Badgers Vs Worcester Potters

It was only after the stand-in Captain (Paul “Doh”) of the day got home that he realised we had played the whole 70 minutes with ten men!!  Such was our work rate throughout the whole game from every Yardley player that the skipper  didn’t realise we had a player short. A goalless draw sounds a little boring but it was a fantastic effort and both teams had their chances. It was an exciting game and to be honest Worcester controlled the midfield throughout the two halves but our defensive trio of Glenn, Noah and Pradeep kept the vast majority of attacks at bay, and the keeper only had two half saves/clearances to make.

Our man of the match went to Shawqi who played as our sweeper. He swept and mopped up every loose ball. He tackled with power and speed, protecting his backline with aplomb. He would then take the ball away from danger and use his midfield players to start our own attacks. As Glenn said after “he did everything right”. The midfield quartet of Ubaydah, Kyle, Usamah and Muhammed were stretched across the field but they never complained and worked their socks off holding up Worcester’s plays and stunting many attacks.

One Yardley player in the second half was yellow carded by the Umpire. Let’s hope there was a lesson learned, as his time side-lined was exploited by the opposition and they made better attacks down our left midfield.

 Our lone striker Ziaur controlled himself effectively holding the attacking line throughout the game deciding the right time to drop and help in midfield. Only five penalty corners were awarded throughout the game, 3 to Worcester 2 to us. Our expert midfield play resulted in the Potters playing it down the wings and on six occasions telling passes went across the goal line but fortunately for us no striker gambled to cover our back post. Our main chances came from fast breakaways whilst their adult was pushing up, leaving just the keeper to beat on three or four occasions. The keeper forced our strikers to make an error each time which was good play on their part.

 Once the final whistle went we came of the pitch shattered. Also relieved the game was over as the Potters’ pressure was mounting in the final 5 minutes. Everyone put in a shift today and they should be proud of the final result which I think was the right one. Well done Yardley Badgers.

Report Paul Jarvis