Brooke Football Club

So as we haven’t had an update in a few weeks I thought it’s about time I did one. After losing the first game of the season we have gone from strength to strength and have managed to stay unbeaten in 4 matches now, winning 2 and drawing 2 along the way. Today seemed special though because after hearing all week how good aslacton were I feared the worst a little bit only to be proved very wrong. It was a very close contested match throughout, Lewis knight gave us the lead via some lovely football through the middle of the park ending up with Lewis knight skipping past a defender or 2 before calmly slotting the ball home into the bottom corner to put us 1-0 up. We were pegged back to 1-1 not long after this but again we regained the lead through a lovely calm little d**k chip over the keeper as he rushed out from who else but Lewis knight, carrying on from where he left off last year to put us 2-1 up, only for aslacton to equalise before the break. A good half considering 2 of our centre backs got injured and had to come off only for Danny crabb and Lewis Taylor to slot in as make shift centre backs. After the break it was us who then found ourselves trailing as we went 3-2 down and for the first 15 mins of the 2nd half we was being pulled all over the place. But we regained our shape and composure and from this moment on it was a question of character and belief, and the lads couldn’t have answered that question any better. We had several good chances without going into detail in which we missed one after another and with about 10 to go I thought this maybe wasn’t going to be our day. That was until Danny crabb put a lovely ball into the box as he had been all game for Lewis Clarry to meet the ball at the back post and drive a perfect header into the far left bottom corner to put us level at 3-3. It looked like the game was coming to an end and the points would be shared until Simon Curtis rose like salmon at the back post beating a bunch of players to the ball and powering the ball into the top left corner, just over the defenders head and to powerful for the keepers hand who did manage to get to it but couldn’t keep it out. So 2 mins left and we take the lead again 4-3 in a game that’s been very even throughout. We did have a couple more good chances to really put the game to bed but in the end what we had already was enough. So yet again we prove the doubters wrong with arguably our best result since I took over 4/5 years ago. The squad we have now is capable of beating anyone in this division and after this result along with the previous 3 results the belief is really strong, especially after wrongly being put up 2 divisions and everyone fearing the worst. MOTM today could have gone to a few players as always when a team wins like we did today but the pick of the bunch was Owen Blazey who ran tirelessly in the centre of the park and won nearly every tackle he went in for whilst his passing was superb whether passing long or short. A young lad that really is growing into a great player for the club who is improving game by game. Simon Curtis did run him close for this award today though as he also was superb from start to finish whilst obviously bagging us the winner. All in all a great performance by everyone involved and we now go to mischief to see what we can do there. Onwards and upwards!

