A new season. A new start. The chance to push on from the success of last season. The fans flocked into the newly named Joe Panteli Stand to cheer on thier heros in this grudge match against former player Lee Inkpin and his team.
Confidence was high amongst the Badgers team, with new signing Rob Weeks settling in well, and Bobby Radebe rejoining the fold as if he had never left. Early warm ups saw the whole team look incredibly dangerous from long range with maybe half of their shots hitting the target (which is good for them). 1/3 Manager Ben Wheatland was heard saying to his co-managers that "It will be different with a goalkeeper though...shit..."
This show of attacking talent was sending shivers of fear down the spines of the Chemical Brothers, whose only response was to gather around a small Bunsen Burner for warmth and support.
The game kicked off after a small scuffle between the two teams' fans, resulting in a number of arrests on both sides.
The Badgers started brightly, with two or so passes being strung together. New signing Rob Weeks was gelling well with Badgers stalwart Sam Hamberger at the back, which was exemplified when the Chemical Brothers took the lead on 1 minute. Vision and awareness, so often lacking for the Badgers, saw Lee Inkpin find his team mate near the corner flag. The player then cut in and rifled a shot into the near post. Matt Clarke attempted to take the blame for the goal, but his management triumvirate refused to accept Clarke's guilt in the matter, pointing out that if the Albatross had not at that moment sat on his head, flapping wildly, he would have had much more of a chance to save it.
The team improved, if only slightly, towards the end of the half. In the dying seconds of the half, Charlie Carter lofted a sublime ball over the Chemical Brothers' defence. Ben Wheatland, last season's top scorer, charged on to the ball and as the ball fell over his right shoulder, optimistically volleyed it with his left foot. Needless to say, the ball sailed over the fence. The effort was offensive to the eye of any football purist, and the fan from row Z who had to go to hosiptal wasn't impressed either, although his memory of the incident is foggy.
Moments later, from the ensuing goal kick, a poor pass from ex-Badger Lee Inkpin left Wheatland with a simple tap in to an empty net. Wheatland missed, sending his effort just the wrong side of the post. The fans refused to get on Wheatland's back, remembering his efforts of last season, but camera replays suggest the entire team spat on Wheatland as they trudged off for their half time team talk.
In an attempt to get back into the game, the Holy Management Trio issued a rousing speech, intended to raise the Badgers' game. It seemed to have worked, with the Badgers seeming more assured in defence and attacking on occasion, which is all you can ask for really...
The game seemed to be petering out, when the Chemical Brothers scored two goals in quick succession, Lee Inkpin nutmegging Matt Clarke with a truly ok finish, and a Chemical Brothers midfielder scoring from the half way line just seconds after the restart.
With this, Clarke packed in his goalkeeping for the day, with Josh Staniforth replacing his. Unfortunately, Staniforth's first duty as keeper was to pick the ball out of his net almost immiediately, as another long range strike killed off the Badger's resistance.
The only highlight of the disapointing game was the debut of Rob Weeks, who was assured and composed despite his teammates.
Next week, it will be different.
