Welcome to our first sports report of 2020, and there’s lots to report! Our first fixtures of the New Year included football against John Hampden Grammar, Bohunt School and Cokethorpe, and hockey against Lord Wandsworth College and LVS. With some promising results, it was a good start to the season.
Hockey
1st XI v Lord Wandsworth College
The 1st XI welcomed Lord Wandsworth 2nd XI to Reading Hockey Club for their first game of the season. With a number of good training sessions under their belts, the players were looking forward to getting stuck into some competitive action. Youngsters L Rouse Roberts (Year 9) and S Gillen (Year 10) brought the average squad age down considerably, although it was to be seen if they could handle the physicality that Lord Wandsworth always bring.
The match started in the balance, and both teams looked dangerous on the break. However, a back line of Z Tilley, J Underwood, H Watts and H Kunzig gradually warmed to each others' playing styles and by half time, Lord Wandsworth had only mustered two attempts on goal which were well saved by M Brommell. At the other end, Shiplake struggled to find the target but carved out several good openings and were certainly looking the stronger team. C Creighton unfortunately had a goal ruled out as it clipped a team mate's thigh on the way through - I Beasley claimed to 'not have felt a thing'.
Half time brought a productive team talk, with several senior players offering advice and Shiplake returned to the pitch with several messages clearly in the mind and a game plan to execute.
The second half saw a very dominant Shiplake performance. The midfield unit of S Gillen, C Creighton and O Rouse Roberts saw plenty of the ball and stretched the width of the game, using D Deakin effectively on the right wing. I Beasley, another debutant, brought energy and enthusiasm to the front line and was always lively in the D. He almost had a tap in on the far post but for the outstretched arm of the Lord Wandsworth goalkeeper, who was man of the match in the second half for a string of fine saves. In what would have been a crying shame, Lord Wandsworth had an opportunity to win the match with a short corner at the final whistle but H Kunzig, who was a rock in defence, put his body on the line to stop the shot on goal.
Report by Mrs S Bayley
2nd XI v Lord Wandsworth College
The boys enjoyed a generally very positive start to the season. They did lose to a better side, but they performed well and there is much to build on for the season ahead. Particular mention to H Stride in goal, who made some great saves and to F Heggie who came up from the U15s and played superbly.
Junior A v Lord Wandsworth
What a great day to start the hockey season - crisp and clear. Lord Wandsworth had the centre pass and it seemed they chose the biggest Year 10s and 11s for us to play against! The match started very evenly with L Poundall and M Noakes controlling the game at centre. Some solid defence by M Walker and M Grundy set up the midfield to build a few attacks up the right with a great through pass from D Beard sending S Mealing on a break away. Lord Wandsworth were very solid in defence and were quick to counter attack. T Broadbent in goal made an unbelievable save from a deflection to keep the scores level. Lord Wandsworth put a final attack together that beat a diving keeper to end the half 1-0.
Lord Wandsworth started the second half with confidence and put many attacks together down the left wing. A Subramanian and N Scotchbrook intercepted passes and broke down play to keep them out the D. T Broadbent made at least four amazing reactive saves and rushed three players on separate occasions to close down play at the edge of the D which kept us in the game. M Walker started taking free hits quickly, which put Lord Wandsworth on the back foot. L Poundall and E Houghton put some plays together and forced a short corner. Lord Wandsworth were warned for breaking early and L Poundall netted the shot. 1-1 with 11 minutes to play. The same happened again and after 2 short corners in a row, L Poundall netter the winner. 2-1 the final score.
A positive team effort by all and some great plays to build on for the rest of the season.
Report by Mrs S Bayley
U13A v Licensed Victuallers' School (LVS Ascot)
The As started with some great passes that led to the first goal of the match by S Mealing. After that we made a few mistakes which led to LVS scoring their first goal, but we stayed strong and kept our heads up and made some great plays but unfortunately they had an amazing goalkeeper who did not let anything past him. LVS had a great counter attack which got them another goal which made the score 2-1 to LVS. Shiplake didn't give up and managed to score another goal by S Mealing to make the scores even. Sadly LVS managed to score again to make the score 4-2. Fortunately, we passed it to S Mealing who managed to show great skills to make the scores 4-3 to LVS. Shiplake made some great tackles and runs which led to S Massie scoring a goal to make the score even again. LVS did some great runs and passes which made the score 6-4 to them. Our heads started to drop but we were able to make a play to S Mealing who then scored his 4th goal. At full time the score was 6-5 to LVS but even though we lost, it was a great first game and we can all learn lots from it.
Report by H Benton (Captain)
U13B v Licensed Victuallers' School (LVS Ascot)
The Bs started out strongly with some good passes and great space on the pitch. In the first few minutes J Morely scored a goal against LVS. N Rodgers and O Palmer-Page scored two more goals before half time. At half time the score was 3-0. Unfortunately during the second half of the match LVS had a strong player who scored a great goal against us but we pushed back with 2 more goals from J Morley and O Palmer-Page. At full time the score was 5-1. Everyone put a lot of effort into the match even though it was really cold, wet and windy. I think player of the match is O Palmer-Page who scored two amazing goals.
Report by C Davey (Captain)
Football
1st XI v Wellington College
The 1st XI played Wellington U16As on Saturday afternoon and enjoyed a 1-0 victory. We had a number of chances in the first half but the winner didn’t come until midway through the second half. Defender J Walne scored from close range following a corner from G Head. The 1st XI made some adjustments to their line up after the 4-1 loss to Cokethorpe, with J Durcan moving in to a central defensive midfield position and T Carpenter moving to centre forward. There was a big improvement in our composure in possession and our defensive shape which bodes well for the rest of the season.
