Broadsone Braves Vs Ringwood Town (Away)

Braves 7 - Ringwood 3

Within the first minute of the match the braves had put one in the back of Ringwoods net! One of the Ringwood parents was over heard saying "Don't worry, those that score first often lose"....how wrong they were.

Despite the end result our defence was tested by the attacking Ringwood players who monopolised on the free kicks awarded as we'd been caught off-side a handful of times. We soon realised that a hefty Ringwood free kick usually meant Alex Sharp and Matt Lonnen had to recover some ground, so a cleverly placed Tristan Jalie blocked that line of attack nicely. The defence worked hard to hold 'em back and a particular mention should be made of Tristan and his efforts..even Ringwoods Manager commented upon what a skilled defender he was.

Ben Stocker performed well in goal putting in a number of excellent saves, getting down and dirty laying hands on the ball when able and making some good 'one touch' clearances the ball having been passed back to him on a number of occasions by Matt and Alex in defence, a superb effort by all three!

All in all the first half was fairly evenly matched, with Ringwood putting in a good performance...

The boys motivation during this match really shone through in the second half...

Despite the fact that they were tired (only 11 players again meant no substitutes) and extremely hot in the soaring temperatures at Midday (what was that about mad dogs and Englishmen...?), they delivered and then some! The defence started to push out in good time when Ben cleared the ball out, on the odd occasions Ringwood one back possession in the second half Sam Klein worked well as right back to clear the ball from under them.

Josh Powley took advantage of some great forward balls from our midfielders; Luke Woodhouse and Jack Williams. Demonstrating skill and determination Josh took it around the Ringwood defence a number of times to score a well deserved hatric...excellent!

Luke Woodhouse and Chris Birrell scored two goals a piece...Luke continues to gain more and more confidence when under pressure demonstrating some excellent finishing. Chris used his unbelievable staminar and pace to great effect in order to drive up his goal score for this season...great work !

Ollie C-J and Ben Blades played on the wings and showed some real grit in the heat, battling their way down the outer field and creating numerous opportunities for our attackers...outstanding!

The team effort demonstrated by the boys today was first class. I am in no doubt that with the combined skill of Joe Jordan, Mark Donachy and Aston Wright who were unavoidably absent from todays match, the Braves can go onto win the next to matches they play against Weymouth Wyke Victoria and Lytchett Red Triangle.

Onward the Braves...!!!

Man of the Match: Ben Stocker for his 'bravery when under fire'...some real courage demonstrated today by Ben whilst playing in goal.