Men’s 2nd XI had the first match of the day at the den against a well organised and competitive St.Albans side that needed to get points from the fixture to secure their second place and promotion chances. From the outset it was clear that Albans had arrived focused and determined to get a result….

An early altercation between our own Mad Man Satwick and a very small Albans U18 resulted in a corner, well saved by Willykins, that gave an indication of the game to follow.

Overall there was a very underwhelming first half performance from the badgers which saw Albans in the ascendency piling pressure on Brox with good patterns of play leading to several further short corner opportunities. The badgers defended these well and kept their oppo frustrated with some fine saves from youth policy GK Joseph Willykins.

Several good opportunities were created with great balls down the wings to unleash the silky skills of Baller and although the boys came close no goal conversions were made. As the first half drew to a close Albans upped the pressure and with the ball in the badgers half a long range searching ball was played into the D eluding several defenders only for the sharp forward waiting at the back post to convert. 1-0 down as we went into half time and a reset needed to get back to our positive style of play.

The second half was a far better performance overall from the badgers and possession was dominated throughout the half. Special mention goes to the tireless efforts of our midfield diamond Price, Brown, Ellis, O’Sullivan and Cranfield who gave their all to get us back to good habits and put some composure back into our performance. Returning to the principles that have brought us success this season we played a simpler style of hockey and moved the ball far better joining up defence to midfield and onto attack.

The tables had turned and countless short corner opportunities were made, however, the routines did not produced the required goal for the boys. Goal mouth scrambles did not fall fortuitously and all in all the hockey gods were not smiling on us.

Ignominiously the badger’s good pressure was released by the Albans team in the dying moments of the game with a fast break resulting in a shortie. Another fine performance from the Brox defensive team of Willykins, Satwick, Kopsis, Rudd and Price ensured that there was no final cherry for Albans to put onto their three point cake.

A special mention to the unrelenting positivity provided by Fresh from the sidelines due to injury and for the open, honest and constructive feedback provided post game :)

Next week sees us take on Rickmansworth and the squad know full well that a far better all round performance is required from the off to secure the points and promotion as league champions.

Ladies 4s vs Stevenage 4 - 2-1 win

After lots of hard work behind the scenes this week and a last check in with club captain Em on Friday night the 4s had a team and managed to get 2 subs but that didn’t last for long! Unfortunately we lost a player due to a sickness bug but that was still ok as we still had a sub or was it?

With some new faces in the team this week the 4s welcomed Sarah L and new to the club Sienna (thank u so much for joining us) we also had Lily in goal who was on a tight schedule to also get to her game.

Any way the ladies 4s started with 11 players awaiting the arrival of sub Jo was juggling a 2 year old and also the arrival of a new bubba on Wednesday! (Congratulations to Jo and Sarah).

With a strong start the 4s were holding Stevenage from getting the ball over the half way line with some great passes until a ball came up in the air and caught Emelia in the face with some bruising and swelling appearing quite quickly a trip to hospital was required just to make sure there was no more damage thank you to supporters on the sideline who made sure Emeila was ok(with an update from dad after the game no serious injury just bruising and swelling).

Jo had just made it as all this was going on so was able to jump straight on to keep the team with 11 players! Unfortunately Frankie then needed some time off so we were down to 10 players.

Both teams were battling for a goal and Stevenage ended the first half with 3 short corners in which the defence and Lily was able to keep clear and left the first half 0-0.

With a positive team talk and sweets the team headed back on the pitch with Frankie back on the team we were back up to 11 players. But not for too long as Lily needed to leave and get to her game so was only able to give us another 20 minutes in goal!

A strong battle was still going on between both teams. With a sixteen hit on the left from Lisa who managed to get the ball to Annie on the forward line, who then did a square pass to Sarah, who then passed the ball up Jo, who then crossed it to Frankie the ladies 4s were 1-0 up! At last the ladies 4s could relax but not for long as it was time for Lily to leave! Taking them back down to 10 players!

Stevenage then tried to get through, but the whole team worked together and did their best to keep them out of D, but unfortunately Stevenage was awarded a short corner which was nearly saved by the defence but just caught a deflection and went over the line! Making the score 1-1.

The ladies 4s kept their head in the game and knew they had to stay strong with 10 minutes to go and Broxbourne was awarded a short corner! With a group chat at the top of the D the ladies knew this was their chance to try and get ahead. So with a strong push from Annie to Jo and with a great straight strike that was close to the post we heard the sound of the backboard we were now winning 2-1.
The team then played strong together not letting Stevenage break and the final whistle went meaning after a tough week and game the final score was 2-1.

Player of the match went to “Whole Team”
Donkey went to Jo.