A new look Brooke 1st team finally kicked the season off with quite a few players unavailable again this week, but managed to start the season off with 11 players on the pitch, despite some not having played in a while. Luckily for us Horsford had to battle with just 10 and credit to them for making a game of it. Brooke started okay for such changes and a makeshift back four, but let Horsford through a few times with Matty Collinge in goal keeping us in it a few times early on. We did create a few chances too, however it was Horsford who took the lead after getting in behind. We battled on and came into the game more and were rewarded just before halftime through Danny Crabb's header. In the second half Brooke knew if they could hold Horsford, the extra man and subs would make a difference later on which proved to be the case with super sub Franny Page, who at 48 years old is surely a shout for the leagues oldest scorer, heading in a winner with 10 or15 minutes left. Brooke managed to hold on despite some late pressure from Horsford who made us work til the end to get the win. It was a reward for all the people who have fought so hard to keep the side going this year despite massive player troubles, but with Hewett Old Boys next week, we know we will have to be MUCH better to get the result.
The reserves headed into the 2nd week of the season after suffering a defeat last time out against the woolpack, this time we was up a against mad moose. The game couldn’t have started much worse really because with in about 5 minutes we went 1 down after a mix up between our keeper and defender which left room for the mad moose striker to steal the ball and slip it into an open net. We didn’t lose our composure though and after conceding possession for the first 20 minutes we started playing football ourselves and it wasn’t long after this Lewis knight made it 1-1. The mad moose defender miss timed his header leaving Lewis knight 1 on 1 for him to just chip the ball over the keeper. We was playing some nice football at this point and controlling the game until we gave away yet another sloppy goal to put us 2-1 down. Simon Curtis then missed a sitter, as the corner came over he found himself free inside the area running onto the ball at a perfect height only for him to put the ball over the bar. Lewis knight also missed a very good chance before he found himself in a very similar position to the first goal as the defender miss timed his jump and he made no mistake and smashed the ball home to make the game 2-2 and it stayed this way until half time. The 2nd half was much tighter in the way that no one wanted to lose and both teams stayed very disciplined and in shape. Again though it was us who found ourselves behind and as we went 3-2 down through a goal which was simply just a good goal and no one in particular’s fault. But yet again we had the fight in us to level the game when Tommy knight rounded the keeper to slot the ball home into an open net. From this moment on it was all us and we nearly scored through a centre half in Martin chang as he raced through 1 on 1 and from a very tight angle he lobbed the keeper only for the ball to land on top of the bar and go out of play, a carbon copy of a move we done last week with exactly the same outcome. With the game drawing to a close we could and really should have won the game through a lovely corner by Tommy knight finding his brother free on the back post all there was to do is hit the target. But Lewis knight headed the ball getting under it a little to much and flew straight over the bar. So all in all another solid performance with only 12 players available to us and a left back in goal I’d say the season has started much better than we had hoped. After stupidly being put up 2 divisions all the good hard work from last year we did and the confidence we built was knocked back down again but these last 2 performances have certainly done a lot to regain a lot of that back. So a 3-3 draw is at least a point on the board early on. MOTM was very close again today between a few players but I think it has to go to Lewis Rouse for a very solid defensive display. Mentions have to go to Martin Chang though who in the last 20 minutes turned himself into a striker and played like the bionic man suddenly🤣. Simon Curtis also looked somewhere back to his best dominating the middle of the park. But a great performance by all involved today it really was... onwards and upwards

Unfortunately as feared today the first team couldnt get a side together for various reasons, but will hopefully be ready to go next week. The reserves however did manage to scrape a side and in all honesty did better than anyone thought they would and can be very proud. Here is the write up:
As the Sunday league season started again today and as we have been thrown into div 1 from ending 3rd in div 3 I think we all expected the worse, especially as we was playing a team in woolpack that have semi pro players and 1 of them even plays for kings Lynn. So the game got underway and within 1 minute we could have been 1 down as the Woolpack missed a decent chance. From then on though we seemed to settle into it very well which seemed to be frustrating the opposition. This is when Lewis Knight went clean through only to put the ball over the bar. The Woolpack definitely had the lions share of the possession without really threatening us to much and again Lewis knight found himself with half a chance on a very tight angle in which he lobbed the keeper only for the ball to drop onto the top of the bar and go out of play. So far we’ve held our own but it was a little lapse in concentration which allowed the the woolpack player to put us 1 behind. And not long after this we found ourselves 2-0 down but again it could have been prevented. There was time for us to have another chance though when Lewis knight went clean through and just managed to put the ball wide of the post. All in all a good half really seeings we had Alex taylor a usual outfield player helping out in goal against one of the best teams to play in the Sunday league. The 2nd half started much the same as the first in the way we was conceding a lot of possession without being threatened to much, this was until I saw one of the best worked goals I’ve seen in Sunday league which involved about 6-8 passes cutting us in two before slotting the ball home to make it 3-0. We never gave up though and was still putting a good fight up all over the pitch and staying very disciplined in the shape etc making it very hard for the woolpack to break us down. As the half went on though our lack of fitness started to show and the woolpack started to have a fair bit of joy down there right flank and before we knew it the score was 4-0. We did get a decent consolation goal though when Ant Moralee chased a lost cause down into the corner flag and winning the ball back from the defender before playing a nice ball in for Lewis knight who kept his composure to twist and turn his defender and slotting the ball home with his left foot in off the post. So all in all a 4-1 defeat doesn’t really tell the full story. Yes we was 2nd best today but we could have been 2 up at the start which would have made it a very interesting game. Then to have the woolpack manager come upto me at the end and say he thinks if we play like that each week we will end top half and maybe even push for a top 4 place. Man of the match for me and bob today was our captain Martin Chang who was solid all game and controlled the back four like a true leader. A special mention has to go to Alex Taylor for helping us out and playing really well between the sticks as we lost Barry Naylor prior to kick off. Now looking forward to next week already...