Report by Mr P McCraw
U14A v Wellington College
We were fully prepared for the arrival of Wellington College on a sunny but chilly Saturday afternoon. We had lots of pressure pushing up the pitch as a team and we were playing well. W Diver took the ball into the opposition’s box but was dispossessed by some strong defending which also led to him getting a nose bleed so he was replaced by J Biggin. We maintained the high pressure game and our defence was also solid at our end, especially with the help of J Cooper and Z Wilson on top form. Wellington College won a corner which was met with a bullet of a header but a tremendous double save from E Thomas kept the score 0-0; he also then had to leave the pitch due to a nose-bleed and was replaced by L Osborne who also did a cracking job between the sticks. With some fresh legs on at half time, we were pressing again and worked ourselves into the box but a good tackle by there defence stopped F Suter’s brilliant chance. Chances came at both ends as both teams battled for the first goal which never came. Plenty of positives from the game including a valuable clean sheet. Congratulations to Man of the Match, Z Wilson.
Report by Mr E Olhausen
U12A v Bohunt School
Shiplake’s U12As played two matches against Bohunt in what was a bitterly cold afternoon. B Savidge opened the scoring with a real poacher's finish which really was a reward for his efforts throughout the game. Unfortunately Bohunt came back into the game and scored a penalty and a slightly dubious winning goal and without VAR the goal had to stand! The second game was also a very evenly matched game with Bohunt taking an early 2-0 lead but Shiplake worked hard and was led beautifully by L Moore in defence and G Paish adding real tempo to the team. In the final few minutes H Arnold came out of goal and scored a fantastic goal but the game finished 2-1 to Bohunt.
Report by Mr T Crisford
1st XI v Cokethorpe School
Cokethorpe started the match well, playing with confidence and energy. They scored early with a free kick and doubled their lead shortly after with a powerful shot from outside the box. Goalkeeping was difficult for B Ferguson as the box was very wet and muddy. The third Cokethorpe goal came shortly before half time and was the second by the impressive number 10, he shot again from outside the box with his left foot into the top left hand corner. Shiplake were hesitant in defence throughout and lacked composure on the ball.
There was a clear improvement by Shiplake in the second half, they grew in confidence and started to link up well. N McCarthy and T Carpenter were particularly impressive in attack and Shiplake started to put pressure on the Cokethorpe defence. After a number of good chances S Farrell scored Shiplake’s first of the season. Cokethorpe number 10 completed his hat trick shortly before the end of the game, final score 4-1 to Cokethorpe.
Report by Mr P McCraw
U15A v Cokethorpe School
Although the final score-line would suggest otherwise, the match was close throughout with both teams creating lots of chances in the first half. J Durkan came closest for the home side - hitting the bar with a powerful drive from just inside the area. It was Cokethorpe, however, who then took the lead just before half-time.
Shiplake continued to play positive, attacking football in the second half, with H Lund and M Griffiths combining well down the right. Cokethorpe then scored a second, against the run of play, which seemed to deflate the home side somewhat.
Despite some sustained pressure from Shiplake in the final 15 minutes, they just could not get the ball in the net, and a couple of late goals from the visitors left the score at 4-0.
Some promising individual performances, but lots to work on ahead of the next match.
Report by Mr D Miller
U14A v Cokethorpe School
We got off to a good start but with the sun in our eyes, it made playing conditions a little more difficult. However that didn’t matter as J Greig-Bartram scored a screamer of a first goal picking up the ball in defence, jinxing his way the length of the pitch and rifling the goal into the roof of the net from the edge of the area. Soon after W Diver scored two back-to back goals to put us in a brilliant position at 3-0 up. Cokethorpe got a cheeky goal to put themselves within a two goal gap but that was a short lived threat as we scored one more before half time. In the second half we made some changes but Cokethorpe set off to a flying start with two goals despite our fresh legs. W Diver capped off his hat-trick a few minutes later and which put us back in control. We scored one more to put ourselves in the lead again and then we sealed the game with a goal from J Cooper, scoring a free kick with the score finishing at 7-4. An all round great performance by the team with stand-out performances from J Greig-Bartram (Captain) and C Gibson. Congratulations to Man of the Match W Diver, for his tireless work in midfield and scoring a hat-trick.
Report by Mr E Olhausen
U12A v John Hampden Grammar School
We turned up at JHGS ready to get on the pitch and play some good football. The ref blew his whistle and off we went but within 30 seconds the opposition had already scored a lucky goal off one of their player's hip.This did not bring our heads down and we kept our heads up and we eased in to the game putting some nice balls from B Saunders over the top for B Savidge to run onto. But simply they were just too fast and strong on and off the ball. By the end of the first half JHGS were up 5-0. In the second half we tried to play with more width to create more chances with 2 on 1 situations. However they were simply too strong in all areas and had outstanding players in a number of positions. By the end of the match the score was 11-0 to JHGS. This result did not knock our confidence and we look forward to our next match.
Report by G Paish (Captain)
U12A v John Hampden Grammar School
The B team had a hard day at the office on Friday, we lost 7-1 but it was a really good effort from all of the boys and well done to everyone particularly S Crehan-Mills for scoring a goal. Now we know what our weak points are we can improve on these skills and work on them in training and also our positions. Overall it was a good start of the year apart from the score and hopefully now we will be able to achieve some wins. Shout outs to J Priestly and S Crehan-Mills in the midfield as they put in a really good effort and some lovely link up passing.
Report by O Griffin (Captain)
Other Results
U15B football v Cokethorpe won 9-0
U14B football v Cokethorpe won 4-0
U15A football v Wellington draw 3-3
