Badgers Blown Away At The Aztecs

WCFC U14s The Badgers lost their second league game of the season away at Bradford Town Aztecs on Sunday. it was the proverbial game of two halves in a game ruined by the high wind blowing down the sloping heavy pitch. In the first half against the wind, the Badgers struggled to get out of their own half of the pitch. The Aztecs adjusted to the conditions better and pushed the Badgers back repeated. Only a string of good saves by Badgers' keeper and Man of the Match William G, kept the Aztecs out, winning a series of one on ones with confidence. The Badger's defence of Oli, Bailey and Lewis, replacing the injured Theo at right back, were under constant pressure making last ditch tackles and desperate blocks. The midfield of Eddie, Archie, Toby and Jenson were pushed back and given no time on the ball and little was seen of the front 3 of Jack, Nathan and Teddy. Yet for all their pressure, the Badgers had a hand in both of the Aztecs goals along with an element of the weather. The first came after 8 minutes when a defensive header from Lewis caught in the wind and swirled back past the desperate grasp of William G into the top corner. On 14 minutes, in a rare attack, a rasping shot from Jack flew just over the Bradford bar. The second goal came after 22 minutes when a long wind assisted punt downfield straight through the centre alluded Badgers' skipper Oli and the Aztecs centre forward slotted the ball into the corner of the net. With a few rays of sunshine finally breaking through the greyness, the Badgers rallied towards the end of the half. Teddy had a shot saved by the keeper and Bailey fired a freekick from the edge of the box just wide, to leave the Badger's 2-0 down at the end of the most challenging half of football they have faced for a long time.

Driven on by some strong words of encouragement from the bench, the second half was completely the opposite. Upping their game significantly, now it was the turn of the Badgers turn to camp in the Aztecs half. Optimistic of pulling back the deficit, the Badgers finally started to produce their best attacking football. Jack flashed a shot inches wide of the far post. William D, now playing upfront, was fighting hard with the Aztec defence, Sonny now in left midfield came forward at every opportunity and Teddy was now more prominent down the left. Despite all the pressure, unusually the Badgers were struggling to create clear cut chances, due to some dogged, desperate Bradford defending and a lack of quality in the final ball from the Badgers. Jack glanced a header just wide at the far post from a dangerous Teddy corner and then Teddy himself, put through by a tremendous long through ball from Eddie, drove the ball just past the post. Finally, with 10 minutes left, the pressure told and in their best move of the game, Archie, a driving influence in midfield all game broke forward in a surging run to slip Jack in who fired past the on-coming Aztecs keeper to make it 2-1. The equaliser seemed inevitable but just wouldn't come and so the Badger's slipped to their second 2-1 defeat of the season in a game memorable for all the wrong reasons. All credit must be given to a much improved determined and strong Bradford team who on balance deserved to win, coping much better than the Badgers to the weather and doing just enough in the first half to hold on to the win and then defending well. The Badgers characteristically gave their all in a much improved second half but couldn't quite pull it back on day when the wind was the winner.