Well its that time again, 1st weekend in September is approaching which means the Sunday league season is kicking off again. After the club had our beat ever season last year, its been a really difficult summer, managerial changes and losing a few players has nearly resultined in the club folding (which is very frustrating after it took us 7 years to get to the prem lol) but as it stands we do just about have 2 teams ready to go this weekend. The 1st team are away to Trimingham Pilgrims in the premier division while the reserve team look to follow on their promotion campaign with a tough home game against Woolpack FC in division 1. We are still taking players on, so anyone who wants to play football this season message the page and we will go from there.

Brooke FC end of season do at the theatre of creams (Saxlingham Social Club) next Saturday 16th june, 7 30 start. As usual everyone is invited as we dont discriminate lol. Good season to celebrate with both sides getting promoted finishing 2nd and 3rd in their leagues.

Final conformation as both Division 1 and Division 3 fixtures are all complete. The 1st team have been promoted to the premier division in 2nd place, narrowly missing out on the Division 1 trophy on goal difference, whhile the reserves had their best ever season, finishing 3rd in Division 3 meaning they will be going up aswell. Its the first time in the clubs 7 year history that both teams have been promoted in the same season. Well done to all involved.

The first team had to beat Hewett Old Boys today while needing Phoenix to slip up in their final game to have any chance of lifting the division 1 trophy. We did our part, winning 5-2, but it was all irrelevant as Phoenix won their game and providing Middle Green dont win by a ridiculous margin in their final game, took the trophy. Congratulations to them (to be honest our opposition today were the only bunch of arrogant helmets in the league so no problems with anyone else lifting the trophy lol). However, we finish as top scorers in the league and looking back on certain games where we have shipped goals we shouldnt have done, its a bit annoying we didnt win the league.
Onto todays game, we were missing 4 or 5 players from the starting 11 but it was no excuse for our first half display as the visitors were missing a load aswell, and we played like we were all still in bed. It could have been 3 or 4 to Hewett at half time and we couldnt have complained, we were that bad. Luckily we only went in 1-0 down. After a bollocking at half time the boys came out a different side. And Owen Page hat trick and two from Man of the match Lewis Clarry saw us win the 2nd half 5-1. Stand out players today were Lewis Clarry and Greg Finch at the back who had the best game he has had this season. As i said earlier barring a huge Middle Green victory next week, it will be back to back 2nd place finishes for us, but this year it does feel like we really should have won this league. But all in all its been another good year.

The title in Division 1 is going down to the final day next weekend, as while the first team were beating Norman Wanderers 3-1, leaders Phoenix were going down 2-1 at home to Hewett OBs and 3rd place Middle Green were drawing 1-1 against Longdale Rovers. It means the top 3 all go into the final day on 32 points. I just look back on 2 or 3 games this season and cant believe we havent won this league, but at the same time we are getting a last chance, so we can only turn up completely focused next week at home to Hewett OBs and give it our biggest performance of the season to ensure we do all we can, and wait on other results. Todays game proved to be a lot tougher than it should have been as we laboured to victory with a below par performance on a difficult pitch, but we smashed 7 past them in the return fixture and with all the attacking players available today i was expecting something similar! Goals came from the prolific Owen Page, a wonder goal from George Rowlands who has played 2 and scored 2 this year, and a 100th club goal for Sam Page which is a brilliant achievement for a player who has been with us from the day we started. Pagey is often undervalued by certain people i believe, but he has always been commited to this club, even when he went through a stage of being payed to play on a Saturday so i think he deserves a big thankyou from everyone. MOTM was given to Danny Crabb who had to play completely out of position but filled in excellently and didnt put a foot wrong. Daniel King was also very good today, putting in a real shift this week, while George Rowlands also had a good came (crowned by a goal of the season contender). So its all riding on next week! Lets hope we have a strong (and sober lol) squad to give it one final push. 10 30 at Saxlingham, be great to get a crowd down.

