After a nail-biting first round that saw Brooklands go through on penalties they faced a strong Egham side in round two. Egham, top of division 4, had already beaten Brooklands 3 - 0 in a pre-season. However, recent Brooklands form suggested that this was going to be a great contest.

The game was lively from the kick-off. The teams were charged up for this game with some great football from both sides. Brooklands were very disciplined in holding their shape and a combination of a strong back four plus great tackling by Arran in the holding midfield role meant that Egham’s attacks were broken down every time. Brooklands had equal share of the play in the first half and a number of chances on goal. Andrew came close with a couple of long range shots and some great work down the wing by Josh and Marc led to some good crosses. The teams played well, were entertaining but cancelled each other out for the first 30 minutes. Half time 0-0.

The second half started in much the same way. Egham are a fit team that always play well in the second half. They kept pushing and won a corner that was well executed and ended with a glancing header into the Brooklands net. 1-0 Egham.

You could see the disappointment in the Brooklands players, but they got back into the game. Creating chances. Harry P had moved from right back to centre forward and was causing the Egham defence a few problems. Callum P continued to be solid at the back make tackle after tackle. Then Egham broke down their left wing, cut inside and finished with a shot that Zac had no chance of saving. 2-0. For a moment the Brooklands team looked defeated but some determined play by Andrew and Dylan and motivation from Arran soon got them back into the game. Andrew, who had been running rings around the Egham midfield all day found a bit space and shot from 25 yards. The ‘keeper got his hands to it but it was too strong to stop. Brooklands were back in the game again. From the kick off you could feel the tables turning. Brooklands attacked with spirit and great defending by the back four and Arran kept the Egham attack at bay.  A short pass to Ben on the edge of the Egham box was well controlled and then he was fouled. Andrew stepped up and put an inch perfect cross in to Harry P who had timed his run to the far post to perfection. One touch and it was 2-2. Game on.

The match picked up a gear now with the ball going from to end to end with boths sides searching for the win. An awesome sliding tackle from Arran and a cheeky turn on the ball by Ben brought cheers from the Brooklands fans. It was real end to end stuff and a delight to watch.

Egham broke down the right wing and beat the Brooklands offside trap. Their midfielder shaped up to cross only for Ben, who had tracked back the entire length of the pitch, to slide in with a crunching tackle and deny him the chance. This led to a corner with a few minutes to go. Another well executed corner that Brooklands failed to deal with. The Egham forward pounced on the chance and slotted home to take the lead.

Brooklands pressed hard to get the equaliser. Everyone surged forward in an attempt to get back in the game. Zac was alert for the quick break and sprung out of his area to clear the long ball over the top. But Egham held fast.

It was a fantastic game for the spectators and a courageous performance from the boys. Egham are a good team and you gave them a good run for their money. Good luck to Egham in the next round.

Having put 10 past Walton in the previous rain soaked meeting hopes were high for a good win in better weather. Walton appeared to be well prepared for a difficult game and started off defending very deep. We were allowed plenty of play and started attacking well with no real finishes. We had 3 corners which came to nothing, Harry shot wide and hit the post and there were 2 goal mouth scrambles which the keeper got to first. Frustrating at first but each threat of a counter attack was quickly dealt with by our back four working well together. Josh broke the deadlock picking his spot nicely from a diagonal ball across the box from Andrew 1-0. Shortly after Ben appeared to be going nowhere stuck in the corner with three defenders closing in but a good turn and clean pass back out gave Andrew a clear shot from just outside the box, keeper had no chance 2-0.

Walton’s turn to show a bit of frustration they gave away a free kick which was poorly defended and went straight in then a few minutes later a penalty as Harry P was carelessly tripped in the box. The free kick and the well taken penalty gave Andrew his hat trick and he was hungry for more. Our next attack saw Harry getting crowded out in the box but his nicely weighted pass across to Josh coming in on the right gave him his second for 5-0. Our keeper had had nothing to do in the first half thanks to stout defending any threats from Walton had been snuffed out. Then came their best chance of the first half. A neat break was forced out wide to the Right hand corner but a neatly lifted ball came in to the six yard box with players coming in Antonio’s neat header on put the ball away and back out of the  danger zone. Half time 5-0 a good score line but with Andrew running the midfield we had a little worry of other players getting lazy and leaving it all to him.

