LEAGUE LEADERS TOO MUCH FOR BRAVE BADGERS

Broxbourne's promotion hopes were dealt a big blow this week as they fell to a heavy 6-2 defeat against unbeaten league leaders Sevenoaks. The Badgers are now 7 points adrift of second place Canterbury and with only twelve points left to play for have to hope for help from other teams in order to gain promotion.

The Badgers knew they were going to be up against it as high flying Sevenoaks have only conceded nine goals and dropped two points all season. A rousing team talk from coach Matt Mcdonnell helped to fire up the side and they started well, looking like the more dangerous team for the first five minutes.

Unfortunately they were unable to sustain the pressure and as Sevenoaks settled in to the game the momentum started to shift. The deadlock was broken after 15 minutes when a Sevenoaks free hit outside the Badger's D found a defender's foot, taking an unlucky deflection and landing on the stick of the lucky centre forward who made no mistakes in finding the net.

Broxbourne came close to equalising with Becky Watkins making some pinpoint long passes to feed the forward line, however unfortunately the badger strikers were unable to convert.

Sevenoaks doubled their lead just before half time with another penalty corner routine. The Badgers will feel unlucky as the low drag effort took two defensive deflections on its way towards the goal, giving goalkeeper Freya Green no chance of a save.

Broxbourne finished the half with 10 men as veteran GB player Kay Finch picked up a green card for possibly the best reverse stick tackle in her career. Unfortunately the umpires saw back of stick and Finch saw green.

Going into half time the badgers felt unlucky to be two goals down but still felt very much in the game.
The next goal in the contest was going to be crucial but Sevenoaks showed why they were top of the league as they grabbed two further goals early in the second half giving the Badgers a mountain to climb.

Broxbourne kept their heads and continued to go on the attack, looking to get themselves back in the game. Their breakthrough came after they were awarded a penalty corner with veteran Gemma Wilkinson taking matters into her own hands with a bullet of a straight strike to get the badgers off the mark. Rumour has it Wilkinson may have put herself into contention for regular penalty corner taker leaving coach Mcdonnell with a difficult decision to make next week.

The comeback continued and Broxbourne looked good linking the passes through the midfield. A well executed move down the left side of the pitch involving Finch, Marshall and Wills released Becky Ellis in the circle who cooly lobbed the keeper to score her first of the season. 4-2.

For a few minutes Sevenoaks looked rattled, however the Badgers could not hold on and ended up conceding two more on the counter attack, making the score a flattering 6-2.

Broxbourne picked up a further card with ten minutes to go with Ellis, a player known for her uncontrollable temper, picked up a green for refusing to be bound by the rules and playing on through the whistle to feed her now insatiable appetite to score. Unfortunately the umpire didn't like it and she also saw green. Thankfully Wilkinson kept her cool this week and managed to remain on the pitch for the entirety.

Although the score line suggests a fairly sound beating, any player on the pitch will tell you the game was a great deal closer than the score and the badgers will be proud that they gave the home side a competitive match. The win means Sevenoaks take the league, leaving the rest of the teams fighting it out for the final promotion spot. The Badgers have a great deal to do and must win all four of their final games to be in with a chance. They start their final campaign at home against Wapping next week 3pm Badger Field.