AFC Stoneham 4 Brockenhurst 2

17 September 2024

A slightly curious backdrop to this game.  I’ve said before that it’s not a real league table yet, and Stoneham are one of the reasons why: coming into this evening, they’ve played a total of 3 league games (with a 100% record), while Brock have played 9.  All of which meant that the Badgers actually started the game above their hosts in the table… also has to be said that Brock don’t have a great record at the imaginatively named Stoneham Lane Football Complex.  In fact, the only thing I can remember coming back with is frostbite.  So, expectations set duly low, here we go. 

Hard game to summarise.  My sense is that Stoneham weren’t at their best, but they were good enough on the night, and Brock didn’t really do enough to hurt them, despite scoring two goals.  Neither side had periods of real dominance, unless you count controlled possession in your own final third: it came down to moments, and the Purps had more moments and made more of them count. 

It's been a feature of recent games that the Badgers have started slowly, and this was no exception.  From the off, Stoneham showed energy and purpose, using the full width of the pitch, and as early as the 4th minute they had the lead: Johnston clear down the left, his cross evading despairing defenders and dispatched by Orvis.  Shortly after Sampson went clear on the other wing, ultimately well defended by Pearce-Eavis, and then Green down the left but Sampson couldn’t control at the far post.  But then the game settled down: Brock got a foothold, although they were struggling to hold possession for any length of time in the opposition half.   Simpson had a half-chance on 20 minutes when the ball broke to him inside the box, keeper Lee reacted well to close the angle and the cross-shot went wide.  Heart in mouth: a shot from Channell from 25 yards, heading for the top corner but caught by Lee, immediately cleared downfield for Sampson to chase, stopped by Wellman at the expense of a booking.  And then, gloriously, Brock were level, a sharp moving involving Burgess and Simpson, the defenders couldn’t deal with the cross and Moreno scored.  And to be honest, they were largely holding the Purps at arm’s length – excellent off the ball, working really hard, and even using a draft excluder at a free kick (not sure we’ve seen that in the Wessex before!).  All undone on 41 minutes – a soft free kick given against Gray, played to the back post, Butler didn’t take cleanly and Batt bundled it home from a yard.  After defending so well for so long, it was a disappointingly simple goal to concede.  HT 2-1

Pattern set, pattern continued.  Two minutes after the interval, a deep cross evaded Sampson.  But on 52, Brock lost the ball in midfield, and one quick pass left far too many men beyond the ball, Johnston bearing down on goal, sat his defender down and rifled his shot into the far corner.  Really good finish, and the way back for Brock began to look quite daunting.  And: well, there didn’t seem to be much urgency about it, despite the two-goal deficit.  Against a team which are so well organised, you need to exploit the turnover, the moments when they’re not in shape; and that didn’t really happen.  Indeed at one point in the second half, after Butler had caught the ball, I was heard to comment “Look at them all racing to get back into position, while we’re just fannying about” – Brock still had the ball in their own box long after Stoneham were set.  And yes, that’s harsh, and I’ll comment on that again below.  Johnston looped a shot over the bar, but the Purps were comfortable.  Until, 73 minutes, a much more positive move, a cross into the box which Moreno was never going to win but the defensive header was poor and only came out to Pearce-Eavis on the left and he volleyed it back into the top corner for another blinding goal (he’s going to need his own goal of the season competition at this rate).  Lee got a hand to it, but not enough: game back on!  But in truth, Brock didn’t manage to create another serious chance; attacks foundered on the purple wall, and in between times Pope looped a shot well wide.  The decisive fourth goal didn’t come… one Stoneham throw, worked far too easily into a good attacking position, excellent block Moreno and then excellent save Butler for the follow-up.  The Badgers did manage to create some moments of panic in the Stoneham box – a couple of despairing swings at the ball, hoofing it anywhere, which was unlike this usually cultured defence.  But then 5 minutes into overtime the hosts broke free, Truckel taking the defenders out of the game by squaring for Pope by close it out.  FT 4-2

You know, I’m less disappointed than I might be.  Admittedly that probably has something to do with expectations (see above), but Brock did good things.  They just didn’t do enough of them consistently enough to get anything from a team I expect to be serious title challengers.  They mostly held Stoneham at bay, superb off the ball, but conceded two quite soft goals (I’m not counting the last one on the break).  Didn’t quite make enough of good attacking positions against a solid defence.  And yet:  

Simple solutions to complex problems!  I – along with the Brock massive assembled in the stands – would have loved to see Brock be a bit braver, less sideways passing in their own half (especially at 3-1 down).  I get it – Stoneham are disciplined, they have a strong defence who are much taller than our strikers, and the best chance of unpicking it is by finding the clever pass at the right moment.  And of course, if we’d just belted it forward hopefully, we’d have lost the ball and that same Brock massive would no doubt have groaned just as much.  Even so, when an attacking free kick gets played 30 yards sideways and ten yards back…  It’s really easy from the sidelines.  But Elliott’s goal showed what can happen when the ball goes into the box – even if you don’t win the first header – and maybe a bit more urgency would have resulted in a different outcome.  Or maybe not.  I’m not really criticising.  Just – let’s do a few more of the good things at Bridport, guys!