WIN: 2-0 vs Chopped Livers – Badgers Batter Liverpool to Defend the Honor of The Crown & Anchor

8 subs! 4 tents! Mist! A generator! Badgertown was humming Sunday at noon for the big showdown with bar rivals Chopped Liverpool. They had no Johnny Football, and were pretty much doomed to be toothless in front of goal while the Badgers were prepared to come at them in waves.

Early on, the Badgers started to assert their dominance, spending most of their time attacking the Liverpool goal. Their goalie was prone to the occasional walkabout, and Matt almost caught him 20 yards out of goal with a long-range strike that just went over the bar. Matt was working hard early on and nearly connected from Mark’s long cross as well. Signs of good things to come.

But it was the man with the best hair on the team who grabbed the early goal, literally, as he robbed his defender and slotted a left-footer past him. Peterson was on the board and the Badgers took the lead for good within 10 minutes!

The back line was standing tall as various combos of Billy, Jefe, Big Dave, Scotty, Guillermo, Hoguer and Nick made sure Jaybone’s turf was secure. Jay didn’t have much to do on the day, but did gobble up a few long-range attempts.

JAKE IS DOWN!!! JAKE IS DOWN!!! But, he still managed to play the ball from his horizontal position on the pitch…. a new wrinkle in his signature move!

Derek was cutting back, Jesus was making his runs, Adam was doing Adam stuff, and Ciro was covered in sun tan spray as he looked to unlock the defense.

As the half wound down, Chappy had a run at goal, but chose to lay it off to an onrushing Matt instead of taking a shot…. probably a good idea as indicated by the end of the game.

Warm oranges.

The Badgers massive amount of subs was starting to wear down Liverpool in the second half. It was only a matter of time before their emotions started to get the better of them and frustration started to hit the pitch for the boys in orange.

Mark got taken down for a yellow card, but instead of going full Diesel, handshakes prevailed. Hoguer, fresh off his wedding last week, was back dropping corner kick dimes, one which Conor smashed with his head as Jefe called it on the sideline. Narrow miss.

Calling his shot for the 12th minute of the game, Big Dave was about 50 minutes off his prediction when he upended an attacker down the right side of the pitch with a patented slide tackle. That move has become a weekly thing of beauty.

Ciro had a shot that didn’t go right to the keeper, claiming the deflection the ball took was all part of his master plan.

Liverpool was starting to get aggravated at the Badger’s physical play. Chappy took the keeper down with a bit of an elbow to the gut, but it was unintentional and all good. But on one of many corner kicks, Matt’s persistent physicality paid off as he dropped in a header for goal number 2 as Liverpool complained to the ref to no avail.

It was more one-way traffic in the final 20 minutes of the game. Conor was set loose on a free kick down the left wing with acres to roam, but the ref incorrectly called him offside as Badgertown protested.

After another line change near the end of the game, Jesus and Chappy came in as attackers and linked up for what should have been the third goal as Billy got the ball to Jesus down the right side on a break with Chappy to his left. Calling for the cross, Jesus complied and Chappy was one-on-one with the keeper. His first time shot went where Badgertown expected….. right in the old tree line. Jesus tried to deliver another ball to the dome a bit later, but the keeper managed to pluck it out of the air before it reached the B.D.O.P.

The game ended with Pete going full pirate mode, spinning around inside the 18 yard box and drawing a lot of unwanted aggravated attention from Chopped Liverpool as they were over their beatdown.

In the end, it was a pretty comfortable win for Cameron Road as their superior numbers, fresh legs, and love of overcooked fries and pitchers of Guinness got the job done with a 2-0 victory.

Man-of-the-Match: Give it up for Jake, who got his first action of the summer, but more importantly worked tirelessly to keep 20 Badgers cool.

Post-Match-Report: A massive crowd gathered in the 4-tent Badgertown. Matt’s love of Tom Cruise was discussed. Conor was on point with popsicles. Scotty got wet, giving Ciro the week off. Verity Joe was back. Billy was smiling. Mist was flowing. It was a classic.