).

With the final score 3-1, we were happy to be told that this is the first goal that Cheshunt have conceded all season, so we felt like that was a win.

In the post-match cool down, more laughs were had after Tara nominated herself for the champagne moment for a notable piece of skill, weaving her way out of defence through multiple players and carrying the ball down the pitch into a completely different altitude!

Player of the match nominations were spread across the team this week with votes going to Kirsty, Laura, Millie and Tara. However, the overall award went to Sharon for stepping into the midfield and dominating down the left, almost scoring a goal.

Donkey of the day was hotly contested. Suggestions for the award included Tors for losing her kit, Hannah for the most abysmal three cheers callout post match, Lauren for also joining the cramp club, Tara for her self-nominated champagne moment, and Isobel for stopping mid run with the ball to adjust her hair and somehow not being tackled. After some deliberation, it was decided that Tara and Isobel would be sharing donkey this week.

Mens 1s vs Bedford 2 - 4-4 draw

On Saturday the 18th the Broxbourne first team made the long journey to Bedford and after a team talk and warm up, we were ready to play. The first half was not some of our best hockey with mistakes being made and heads lost due to some interesting calls and boisterous opposition. This resulted in Bedford having a 2-0 leading into the second half. Thankfully a rousing team talk at half time led to some better hockey and an early goal to make it 2-1 from a short corner. Bedford quickly replied to make it 3-1 but were not to be outdone with an equally quick reply from Sam Groves to make it 3-2. Josh Chapman then managed to hit a ball through the keeper from the top of the circle to equalise. The Broxbourne team were in control of the game before a mis-trapped ball led to their striker collecting the ball in the circle to put Bedford in the lead again going into the final minutes. Affected by this goal but not ones to give up the team continued to apply pressure up until the final few seconds where Mitch Chapman managed to put one past the keeper just before the final whistle blew. Final score of 4-4 to end a tough but positive game.

Mens 3s vs Stevenage 2 - 3-1 loss

Match report pending.

Coming up next weekend...

Saturday 25th November

Home Fixtures
10am - Ladies 4s vs St Albans 7
11:30am - Mens 3s vs Potters Bar 3
1pm - Mens 1s vs Havering 1
2:30pm - Ladies 1s vs Harleston Magpies 2

Away Fixtures
10am - Mens 4s vs Harpenden 4
10:30am - Ladies 2s vs Bishop's Stortford 4
1:15pm - Mens 2s vs Potters Bar 2
2:30pm - Ladies 5s vs Rickmansworth 2
4:30pm - Ladies 3s vs Bishop's Stortford 5

Sunday 26th November
Home Cup Fixtures
12:30pm - Ladies O45s vs Berkampsted & Hemel
2:30pm - Mixed vs Hertford