Brantham Badgers in 3-3 draw
FLARE LEAGUE - RM3 -SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 19th
BRANTHAM ATHLETIC BADGERS 3 CLAYDON GREYHOUND 3
Brantham Badgers, with some first team regulars mssing, gave some of the players who were just past their first flush of youth the chance to play. Badgers started the game quickly although it was their opponents, Claydon Greyhound, looking resplendent in their pink and black shirts, who had the first real chance. A forward broke through and sent in a hard shot that Ash Bowdler did well to stop and hold. Badgers soon started to settle down and they took the lead with a well worked goal. The ball was played out wide to Jamie Carrington on the wing, he cut inside and hit home a low shot. The goalkeeper seemed to have it at one stage but the pace of the ball saw him fumble the b all and it ended up in the net. 1-0.
At this stage Badgers held the upper hand and Terry Percival, who despite having an injury, was straight into every tackle and laid off some first class passes to his fellow team mates. Jon Hammond put through a defence splitting pass which Graham Stiff latched onto and from a fair distance out his effort was not that far wide of the post. Greyhound had their chances and they broke the offside trap and the forward ran through but at the end put his shot well over the bar. Badgers doubled their tally when Graham Stiff ran at the keeper and did enough to see him fumble the ball and as it bobbled about in the area in came leading marksman Jamie Carrington who hit it into the almost empty goal. 2-0. Greyhound hit back with a well worked goal when a forward was allowed time and space to pick his spot. 2-1. Badgers restored their two goal advantage when a good four man move ended with Jamie Carrington slotting home in style. 3-1.
At the back for Badgers Guy Clubb was having a top class game and still finding time to rally his team when heads seemed to drop a bit. Paul Hammond was doing his bit up front and was leading the line well and getting involved up front and Paul was causing Greyhound one or two problems with his direct running. Greyhound upped the pace and added a second goal from close range after a good move down the middle of the pitch. They thought they had drawn level when a forward hit home almost on the goal line ,but the eagle eyed Daniel Allen, running the line for the Badgers, was quick to point out that the goal scorer was offside, and the referee, much to the disgust of the Greyhound lads, agreed with Daniel. Ash Bowlder then made a superb one handed save to deny the Greyhound centre forward a goal but he was not able to stop Greyhound getting the equaliser in the latter stages of the game when a cross was put over and was headed home from close range. A good game, played in the right spirt and both teams played some good attacking football. One supporter made the comment that when Brantham attacked it sounded like ' a herd of wildebeest running about on the Serengeti' and certainly the Badgers went forward in numbers when they were on the attack although to be fair for periods of the second half Paul Hammond was left up front to forage on his own. Our first league point and this coming Sunday we are away to Selkirk in a League cup match.
Badgers man of the match ( according to people I spoke to) had to be Guy Clubb who had a top rate game at the back, followed closely by Jamie Carrington with a well taken hat-trick and Graham Stiff who had a superb game controlling the midfiield.
Badgers team - Ash Bowdler - Jon Hammond - Lee Clarke - Guy Clubb - Richard Mawdsley - Graham Stiff - Terry Percival - Darryn Bowdler - Sean Kearney - Greg Ranson - Jamie Carrington - subs used - Paul Hammond and James Lewis.
======barry felgate=====