2nd Half and our words were heeded Walton were under a lot of pressure but there defence were excellent mopping up relentless pressure from Michael and Ben in particular. They were back to defending deep. Nothing was getting through and the ball over the top wasn’t working as the keeper was alert and always off his line quickly. Our best chances came on the left with Michael and Ben both going wide and then with a clear break Michael shot beat the keeper but went over the bar too. All credit to Walton 5-0 at half time but they appeared to have stopped the rot no goals for around 15 mins and then they had a break on the counter which was well supported. Their follow up shot lifted over the keeper into the top of the net. Their crowd went wild! Celebrations on the pitch were they going to at least win the second half?

Well they had shown how to hold a more dominant team and got their deserved break so we can learn from that when meet tougher opposition they had held us back for around 20 minutes and then scored on the break. Trouble was right from the restart Walton pushed up as if they all thought they could score and we really made them pay. The next 5 minutes was a goal fest. First Michael’s pace on the left broke through for him to beat the keeper 1 on 1 with a neatly curled ball, next Andrew broke through from mid field and again 1 on 1 with the keeper and again Ben broke the offside trap with Andrew making it 3 goals in less than five minutes.

All credit to Walton they came at us again before the end and a good strike low and to his right looked like it would be their second but for a great save from Callum.

All in all a one sided game but played in a great spirit. We gave Walton few chances now let’s hope they can do us a favour and pick up some points against other teams in our division.

Rob Brewster

After two strong wins, Brooklands entered this game high on confidence. Missing the key talents of Dylan M and Jonny (both called up for Hawks Duty), plus ‘keeper Zach and Josh also unavailable the return of Harry P was welcomed.

Brooklands started strongly and within 3 minutes Michael had hit the Staines post. You could see that the Staines defence were in for a tough ride as the attacks kept coming and it was only six minutes before the first goal went in from Dylan C, this one was placed nicely along the ground and in the corner  following his successes in recent weeks with lobbing the ‘keeper.

Three minutes later Brooklands won a corner and Andrew put in the first of many great corners that bounced around before being controlled nicely by Michael who turned and slotted home to make it two nil.

Staines started to settle and had a few breaks that came to nothing. Callum P, in goal, had his first touch of the game after 12 minutes had passed with a fairly straightforward save.

The Brooklands defence continued to be well organised with a solid central pairing of Joseph and Harry B. Both fullbacks were also having good games, Antonio tackling well and Marc seeming to find his natural position at right back, with some great runs forward he looked like a right-footed Ashley Cole.

After about 15 minutes Andrew increased the lead with a good finish and Brooklands looked like they were on their way to their third comfortable win in three weeks. They continued to attack well with some great passing movements. However, the Staines defence had got themselves organised by this point and their offside trap was very effective catching Brooklands out at least a dozen times. The attacks from Brooklands included a great run down the wing by Arran, some good interchanges between Michael and Mark and pin point passing from Andrew and great control and runs from Ben who seemed to have the Staines fullback for pace every time.

Staines continued to break well especially as the Brooklands midfield started to drift forward leaving a large gap between them and their back four. Staines won a corner which was well-taken and a bit scary for Brooklands, but they cleared their lines eventually. The next corner, however, led to disaster as Andrew was called for pushing in the area. The penalty was placed wide only for the ref to order a retake for encroachment into the area. The re-kick was well-taken and Callum made a great save to his left. Staines got to the rebound first and the score was 3-1. Halftime.

The Staines half-time talk obviously worked as they came out far stronger after the break. A good shot was well saved by Callum. Brooklands continued to attack and some great shots from Michael, Dylan and Michael plus a terrific volley from Harry P all of which either just missed or were well saved by the Staines number one.  Andrew continued to put in some great corners without anyone able to finish – Dylan got close with his head but Staines packed the box with blue shirts.

Then, from a break, Brooklands were caught out. A shot and good save from Callum was met by the Staines winger who struck it well first time under the diving body of Callum. Was this going to be a repeat of last year’s fixture which Brooklands took a three-nil lead only to draw 3-3? The pressure at both ends continued but Brooklands seemed to have a slight edge. Some great passing moves including a neat one-two between Ben and Andrew as well as some fine tackling from Antonio, Arran and Harry B kept the spectators on the edge of their seats. The Staines ‘keeper doing a fine job in keeping the game close. More offsides (I’d lost count by this time) denied Brooklands. At last, a break by Dylan, well-saved by the ‘keeper but snapped up by Ben to put it into the back of the net. 4-2 Brooklands with a few minutes to go. At last the away supporters could relax.

The last few minutes were all Brooklands – a great shot by Ben that drew an amazing save and a shot from Callum S that was scrambled away. A good win against a team that played hard until the end. Well done boys, a good all round performance and a fun game to watch.

Steve Carpenter