Badgers battle back to keep cup dreams alive

FA Vase First Round: Bishop’s Cleeve 2-3 Brockenhurst FC

BROCKENHURST will host Romsey Town or Plymouth Parkway in the second round of the FA Vase after a 3-2 comeback victory over Bishop’s Cleeve.

Ronan Moore, Mitchell Speechley-Price and Freddie Bullard all scored as the Badgers move on after a gripping contest.

In the first half, Brockenhurst struggled to stop the Gloucestershire-based side and found themselves behind when Mikey Davis slammed home a Steve Davies cross from close range. The hosts had several chances to double their lead, but Jon Webb produced several quality saves to keeper the Badgers close going into half-time.

After the break, Brockenhurst conceded a penalty. Jack Watts stepped up and coolly placed it into the bottom right corner to give Bishop’s Cleeve a two-goal lead. However, the Badgers pressed forward with their cup dreams on the line.

Defender Moore found the back of the net on 61 minutes to give Brockenhurst a glimmer of hope. Seven minutes later, Speechley-Price, who recently returned from Australia, came off the bench to claim an equaliser for the Badgers.

Speechley-Price then hit the bar moments later as Brockenhurst looked to complete the comeback. With two minutes left to play, youngster Bullard found the winner with a near-post header from a Will Tickle cross.

Webb made two point-blank saves in injury time to preserve the lead and send Brockenhurst through to the next round of the cup.

Brockenhurst manager Pat McManus told the A&T: “It was another remarkable comeback, really, because in truth we didn’t play well for the first 45 minutes and found ourselves 2-0 down after an hour.”