Badgers Vs Wolverhampton

Yardley Badgers 0 v 1 Wolverhampton

This was a very tough game for our young Badgers and the score against us could have been much higher but for the good saves Jack made in goal.

It was a test which put a lot of pressure on the whole team, especially our sole adult player John. Each section of the team seemed disjointed and players struggled to hold their positions and failed to drop back to help the defence when needed. The pressure Wolverhampton put on the Yardley defence meant that they won a lot of penalty corners. On one occasion from a penalty corner a Yardley player stopped the ball on the line and then it inadvertently hit their foot. A flick was awarded to Wolverhampton. The player powered his flick shot low to Jacks’ right side and Jack got a foot to it. Flick saved.

Going into half time it was all square at 0-0. A team talk by John focused on our team shape and defensive duties by all the players. This helped the team and they produced a better performance in this half. Yardley tested the Wolves keeper once or twice and also got an unlucky cross come shot by Kyle that powered high over the keeper from the edge of the “D” and hit the far post but unfortunately it rebounded away from goal. Wolverhampton kept pressing for a winning goal and pushed high in large numbers but the home defence stood strong for long periods, unfortunately the pressure eventually told and the winning goal from Wolverhampton came from a squared ball to a player waiting on the back post. The Badgers kept their heads high and tried to get an equalizer and didn’t give up when the goal went in. To their credit a late chance nearly came to fruition but went wide.

This was the toughest test for the Badgers this season so far and to their credit they battled hard against Wolverhampton who could have scored a lot of goals if the Badgers had dropped their heads or gave up.