Badgers Vs Kings Heath Pickwick

A young team once again took to the pitch against more experienced opposition. But, this is a badgers side with real character and a great deal of resilience. It was a very cold day, with a chilled wind, but both sides started quickly and the first 20 minutes were relentless as both sides arm wrestled with equal possession and some good midfield play through Tom, Sahib and Jack. 25 minutes in and with impressive passing hockey from the Kings Heath midfield, the badgers excellent defence was breached and a diagonal pass across goal saw a tap in at the back post, 0-1. The badgers pressed hard for the last 10 minutes before half time, but Kings Heath defended and countered well. 0-1 at half time. The badgers came out slowly after half time, but managed to get going, with Sahib, Tom and Jack creating some fantastic chances for Paul, Callum and Ben, but the badgers were unable to get in a final shot. The badgers were tiring after working their socks off for most of the half, but with the Kings Heath keeper retiring with the cold, there remained a glimmer of hope yet in the game. Kings Heath responded tirelessly, knowing they had to attack and play in our half to hold onto a result. They did this very well, while Callum and Ben waited patiently in the attacking D for a dream ball to arrive. This seemed unlikely with each passing minute with limited possession and very tired legs. James and Rajvir tackled everything in sight attack after attack. Finally, the badgers midfield broke free and a pin-point ball through from his Dad allowed Ben to put the back post training into action, slamming the ball into the back of the goal. 1-1. After that, the badgers could have pushed again, but with limited time and empty tanks the game ended 1-1, a fair result.

An excellent performance from a team who are now playing some really good hockey, with improving confidence week by week. Jack was named man of the match by his team, he controlled the left hand side of the pitch, giving some great balls to Paul and covering back in defence when needed. Well done!