KARMIC VICTORY FOR SHORT HANDED BADGERS

Broxbourne hit the road this week with the bare eleven and ground out a hard fought 2:1 win against local Essex rivals Upminster. The victory was especially sweet after their hosts took the lead with a clear violation of sporting etiquette, riling the Badgers into a fierce comeback.

The day started well as the Badgers lost their only substitute Tor Stacey to a pre-game head injury. Stacey declined to comment but rumours have it she was attempting an elaborate acrobatic move as part of her pre-game warm up. Doctors have cleared the young midfielder and the badgers expect her to be fully fit for their penultimate game of the season next week.

Despite only having eleven players, coach McDonnell inspired the Badgers with his pre-game speech, emphasising the importance of quality over quantity, and it was with this thought the Badgers got to work.

The Badgers started well and maintained the majority of the possession. Once again they won a succession of penalty corners however the best efforts of Em Wilkins and Becky Watkins were denied by the on point Upminster defence and keeper.

The Upminster game plan was clearly arranged around the long ball into their forward line who looked dangerous on the attack. Fortunately centre back Laura Wills was on form for once and managed to pick several of their long range efforts. This combined with excellent marking by fellow defenders Gemma Wilkinson and Sophie Darragh managed to deny the skilful forwards.

An Upminster injury in the Broxbourne 25 led to the umpire stopping play and Broxbourne chivalrously put the ball off the sideline to allow the opposition player to get treatment. The umpires restarted with a bully and clearly explained to the Upminster forward it was expected of her to give the ball back to the badgers in line with the sportsman like code of conduct that the game of hockey prides itself on. Therefore imagine the surprise of the Broxbourne defence when the same player took the ball for her own, looking to claim a goal completely against the run of play. The Badgers reacted, but not quick enough as the forward found a foot in the D winning a short corner which Upminster cooly converted to go into the lead.

The badger's surprise quickly turned to anger as they could not come to terms with the unbelievable unsportsmanlike behaviour of their opposition. The half time whistle could not come soon enough and gave the riled badgers some time to regroup and refocus.

Determined not to lose this game, Broxbourne started the second half with even more intensity. This paid off and they equalised a few minutes later with a superb team goal that even the umpire stood back to admire. Em Wilkins picked up the ball in midfield and set off on one of her trademark driving runs towards the D. She then slipped the ball to Sarah Goodwin on the baseline, who crossed square to Charlotte Skipp on the far post for an easy tap in.

Broxbourne took the lead a few minutes later. After extensive short corner practice on the training ground this week, coach McDonnell called his secret play; the "slip slap." Wilkins slipped the ball to Wills on the left who executed a first time slap to the far post where Skipp was again lurking and claimed her second of the match.

Unfortunately as the game went on, Upminster showed more of their true colours, the game disintegrating into a battle of pushing, elbows and stick tackles. However, despite reaching into his pocket several times, the umpires seemed reluctant to award any cards.

Upminster threw everything at the Badgers, however they managed to hang on thanks to some excellent saves from keeper Freya Green. The final whistle was a welcome relief with the badgers victorious and a final score of 2:1, showing that karma will prevail and the badgers happy to take the win and maintain their fair play ethos.

Although they have had a strong end to the season, unfortunately The Badgers have missed out on promotion this year. With two games remaining they will still be looking for maximum points to secure third place and build momentum for the 2017-18 season.