MAJESTIC MITCH LEADS BADGERS PAST WISBECH

Broxbourne made it two wins out of two at home as they swept aside Wisbech on an unseasonably warm October afternoon at Badger Field. Heading into the game Broxbourne’s resources were stretched thin after Chris Hopson tore a hamstring at training and Louis Scarrott was unavailable due to work commitments. Matters then got worse when there was no sign of George Blemkin when the team met pre-match in the dressing room. Twenty minutes after the meet time a bleary eyed Blemkin finally stumbled in and it emerged a quick after-work drink on Friday had escalated into three or four pints and Blemkin was considerably worse for wear. Skipper Charlie Frederick made the bold call to start his beleaguered vice Captain who was struggling to put one foot in front of the other.

The home team made a positive start and Ben Scarrott won a short corner after five minutes. It was to be Scarrott’s last contribution of the afternoon however as a back injury forced the striker off. Scarrott has been plagued by back injuries over the years and the Badgers will hope this one is not too serious. In Scarrott’s absence Mitch Chapman took over as drag flicker and made the perfect start with an expertly placed flick finding the top corner making it 1-0.

Chapman thought he had made it 2-0 minutes later when his deflected shot from the top of the D looped over the helpless Wisbech keeper but the goal was ruled out for an earlier foul. Chapman’s silky skills were too much for the visitors with nobody capable of tackling the midfielder. The only person who seemed to be able to stop him was the umpire whose strange interpretation of the rules halted several of Chapman’s runs just as they were approaching the D.

Broxbourne were cruising but then a series of errors handed Wisbech an equaliser. Veteran midfielder Will Fradley’s usually reliable touch let him down badly as he deflected Phil Bryans pass straight to the centre forward putting him clean through on goal. Keeper Ryan Thomas then mis-judged the bounce of the ball on the shot and the visitors were level.

The Badgers shrugged off the disappointment and re-took the lead ten minutes later, Frederick found himself free at the top of the D and unleashed a powerful and perfectly placed shot into the bottom corner making it 2-1.

The goal re-energised the home side and they had several chances to double the lead before the interval. Stan Mason was inches away when his shot struck the base of the post and despite winning more short corners the Badgers came up empty and the score was 2-1 at the interval.

Wisbech had to commit more men forward in search of an equaliser and dominated the opening ten minutes of the second half winning multiple short corners in the process. Short corner defense has been a problem so far this season for the Badgers who were leaking goals at an alarming rate. Saturday was a definite improvement though as Thomas and the rest of the defensive unit held firm keeping the score at 2-1.

Broxbourne got the crucial third goal to give them a two goal buffer in the 56th minute, Chapman with a carbon copy of his first goal gave the keeper no chance. Chapman then saw green for dissent putting a blot on an otherwise fine performance. Down to 10 men the home side were still creating chances and won another short corner. With no drag flickers on the field the elder Chapman, Josh, took charge and called a straight strike, his bobbling mis-hit shot barely troubled the keeper though and that particular routine might not be called again soon.

With the visitors desperately searching for a way back into the game they were left open to the counter attack and the Badgers got a fourth and final goal in the 65th minute. Henry House, whose marauding runs from midfield were a constant threat finally got his reward, House played a one two with Frederick and calmly beat the keeper to make the final score 4-1

Next week the Badgers go on the road to face old rivals Wapping 3’s in a prime time game under the lights at the Olympic Park looking for their first away points of the season. Wapping will provide a tough test; they have the number one defense in the league and are yet to concede a goal.