Brockenhurst 3 Blackfield & Langley 1

29 March 2025

This week, for something completely different, I didn’t only go to the League Cup semi-final, but I also took in a game in the Dorset Premier League.  Whatever I think of our Fixtures Secretary, this league is mad: the leaders finished their games for the season while their closest pursuers, Bournemouth Sports, still had four games to play, needing eight points to secure the title.  They won the first, and they also won this second one, away to Ham Rec Reserves, a feisty little affair which finished 3-2 and included one player scoring with a lob from about 35 yards.  So Bournemouth Sports need two points from two games to win the title, good luck to them.  They haven’t applied for promotion, so we won’t be seeing them soon either way.

On to more pressing matters, and yet another game for the Badgers against the Watersiders.  Four times in a single season… Brock unbeaten in the first three, although the very first back in August remains the most goalless game I have seen all season.  It’s possibly the only one actually, but it has stuck in the memory as being particularly unmemorable, as it were.  This one mattered more, to both teams: four games to go, time running out, Brock needing a single point to guarantee safety and the Watersiders starting the game in one of the two relegation spots…

In the end, Brock secured their Premier Division status without too many alarms, a positive first-half performance giving them a comfortable cushion which they never looked likely to relinquish.  As early as the 7th minute, a neatly worked throw down the left, Drake pulling the ball back and Atiako-Hall with a calm finish from 12 yards.  Six minutes later, Atiako-Hall won the ball back brilliantly high up the pitch, fizzed the ball out to Bunce on the right and his perfect cross was too high for keeper Harwood but perfect for Atiako-Hall to head in from close range; and with that, breathing space for the Badgers.  Gray headed over from a free kick on 21… not one-way traffic, but the visitors hadn’t created a meaningful opening and when they did make half a chance, Burton blazed high and wide.   And then on the half-hour, one of those sublime moments – a bouncing ball came to Torniainen 25 yards out and he volleyed it sweetly into the far corner, keeper nowhere, to make it 3-0.  Things might legitimately have got worse for Blackfield but ref Chinnock only issued a yellow card for an ugly two-footed challenge on Taylor… up front Derick threw himself to the floor a couple of times with a loud yelp, but nobody was fooled… three minutes before the break, a Brock corner resulted in pinball, and Nolan’s shot was well saved at close range.  HT 3-0

Should be no way back from 0-3 at half-time, should there?  Even with Atiako-Hall subbed for Walker, that sort of lead should be enough.  And it was, although the Watersiders gave a better account of themselves after the break.  Valero obviously decided he need to get into the game – 5 minutes in and he came out and tackled Derick 30 yards from goal… 56 minutes, a good cross from the right and sub Tim Nguyen cushioned his header just wide of the near post.  It was a golden chance, and from his reaction he knew it.  A few minutes later, a super cross from the left, Nguyen waiting, Valero stretched and just tipped the ball away from him for a corner.  Brock meanwhile were largely playing on the break but not quite finding the final ball, possibly disrupted by further substitutions… and then finally some life into the game, 72 minutes, a corner for the Watersiders, more pinball in the box and this time the ball apparently struck a Badger arm – penalty.  Nobody seemed to argue, I just couldn’t see anything in the melee.  Derick converted calmly, although there was then some nonsense in the back of the goal as two of the visitors tried to grab the ball from Valero; a shortly after, a foul from Derick on Valero at a free kick – all rather needless.  But for all their pressing, could Blackfield force a grandstand finish?  Answer: no, Osman shot over the bar from a good position inside the box with five to go and that was pretty much that.  FT 3-1

Phew.  Safe.  I know, not really in doubt, but good to know that it’s over the line.  Besides, I should be far more positive after a relatively comfortable win.  Quite hard to choose a man of the match today, at half-time Ben was on course for the mango but it’s hard to select someone who’s only played half the game, so we went with Corey who was very sold all afternoon and made a number of good interceptions.  Rian was in the argument too, as usual… and of course Harley wasn’t in the argument, having only come on in the 90th minute, but he had another fine cameo.  So, U-18s have a semifinal on Tuesday, and then the first team have their own semi-final on Thursday against Millbrook at the Hythe Garage Stadium.  Come on you Badgers!  And elsewhere, Bournemouth Sports won at Hamworthy Utd Reserves to seal the DPL title, so that summed up a pretty good day for me.