Battling Against the Badgers

When it comes to sporting contests every athlete knows that they should treat each game as big as the other.  However, everyone looks at the schedule to see when the so-called bigger match ups are, and in-state rivalries are one of the biggest fixtures on the schedule.

Madison Wisconsin has always been a big fixture and on Wednesday night this was no different. We hadn’t beaten them since 2005 so to say this was a big game was a little bit of an understatement. With the financial wealth that Madison has it is fair to say that travelling to McClimon soccer complex is probably one of my favorite trips to make. The field is one that truly is a pleasure to play on, especially as there isn’t that many grass pitches in the Northern states of America. The surrounding and the wonderful campus also add to the occasion of playing in the state capitol.

The game itself was a bit of a dogged affair. The badgers at times were playing some attractive soccer, especially around the edge of our penalty area. However this is not a game of who has more territory. The key statistic is who has the most goals. Jamie Bladen’s second goal in as many games gave us the victory that I would say our gritty performance deserved. The senior from Doncaster, England scored the goal on what could be seen as against the run of play.  In the first half admittedly Wisconsin where the better team, they had a lot of possession but couldn’t turn it into anything. We managed to get to half time with the score at 0-0 and at the break Coach Kelderman said that we were doing fine be patient and we will win. As long as we stay solid at the back the goals will come.

The second half we showed the grit and determination that you need sometime in every aspect of life. There are times when you have to roll your sleeves up and just get on with the job in hand and this game was the case. Perhaps at times we were lucky to keep a clean sheet but I believe that luck evens itself out over the season and perhaps we were getting some good fortune from previous games where it hadn’t quite gone our way. All the boys stepped up to the plate and showed their metal, so to come away with a 1-0 victory was the least we deserved for our defensive efforts.

Our streak is now extended to being unbeaten in four games. This is now a crucial part in the season, we could either build on this and accelerate to try and become a potential force in the Horizon League, or we take our foot of the gas and see the potentials of a great season wither and die. It’s in our hands we just have to ask ourselves how much do we want it