Ladies 1s vs City of Peterborough 1 - 4-1 loss

*Blair Witch Badger: The Curse Of Broxbourne Woods*

The badger antics took a chilling turn when Alice Brown unveiled her latest project on Wednesday, a remake of the 1999 spine-tingling classic "The Blair Witch Project". After extensive auditions, starring roles are being played by prominent badgers Gemma Wilkinson (Ruth) , George Blemkin (Michael) and Toby House (Joshua). Following a budget cut to rule out a permanent make-up artist on set, Em Wilkins has been confirmed in the role of the Blair Witch. However, environmental protests over Brown's plans to cut down foliage in the Broxbourne woods prior to filming lead to an attack on her petrol tank at the filming location, resulting in her arriving uncharacteristically late to training. Mitch Chapman who plays the body double of Toby House, happened to still be on set and came to the aid of Brown and used club President Richard Wilkinson’s emergency fuel reserves to re-fill the tank, allowing Brown to attend the latter half of the session.

Kay Tart ominously mused on the petrol predicament, whispering that Brown's latest fuel fiasco might just earn her a spot on the Blair Witch's blacklist instead of the coveted Finch pub quiz quartet. With Tor Stacey's petrol gauge shining like a beacon of hope in the darkness, consistently hovering above 70%, Brown's dwindling chances seemed to vanish into the misty woods, where the Blair Witch herself might be lurking, ready to curse those who dare to run low on petrol. It appears Brown's misfortune has attracted more than just disapproving glares from her quiz teammates – it may have summoned the wrath of a supernatural entity straight out of a horror movie…

As the badgers fiercely attacked the COPHC goal, they found themselves facing more than just the Peterborough defense – a spooky presence haunted the field, sending shivers down the furry supports spines. Otis, with not only his pants perpetually damp from fear, tried to warn the team during the first half, while Gimli, the last of his kind, took over for the second half, sniffing out the spectral intruder. Meanwhile, Wednesday, the top dog, kept a low profile, perhaps sensing the impending doom.. or hoping to escape blame since it was his human who stumbled upon this ghastly surprise.

Amidst the eerie atmosphere, Ghost Buster Meg Saywell sprang into action, declaring, "Drop everything, Badgers, I’ve got one!” With expert precision, she blasted the ball past any spectral obstacles and into the net. Unfortunately, despite Meg's heroics, time ticked away, leaving the badgers with a haunting 4-1 defeat.

Captain Ellie Welsh has declared a state of emergency in the horror movie realm, revealing that the Blair Witch project remake is canceled because some of the cast have mysteriously vanished for when filming was due to start (9th of March.) It has been speculated that they have been abducted by the Blair Witch herself. To ensure everyone's safety, all ghostly activities are temporarily banned, with coach Lewis Hamilton, recommending players keep a minimum of 60 miles in their tanks and to stick to main roads when heading to Broxbourne, presumably to evade any unexpected encounters with supernatural hitchhikers.

Next weekend, as the witching hour approaches, the badgers head to Cambridge to face Cambridge City 2's for the second time.

Will the badgers emerge victorious under the cloak of night, or will they fall prey to the otherworldly powers that lurk in the darkness? Only time will tell.

Mens 4s vs Letchworth 6 - 3-0 loss

M4 returned to action at Badger field to take on an experienced Letchworth team (vets).
Things didn’t go to plan, as skipper Bourke left the field injured within the opening 10mins, to be replaced by Jason, our eventual MOTM.
Gradually the team got their swift passing routines going, making the opposition chase the ball around. Several good chances were created, but the away keeper was in fine form, and when he was beaten, the defenders cleared off the line. A rare visitor visit into the home half, saw them get the opening goal, fired past a stranded White. The half finished disappointingly at 0-1.

The second half was end to end, with both teams having chances, but the more experienced visitors found the net twice more, the second a ferocious reverse stick finish, to win the game 3-0.

The opposition praised our youthful team after the game, for how much they had improved since we lost 5-0 in the reverse fixture.

Away Fixtures

Ladies 3s vs Shefford & Sandy 2 - 2-0 loss

Match report pending.

Mens 1s vs Hertford 1 - 3-2 win

Broxbourne ‘teach’ Hertford a lesson.

Broxbourne head to local rivals Hertford on the back of a disappointing result at home to Waltham Forest last week. With control of the league still very much with the badgers, broxbourne looked to bounce back with 3 points against relegation strugglers Hertford.