Only the one game this weekend, it sees the 1st team host bottom of the league Norman Wanderers at Saxlingham. A win guarantees a top 3 finish with a game to spare.

Reserve team report from their big win against East Tuddenham on Sunday:
So as the season closes in we had to play bottom of the league in a nothing game really as we can’t win the league now anyway, just our pride is at stake and it is a good time to start setting up for next season. We tried a formation we had only played for about an hour in total this season and it worked really well as we took the lead after a couple of minutes. We was then pegged back via a penalty given away by Nick berwich which was unfortunate really as he went on to have yet another superb game. We then could have gone behind via another penalty this time given away by Martin Chang but lucky for us it was put wide. We was playing really poor up until the 30th minute when suddenly we really started to play some decent football. The game went as I’d expected from this moment on with us taking the game by the throat and finishing 8-1 winners. Our goals come from Lewis Knight as usual who got another 3 and now just needs 4 more in his last game to reach the big 50, Ryan Drake who has looked very lively since moving him up top, Nick Berwick who bagged his first goal of the season, Martin Chang banged in 2 volleys, both coming from corners and then there was Tyrone Parish’s header which was also from a corner. So a comfortable victory to take into the last game of the season and hopefully we will be full of confidence and ready for another win... #🚂thewheelsfelloff 👊🏼

Mixed day for the club yesterday. The reserves had a big 8-1 win and other results went their way meaning they could end up 2nd, but the first team blew the hard work of the last few games and 3 times let the lead slip (not for the first time this season) to draw 3-3 at home to Aslacton and effectively end our title hopes. All we can do is win next week to guarantee a top 3 finish and hope things go our way with the promotion, but to miss out narrowly for the 2nd season in a row is very frustrating. The game itself was horrible to watch, far to many players just didnt turn up on the day and let themselves down(they know who they are so i wont name and shame). Our passing was dreadful, players were hungover, we shipped 3 goals from set pieces and to many players were completely off the pace. We took the lead early on through a Owen Page penalty after good work from him and his brother got us the opportunity, but didnt clear our lines soon after and the visitors got a deserved leveller. On the balance of the half going in 1-1 would probably have been fair but from a long throw Sam Page managed to turn the ball home for his 99th club goal and we went in 2-1 up. We tried to drill it in that we had to lift it because it wasnt good enough but the lads didnt seem to have that extra gear yesterday and Aslacton pulled the game back to 2-2 soon into the second period. However yet again we went ahead, this time it was James Daniels with the goal, only to see another set piece not dealt with and the visitors grabbed the 3rd goal and with it a point. Owen Page,Sam Page and Lewis Allen all went close late on and Matt Collinge pulled off a brilliant save off a free kick to keep them out the other end, but it finished 3-3 and tbf Aslacton deserved that because we never did enough. MOTM went to Joe Bush who didnt put a foot wrong to be fair to him and didnt deserve to be on the losing side as he was trying to drive the team forward until the end. The Page brothers also played as well as they could in the circumstances. Must win game next week now against bottom of the table Norman to ensure top 3 and a chance at promotion. Reserve team report will follow when i recieve it

To any of our players who ever call off with s**t excuses, this is what you gotta think of. Dont matter what level you play it, you will miss it when its gone!