Brantham Badgers made it though to the next round of the cup thanks to a 3-1 win again st a much changed Riverside team. The Badgers had their of injury problems prior to the game and this meant a recall in goal for the dependable Paul Hammond and some players switching playing positions.
Riverside had the first real chance when a forward was put through and hit a hard shot at goal but Paul Hammond pulled off a very good save. Brantham vice chairman Alan Clarke stood by Paul's goal offering advice and tips!! Badgers started to settle down with both Alan Backhouse and Graham Stiff making some important telling tackles. The Badgers were finding it hard to break down a resolute Riverside defence although they did have earl;y chances. Ross Cracknell latched onto a good through ball from Alan Backhouse and his first time effort was not that far wide. Riverside were playing a very effective offside trap with both Craig Clarke and Sean Kearney getting caught out several times. Badgers had a chance when Craig Clarke did the hard work and beat his marker and laid the ball back into the path of the oncoming Darryn Bowdler who first time shot was hit wide. Riverside had a chance when a mix-up in the Badgers defence gave Darren Pleasance the chance to score but his shot was just wide, no doubt Paul Hammond will say that was because he narrowed the angle!. Badgers broke the deadlock when a great diagonal pass from Alan Backhouse picked out Craig Clarke wide on the left. Craig made ground and despite a defender tapping at his heels he went into the area and hit home from an awkward angle. Just prior to the break both Ross Cracknell and Sean Kearney had half-chances but the Riverside keeper managed to stop both efforts, one almost on the line. Half time - Brantham Badgers 1 Riverside 0
The second half started with a Craig Clarke making an impressive run down the flank before being fouled. ( I would make the point that dad Alan made the point that he taught him everything good in football that he knows!!) From a perfect free kick by Craig it was Graham Stiff who timed his jump to perfection but his header was just wide of the post.. Riverside equalised when a forward ran through and thumped the ball home, leaving Paul Hammond with no chance at all and left in a heap on the ground. Badgers hit back when Craig Clarke stepped up to take a corner and he placed it into the roof of the net, a defender seemed to get in hos keeper's way but the goal belongs to Craig. Badgers were looking the much more confident side and Ross Cracknell let fly with a fierce shot that beat the keeper only to hit the bar. Badgers made it 3-1 after a shot had been cleared off the line and with Badgers making the point they felt it had gone over the line the ball came back out and from a good 30 yards out Greg Ranson hit it home low and hard into the far corner. This seemed knock some of the stuffing out of Riverside and Ross Cracknell could have made it 4-1 but after doing all the hard work he put the ball over the bar when well placed. At the other end Paul Hammond made a great save when it looked certainb that Riverside would score, but Paul was equal to the shot and made an important stop, although both Paul and as Riverside forward were both hurt in the process. Injured Badgers keeper Ashley Bowdler then came on up front for a while and despite his problems he got involved and made one great foray,leaving his marker almost stranding still, but just could not make it count. A good result for the Badgers but they were made to work hard for the win by a determined Riverside team.
News on the walking wounded- Guy Clubb was still hobbling with an injury, while Justin "V-Man" Vince had a foot injury ( I have been told that was down to Justin helping Guy with his move and somehow Guy managed to land a washing machine on Justin's foot!!). Ash Bowlder who was hampered by an injury last week was one of the substitutes and came on towards the latter partt of the game an d despite being injured still managed to get through a lot of work and some very impressive sprinting after the ball. Paul Hammond was none the worse for his injury and spent a lot of the game being informed by his mentor Alan Clarke " Keep on your toes,keep alert " Paul to his credit took it all in a good fashion and to be honest it paid off as he was, deservedly so I might add, named as MAN OF THE MATCH.