Captain Phil and coach Panners enlightened the team with their words of wisdom pre match with Phil confusing wizardry right back George Blemkin for being ‘the best left back in the league’ and Panners demanding the team do whatever the need to do to get in the right head space for the game. After walls punched and red bulls consumed, Brox completed a purposeful warm up and were very much focused on the task at hand. Broxbourne came out the traps with Hertford pinned back in their own half in the opening exchanges.

With Brox probing, the ball found its way to silky forward Mitch Chapman who dribbled the ball passed the on rushing Hertford keeper and slammed the ball against the back board to put the Badgers one to the good. The second quickly followed with Toby House using his customary reverse stick pass through to Sam Groves who cooly deflected the ball passed the helpless Hertford goalkeeper. With Brox very much in control of the game, Hertford’s only real chances would come from complacency and overconfidence from the Brox side. Centre Back Matt Menear was exactly that as he presented the ball to the Hertford forward and they made no mistake to pull one back and reduce the deficit to one. Hertford evidently ecstatic to score against the Badgers, their joy was quickly squashed as midfielder Ed House pounced on a kick from the keeper and slotted through his legs to put Brox 3-1 up just before half time. The travelling Broxbourne ultras erupted as the Badgers extended their lead back to 2.

At half time, coach Panners demanded his side do exactly the same in the second half and ensure to keep it simple in possession. As Brox continued to create multiple chance, they couldn’t find the fourth goal. Hertford pulled one back to make the game interesting in the last couple of minutes as Ryan felt sorry for Hertford’s lack of creativity and threat so presented the ball to the Hertford centre forward and with the second time of asking slotted it past Ryan to make it 3-2. With Hertford grabbing the ball and quickly running back to the half way line, they failed to offer any threat in the final minutes of the game and Brox held out for a important 3 points to now extend their lead at the top to 5 points with 3 to play. 3-2 very much flattered Hertford as Brox dominated from start to finish, however an important with for the Badgers nonetheless.

Man of the match went to Toby who celebrated by playing tonsil tennis with Rudd’s old English teacher. Dick of the day went to Ryan. The first team celebrated their victory in Hertford and with results going their way, promotion has been secured. Next job, win the league. Bedford at home for the mens first team next week.

Ladies 2s vs Bedford 3 - 3-0 loss

On a cold, wet and windy Saturday Brox 2s travelled to a land far far away. The morning’s group chat was filled with the final travel arrangements to the fan favoured holiday destination; specifically our VC Vic Boulton who had succumbed to begging anyone to get in the car with her.

Upon arrival, captain Millie led a strong team talk which left the Badgerettes pumped and ready to go. Key tactical advice included: who has the most stylish hair cut (Baz), whether we should bring out a Broxboune HC Jeans range (mother jeans seen modelled by our own Gemma), Hannah being told to bin her pink jeans (crimes against fashion) and all while Lydia displayed her musical talents pulling on the fan pull cable in the showers in attempts to turn on the light.

Following the inspiring team talk the Badgerettes started the game exhibiting aggressive play, eager to gain an early advantage. Brox showcased impressive control and launched several offensive drives towards Bedford’s goal. However, Bedford defence stood resolute thwarting each attempt.

Bedford, on the other hand, capitalised on a rare defensive lapse from Brox midway through the first half leaving the score at half time 1-0.

Brox came out in the second half with renewed determination, intensifying their offensive efforts. Notable player of the match nominations to Ella for her great interceptions and attacking runs and Kelly for her quick thinking change in tactics by asking Bedford players for piggy backs.

However, after a few swift counterattacks saw Bedford’s forwards breaking through the defence and slotting the ball twice into the back of the goal leaving the final result as a 3-0 Bedford win.

In the post match conference, Brox focused on the positives of the situation which included a carbonara to line their stomachs pre-ladies social. Apparently, Brox 2s showed more potential in beer pong, hanging from the ceiling of the club and picking boxes up with their mouths than hockey this Saturday. Perseverance shoutouts to Captain Millie for making her 9am PT session and Vice Captain Vic for making her 9am flight being described as the “worst experience of her life” after still being seen in Hertford House at 2:30am.

Player of the match went to Meg for her weaving runs up the pitch and goal defying interceptions.

Donkey went to Hannah for politely telling a player and possibly the umpire where to go. Whispered, most definitely not shouted ….

See you next week for the Welwyn 1s at home.

Ladies 5s vs Bedford 7 - 4-1 win

It’s a shame we’ve saved this winning lark to the last part of the season but better late than never! This was a must-win game for us and it was great that we not only won but got 4 goals in the process. Thanks to everyone for making the trip to Bedford.

So, you ask… how did this amazing win come about. Well….. we’ll call it a game of 2 halves! We won’t dwell on the first half as this is a hockey match report and we didn’t really play that much hockey. 0-0 at half time.

