Crostyx 2 : Broxbourne 3

Broxbourne made it two wins from two as they overcame a 2:0 deficit to secure a hard fought win against Crostyx at the olympic stadium.

Buoyed by their 4:0 opening day victory over Chelmsford the Badgers travelled to London full of confidence but if they thought life was going to be easy in Div1S they were given a rude awakening.

The Badgers made the worse possible start with key players Em Wilkins and Lisa Banahan arriving only seconds before push back due to transportation issues.
The Badgers started like a rudderless ship and somehow found themselves 2:0 down after only 2 minutes.
This prompted Mcdonnell to make changes and with Wilkins and Bananhan reinstated Broxbourne started to regain their composure.
It would have been easy to implode but the visitors proved their steely nature and gradually clawed back a foothold in the game.

Twenty minutes in Broxbourne managed to net their first with centre forward Charlotte Skipp staying calm and pushing the ball between the onrushing goalkeeper’s legs into the back of the net. Skipp proved her bravery as she was then flattened by the keeper, the sound of the ball hitting the backboard greatly aiding her recovery.

A few minutes later a stunning individual led to Wilkins finding herself in space in the D. Her firmly struck backhand shot flew into the bottom corner, taking the score to 2:2, much to the relief of her teammates.

Banahan’s inspirational words at half time left the team realising the next goal was likely to be the winner and they came out with a renewed sense of urgency.

Five minutes into the second half the game changed when Kerri Marshall’s goal bound effort was blocked on the line by a Crostyx defender’s body giving the umpire no choice but to award a flick. With the chance to take the lead on the road and deliver a body blow to the opposition what Broxbourne needed was a proven goal scorer who could stay cool under pressure, Gemma Wilkinson duly stepped up. Wilkinson, with over 25 years experience in the east leagues, used all that knowledge to fool the keeper with a low mis hit effort that somehow reached the goal backing up the old adage that it is better to be lucky than good.

The remainder of the game was bitterly fought out with both teams putting in hard tackles which inevitably led to green cards being shown to both sides by the umpires. It was the visitors however who managed to control the centre of the pitch and this, combined with tireless running from their forward line, meant they stayed strong, frustrating Crostyx and sealing the win for The Bagders.

Broxbourne definitely learnt a lesson this week but fortunately their determination and grit helped them pull through and at 2 and 0 leave them sitting pretty at the top of the table. Next week The Badgers take on Saffron Walden at home, 3pm start at Badger Field.