Wind Effected Badgers blow relegation battle

By Lisa Banahan

The Badgers hosted Ipswich at Badger Field on Saturday in a bottom of the table badger fight. Despite the approaching storm Dennis, the crowds arrived in their teens filling the stand to at least half capacity. The hostile home support was evident even from the starting whistle, and the England Hockey officials had to stop the game on a number of occasions following flares being set off in the stand. Further questions over alcohol consumption ensued, with pints of San Miguel in clear view from the stands, in violation of advertising restrictions on the live you tube stream. This comes off the back of another alcohol related scandal following hockey enthusiast Steve Tart's recent ban from the sidelines due to “Poor shot selection “, a criticism also levelled at his tennis performances.

The Badgers left no stone unturned in their preparation for game day, with team nutritionist Gemma Wilkinson and strength and conditioning coach Becky Scarrott implementing a new Friday night regime for a select group of top Badger players. Wilkinson hoped to replicate the Swiss Bobsleigh team's strategy pre-competition and insisted on Hoskins, Stacey, Marshall, Wills, Scarrott and twice player of the season Lisa Banahan consuming 1 kg of melted cheese each the night before the game. This was combined with a high intensity Russian inspired dance fitness session in the hopes that the athletes would hit the Saturday morning with a second wind. However it was a different type of wind that arrived in the early hours of Saturday morning for the ill-fated badgers. Coach Sam Marchant is implementing a full investigation into food preparation standards at the team nutrition centre on Cranborne road, but has denied that one of the Badgers was treated with a severe eye condition on Saturday morning. Suspicious photographic evidence has also allegedly emerged from the evening, with an unnamed source of bacteria visible in the food preparation area. Wilkinson has been advised by the legal team not to comment, and Marchant has suggested the veteran striker is unlikely to travel to Horsham with the squad next week while under investigation.

Despite the ill effects of Friday night, the Badgers made a positive start to the game. Em Wilkins returned to a central role in the midfield , with Alice Brown unavailable while touring to publicise her new self help book “Take back control of your press". The home side looked aggressive, with a number of circle penetrations, although Ipswich managed to open up the badger defence on counter attack forcing keeper Izzy Gardner to make an early save. However it was only a matter of time until Broxbourne capitalised on their possession stats, being awarded a penalty flick when Wilkinson was taken out by the Ipswich keeper. The flick was saved, but it was followed by a period of pressure from the Badgers, not least due to the Ipswich keeper being given a yellow card. Just before half time there was an excellent link up between Wilkins and Marshall, and the return of the Ipswich keeper to the field could not prevent Marshall's sweet strike from hitting the backboard.

The Badgers were keen to add to their one goal lead in the second half. However the third quarter saw a period of pressure from Ipswich, and their straight strike from a short corner levelled the score. The last quarter was end to end attack, with Izzy Gardner keeping the Badgers in it with a remarkable double save in the dying moments. The score stayed at 1-1, with a point not enough for either side to clear the relegation zone.

The post match press conference saw no mention of the result, such was the interest in Badger sweethearts Charlotte Skipp and George Blemkins’ valentine's meal in Hertford the previous evening . The tabloids had managed to get hold of a number of photos of the event in Oishi restaurant, and even a snap of the bill, coming to a mere £54.20 including tip. The excellent value of this meal stole the headlines with the couple having shared 3 starters and had a main each, plus a

glass of rosé and a beer. Keen to push the Blemkipp brand, Skipp tried to deflect attention from the cheapness of the meal, but the “Meal of fortune" story had clearly captured the attention ofbthe couples’ young fanbase. Blemkin has been applauded by Women's Rights activists worldwide when Skipp revealed that she had received an even share of all three starters.

The Badgers travel to Horsham next Saturday in their attempt to regain some momentum in the East Conference National League.