Some refocussing in the half time team talk – let’s get passing the ball, use the width of the pitch, play our usual hockey not the new version we tried out in the first half (!!!).

The second half, although still a bit scrappy, was a much improved performance (well, you could guess that as we scored 4 goals!). A real team effort went in to all the goals and it was nice to see the persistence in the D to make sure it went over the line.

The ball was moving much better round the pitch and the communication was really starting to take place. Some excellent presses also meant that Bedford had limited options for their 16’s and free hits – this meant that they made some mistakes and we were able to intercept the ball and get back on the attack.

The goals all came from open play and there was some great teamwork for all of them. Scorers were Milly, Amber and then 2 from Isla – great to see some new names on the scoreboard! The Bedford goal came from the only short corner we conceeded in the whole game. They sent a nice balll to the top of the D. Ivy was running one and a slight miss-hit from the Bedford player sent the ball between Ivy’s feet. Unfortunately, the player then picked this back up and sent it just past Hannah’s feet.

Lots of player votes this week for different people again and a close call between Isla and Ivy but Ivy took it. Donkey was also varied but ended with Daniela wearing the ears for some squiffy short corners.

Thanks to our interim team manager, Tyler, for some excellent sub management and to Nan for being an excellent cheerleader. Not to be superstitious or anything but we had yet more rainbows for our win again this week…. It’s either proving lucky or just means we keep getting wet! Weather forecast for next week – rain! Good news for our home game against WGC! It’s at 10am so please come along and support.

Mens 3s vs Rickmansworth 2 - 4-0 win

The 3s headed on the joyful trip round the M25 to Rickmansworth with a very depleted squad from last week. Both Mellors, Phil, Bobby, KP, Vertigo Geez ,Toby and GK Charlie all absent. Late additions meant it felt more like a team from 2015 with Shrek, Tom Evans and Digger the last few names to be added to the team sheet late on.
There was even a debut between the sticks for the Captain. During the warm up Shrek was hitting top bins time after time giving the newbie in goal no chance. Unfortunately for Shrek his shot meter was now running extremely low as he found out........
The game started with Broxbourne taking control of the ball and within the first 20 mins we could have had 6, Tom and Scotty both getting forward to create chances but Shrek now had no idea where the goal was, time after time he was through just to miss the target. Rickmansworth were always looking for the crash ball through to their nippy forwards but the back 4 were always there to cut it out every time. With wave after wave of Brox pressure we finally broke the deadlock, with 'goal a game Jake' just about tapping in at the back post.
In the second half the injuries started to show, Diggers pirouettes finally took their toll on his knees and he slowly hobbled off.
Shrek finally grabbed his first goal after slipping in the D and just managed to get a touch to wrong foot the keeper and it rolled over the line.
Broxbourne were now playing like a well oiled machine, Harrison and Wyatt and Elliott all gliding through tackle after tackle. Rickmansworth weren't getting anywhere near the ball.
It was soon 3rd from Shrek and then 4th from Wyatt.
And that was that, 4-0 at the final whistle.
4 on the bounce.
I guess the broken clock was reading the correct time once again!

Sunday 3rd March

Home Fixtures

Mens 4s vs Potters Bar 4 - 4-0 loss

Playing twice in a weekend for the M4 would also be a struggle, add to that 6 of the juniors played twice on Sunday morning, left them up against a Potters Bar team flying in the table, having recorded a 13-0 victory on the Saturday.
However, they gave a good account of themselves, moving the ball around the pitch swiftly and precisely, forcing the visitors to change their style of play. Mid way through the half, the visitors opened the scoring from a broken down short corner. Purver lost the ball inside the circle, and White had no chance with the finish.
The home side rallied and forced the away keeper into some saves, but couldn’t find the goal they deserved. HT 0-1 (again)
Second half was end to end, but the visitors were able to find the net 3 more times, while the home side couldn’t
FT 0-4
Despite 2 losses over the weekend, the 4s are still confident of registering some wins out their remaining games.

Coming up next weekend…

Saturday 9th March

Home Fixtures

10am - Ladies 5s vs WGC 3
11.30am - Ladies 2s vs WGC 1
1pm - Mens 1s vs Bedford 2
2.30pm - Mens 3s vs Stevenage 2
4pm - Ladies 3s vs Cheshunt 1

Away Fixtures

11.30am - Mens 4s vs WGC 4
1pm - Mens 2s vs Rickmansworth 1
3pm - Ladies 4s vs Bedford 6
4pm - Ladies 1s vs Cambridge City 2

Sunday 10th March

Home Fixtures

1pm - Mixed vs Upminster [Last 64]