Broadway Brook F.C 6 - 6 Timperley Bigshorts

A perfect game for the neutral supporter, but hell for the players of either team. Broadway Brook welcomed Timperley Bigshorts to Carrington, which turned out to be a lesson in how not to defend.

With players missing for various reason, Broadway were short of numbers at the start of play only being able to field 10 official players, so Bigshorts very kindly gave us 1 of their players until others arrived.

The match started very brightly with Broadway pressing from the outset, Andy Macintosh was again the focal point of many Broadway attacks, releasing Rowbotham down the left only for his shot to just dip over the bar from the corner of the box.

1st attack 1st goal for Timperley Bigshorts, as a scramble on the edge of the area falls to Steven Dimitch who attempts to control the ball in a tight area loses out to the Bigshorts striker who puts them 1-0 up.

Luckily for Broadway our heads didn’t go down, after slicing a shot wide moments before, Rowbotham again is released by Andy Macintosh down the left. He cuts inside the Bigshorts defence wrong footing the centre back before releasing a rocket with his right foot into the roof of the net.

1-1 and well deserved.

After that the half belonged to Broadway, as Kyle Denton and Richard Whitfield combine well on the left before Denton smashes a shot across the keeper only for him to parry it, and from the tightest of angles Rowbotham follows up to finish. 2-1

Soon after Elliott Speight makes a dart from midfield, after his hattrick in midweek he fancied his chances again. He lets rip with a great strike only for the keeper to tip it onto the bar.

Another Broadway attack brings a corner. Elliott Speight whips it in, a bit of a scramble but the ball finds its way back to Speight, who finds Richard Whitfield at the back post who guides the perfect header over the keeper, into the top corner. No need to rise like a salmon, as the ball was that good.

Excellent finish 3-1

Unfortunately against the run of play Bigshorts pull another goal back to make it 3-2, more poor defending, Inexcusable.

Half Time 3-2

Second half begins, and from the offset more bad defending from Broadway, with nobody making a challenge and severe lapse in concentration Bigshorts manage to make it 3-3.

Fortunately for Broadway the strikers were on form, Andy Macintosh putting over a lovely cross and Whitfield is being manhandled in the box, the ref doesn’t see it as the ball goes over everyone and is picked up by Rowbotham, who fires in a cross which finds Whifield with a pin point header into the far corner. 4-3

Broadway again in the ascendency with Steven Dimitch picking the ball up deep in his half, before playing the ball down the right hand channel for Rowbotham to beat the offside trap. On his weaker side he cuts inside 2 defenders on the edge of the box before deceiving the keeper by placing the ball back across in to the far corner, another excellent finish and another Rowbotham hattrick. 5-3

Like I said, the neutrals would love this game...as comical defending leads to Bigshorts getting back into the game. Another sloppy goal. 5-4

Broadway are playing like 2 different teams, going forward excellent, going back woeful.

Similar to Broadway’s fifth, Elliott Speight releases Richard Whitfield down the right and from the corner of the box hits an early rasping volley totally catching the keeper off guard who is beaten at his near post. Great strike, and again, another hattrick for Whitfield. 6-4.

With the game seemingly wrapped up, it was defiantly Broadways game to throw away, and not letting the neutrals down...That is what we did.

As Broadway show the true nature of Sunday league defending, 2 more goals go in, and 1 disallowed quite wrongly. Final score 6-6.

Sorry for the harshness boys, we attack as a team and we defend as a team. Today we didn’t. Lesson learned we move on, next week we play a lot better, as a team.

Ginder may join Pete and Campo at the bus stop next to Forest Gump if he does what he did today again.