Blustery defeat in the mud

BedHead 6 Balham 1

Balham's bad luck continued with several players missing due to COVID and injury. For the second match in three, the boys had to play the bulk of the game with 10 players after an unfortunate reoccurrence of Charlie's shoulder injury. Whilst Balham battled hard against the elements, it was always going to be a tough ask against a team who have only lost one match this season.

The Whites had performed well in the first twenty minutes, albeit on the back foot, and the match was still goalless before Charlie's injury. It required some heroics in goal from Jacob to manage this, with one particularly outstanding top corner save which he subsequently clawed out of the way of the attacker superbly. Both Luca and Charlie also blocked shots on the line, and the boys were getting stuck in with good tackles from Wilbur, George and James.

At the other end, Balham did have a couple of spells of pressure without really testing the keeper. Dylan showed his electric pace early on, outstripping the defender for pace when he started at least 5 yards behind him. Wilbur threaded a ball through to Ollie who was marginally offside.

BedHead looked the more likely side though, with Jacob making a one-on-one save with his legs and another top corner stop from an effort swirling in the wind.

When the boys went down to ten men though, the match swung almost instantly. From a superb corner, one of several well-whipped in crosses, the onrushing attacker planted the ball in for the home side to take the lead. Balham were struggling to adapt to the new formation, despite James showing some lovely footwork down the left and the midfield pair of George and Wilbur playing some neat triangles.

The home side doubled the lead when a midfielder was allowed to run 30 yards without a strong tackle being put in, and the half-time whistle blew with the match almost certainly settled.

In the second half, Balham were playing against the wind which made the task even tougher. They ran and harried throughout the half, but were made to pay for a couple of defensive errors which were well finished off. BedHead continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over, and with ten minutes to go led by 6-0. A late consolation from Wilbur, who rounded the keeper well after a good ball from Ollie, was some reward for their efforts.