Badgers Vs Solihull Blossomfield

Yardley Badgers 1 V 1 Solihull Blossomfield

Yardley started this game with a gusto. Inside the first ten minutes they had  the ball into the back of the net three times. Unfortunately, due to some technical infringements the goals were disallowed. The early pressure was in the most part due to the team working together. Everyone putting together intelligent passes and good driving runs on and off the ball. The team’s first thought was attack and go for goal. This left a few holes in the defence but our two adult defenders Alan and Islam protected our young keeper Isobel for the most part. She was called upon to make saves in the game when the defence was overwhelmed by counter attacks. But she constantly made great saves and good kicks out wide.

The game became more even as the game wore on. The fast runs and high pressure eventually led to some tired legs for the home team. But good use of substitutions with a rolling sub helped keep Yardley fresh. The team shape in the second half became disjointed as players tried more solo stuff. As Yardley lost their shape Solihull Blossomfield took the lead on 45 minutes. This was a sign to Yardley to get their shape back quickly, and to the team’s credit they regained their discipline towards the end of the game.

The runs by Islam deep into the opponents’ half was unsettling for the Captain after last week’s altercation with the Hampton adult doing the very same thing. Islam was spoken to about the week before and then helped the team with a more Badgers ethos. But with the game coming to a close Zak again came to Yardley’s rescue, scoring a powerful high hit ball into the roof of the net from the top of the “D”.

Taking everything into consideration I think a draw was a fair result on the full 70 minutes. But if Yardley had kept their discipline/shape for the full game it could so easily had been another victory for our ever-growing Badgers.