Badgers make it five from five

Saturday December 20th

Capelli Sport MFL Premier Division

Brocton 4 Tividale 2

Brocton finally returned to action at Silkmore Lane after a long, rain enforced break as they hosted fellow mid table side Tividale. Brocton aimed to make it five wins on the spin after an impressive 4-1 victory at Stone last week, whilst Tividale looked to make amends for their heavy defeat at the hands of Stourport.

The game started scrappily, as both teams struggled to settle into the game on a heavy pitch. However, it was Brocton that took the early advantage, as the Brocton midfield pounced on a poor goal kick from Joe Williams, allowing Morgan Payne a free run at goal. The in form winger confidently finished into the bottom corner from a tight angle. Only five minutes later, it was another Tividale mistake which allowed Brocton to double their lead. Reg Smith pounced on a short back pass and comfortably finished past Williams. Tividale finally managed to assert themselves in the game and began to look more threatening, especially through Wayne Mubayi on the left wing. This pressure soon paid dividends for the away side. Bradley Maslen-Jones had his free kick saved on to the cross bar by the Brocton goalkeeper, George Scott, but Matt Holland was on hand to smash in the rebound. Brocton quickly regained momentum, as some neat interplay led to Connor Haddaway being brought down in the box. However, the Brocton skipper, Connor Haddaway, saw his central penalty saved by the legs of Williams. Three minutes later, a deft ball over the top from Connor Haddaway to Smith, saw Smith shoot into the side netting. In stoppage time, Ben Haddaway tried his luck from twenty-five yards, and his shot was inches wide.

Half-time: Brocton 2 Tividale 1

Shortly after half time, Tividale found the equaliser, as Shakeel Brown cleverly jinked his way into the box, drawing a foul from the recovering Ben Haddaway. The Tividale captain, Maslen-Jones, confidently did what his counterpart couldn’t, smashing the ball into the bottom right corner. The game then became scrappy and congested, with strong tackles flying in from both sides. This pattern was only broken when Alex Curtis turned to the Brocton bench, and his substitutes swung the game in their favour. Connor Haddaway clipped the ball over the top to one of these substitutes, Christian Blanchette, who showed great composure to round the keeper and slot the ball home. Brocton made sure of their Christmas three points, as two more replacements combined with Reg Smith for the fourth goal. Adam Wheldon skipped past his man on the left wing and found Smith in the box, who set the ball for Lucas Green-Birch. The Brocton midfielder curled the ball beautifully into the top corner, rounding off a superb Brocton performance.

Full-Time: Brocton 4 Tividale 2 Attendance: 183

Brocton: George Scott, Levi Reid, Josh Simcox (Adam Wheldon 63), Kenny Devoir, Cooper Marsh (Lucas Green-Birch 69), Ben Haddaway, Jude King, Jake Thomas, Reg Smith (Liam Prendergast 90), Connor Haddaway, Morgan Payne (Christian Blanchette 69). Subs (unused): Jonah Scutt

Tividale: Joe Williams, Tom Rann (Ellis Harris 82), Brandon Mossini, Liam Matthews (Tom Bate 76), Matt Holland, Joe Garrington, Shakeel Brown, Eddie Rann, Ben McSkeane (Spencer Bailey 65), Bradley Maslen-Jones, Wayne Mubayi. Subs (unused): Abdelouaheb Alouane, Junior Mpanu-Mpanu

Yellow Cards: Josh Simcox, Kenny Devoir (Brocton), Eddie Rann, Ben McSkeane, Tom Rann (Tividale)