WLC3 AFC Portchester 4 Brockenhurst 2

12 November 2024

Previously… last time the Badgers visited the Wiccor, in the Hampshire Senior Cup, they were injury-ravaged and out of form… and they turned in a terrific performance, got a deserved 3-3 draw and won on penalties – only to be thrown out of the competition for falling foul of inconsistent rules on player registration.  That was a bitter postscript such an excellent result.

So here we are again, part two: high-flying Portchester, currently top of the Premier Division table, against a Brock side who are gradually seeing their players returning to fitness, with a resultant upturn in performances but some way to go before you could say things are back on track.  Besides, it’s a cup game, anything could happen – starting with the team selections.  On which, nothing untoward – a couple of changes for Brock, a couple of shuffles from the bench for the Royals, but two pretty strong line-ups.

The final score tells you part of the story – the most important part – but it doesn’t say much about how we got there, or what might have been along the way.  I guess what this report is for, right?  Two teams who seemed quite well matched – both trying to play football but in quite different styles, the Portchester team very obviously bigger and stronger physically but Brock quick and inventive.  And the Badgers were organised, disciplined: against a sharp, well-drilled team they worked hard to keep their shape and close the spaces.  Also, both sides using the flanks well and putting in some dangerous crosses; after 10 minutes, a cross from the left headed just wide of the far post by Pennery.  Brock responded: ball out to Moreno, he might have shot but instead turned inside – pass to Adams inside the box – who scored low to the near post.  That’s at least four successive games where Brock have scored first at Portchester!  Back came the hosts, one outstanding interception from Rhys Taylor, how well he reads the game… a shot drilled over the bar by Horncastle after a flowing move… and then the “what might have been”: pinball in the Portchester box before Adams sliced a volley wide, and then another clear opening for Simpson, who shot high.  Brock could, maybe should, have been further ahead… They did duly double their lead on 36 minutes when Bunce went on a mazy run and found Simpson out on the right, turned home by the unfortunate Williamson inside the six-yard box for an own goal.  The hosts might have scored before this point – one piledriver from Ridge deflected off Wellman and could have gone anywhere but went wide – but they did get one back on 41: a powerful header from a corner (I think it was Horncastle), blocked on the line but the rebound bundled home by Duffin.  And just before the break, a chance created for ex-Badger Oli Davis, but he pulled his shot across goal.  HT 1-2

The momentum of the game definitely changed in the second half.  While Brock could have gone in at the interval with a more commanding advantage, they were mostly pressed back in the second period.  I know they’re all young and fit, but it looked to me as though Saturday’s remarkable effort was beginning to tell in their legs: just a half-yard slower, no less willing but struggling to retain possession or create any sustained pressure in the opposition half.  The defence continued to perform heroically, and the equaliser was particularly cruel – a sharp move, Duffin played in Pennery whose shot was brilliantly saved by Valero, but the ball rebounded off Wellman and spun back into the net.  It always seemed likely from that moment that the hosts would go on to win the game, for all Brock’s effort (and despite Portchester’s profligacy) – Pennery hit a tracer-bullet of a shot from the left side of the box which whistled just over the bar, Josh Taylor and Bunce both made excellent blocks to divert goalbound shots, Burns sliced a cross just over his own bar – and just as a nearby fan commented that Brock were living dangerously, after four minutes of incessant pressure, Brock tried to play out, lost the ball, pulled back to Williamson who rifled home through the crowd and give the hosts the lead for the first time.  So, Badgers, what you got left?  15 minutes to find a goal – almost immediately, Brock won a corner from which two headers were cleared off the line, which sounds more dramatic than it was because neither was terribly fierce, but – that was as close as they got.  Into the closing stages, another corner, and the sight of the keeper going up (a sheep’s as good as a lamb in a cup tie) – that only left Sam Pearce to hold back the hordes on the break, but when the long ball was duly played forward he did exceptionally well, holding play up until Valero could get back.  Ultimately to no avail; two minutes into overtime, Ridge drove home from the edge of the box to round things off.  FT 4-2

No complaints, really.  Very good first half performance, should probably have been further ahead, but clearly second best after the break.  There’s no shame in it, Portchester are a decent side and this turned out to be a bridge too far.  Who cares about the League Cup anyway?  First appearance off the bench for Dragos Neagu from the U-18s, congratulations to him… my main take-home is that I hope Jamie’s injury isn’t serious, he was having a terrific game until then, and that everyone else will be rested, fit and firing for Saturday.