In today's Sports Report, we catch up on Football fixtures in addition to a marathon set of Netball games. Included is a tournament for our U18 girls, and the hotly anticipated College vs Gilson match!
Football
Boys’ 1st XI vs Halliford School
Shiplake flew out of the blocks and were 1-0 up after 10 minutes when H Simmons latched onto a loose ball from a corner and poked the ball home. Completely against the run of play, Halliford equalised from a superb volley into the top corner from 25 yards, but it didn't take long for Shiplake to take the lead again. A Moth twisted past two defenders on the right wing before firing a low cross that got deflected into the back of the Halliford net. In the second half, Shiplake really showed their dominance. A clipped ball to A Moth was fired towards goal where a good save parried it into the path of C Kerrison who slotted into an empty net. A few lapses in concentration allowed Halliford back into the game for 3-2. In the dying moments, Halliford were awarded a penalty from which they scored. It looked for the world a truly dominant performance would end in a 3-3 draw. However; A Moth had other ideas. He latched onto a ball in behind and was taken out to win us a penalty that was calmly dispatched by J Biggin. Despite the coach’s instructions to manage the game and take the ball to the corner, C Kerrison took his opportunity to whip in a cross to A Moth - touch, finish, 5-3, game over!
Final score: Shiplake College 5-3 Halliford School
Coach: Mr B Claridge
Boys’ 3rd XI vs Leighton Park School
Final score: Shiplake College 3-0 Leighton Park
Coach: Mr J Player
Boys’ U16B vs Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School
Shiplake started the game well looking comfortable on the ball and defending resolutely. However, the quality from Borlase broke the deadlock midway through the first half with two goals in quick succession. Shiplake responded with chances of our own but lacked the killer pass or finish to trouble the goalkeeper. The second half had a much different feel. We never got going against wave after wave of pressure. A second half scoreline of 5-0 could have been a lot worse but for some lacklustre Borlase finishing.
Final score: Shiplake College 0-7 Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School
Coach: Mr C Ellison
Boys’ U13A vs Maiden Erlegh School
Final score: Shiplake College 0-1 Maiden Erlegh School
Coach: Mr A Dix
Boys’ U13B vs Maiden Erlegh School
With several core players out this afternoon, we began with a good shape and two formidable full backs (H Woodward and T Lane) on top form working hard, putting in good tackles, and feeding their wingers (G Dallas and A Palmer) for them to drive forward. Our defence held strong until two blistering runs from their powerful striker resulted in the opposition taking a convincing lead. Their coach then took him off and instructed him to play for the As on the adjacent field given his overwhelmingly physical and pacey superiority. Meanwhile, E Morgan had the save of the match with a fingertip push round the post giving us some time to regain composure.
With the midfield asserting pressure it was W Webb who put away a well-executed goal, which was shortly followed by A Palmer who had been working hard to push the run of play deep inside the opposition team's half. Despite a heroic effort from O Scofield, M Lewis and O Methven, the opposition’s powerful striker returned to leave us 4-2 down at half time. C Craig had a chance in the second half, as did G Dallas, but it was the opposition who kept the pressure inside our half, carving out several chances which resulted in a further two well-deserved goals. A gritty performance and much to reflect on ahead of the next match.
Final score: Shiplake College 2-6 Maiden Erlegh School
Coach: Mr S Gower
Boys’ U12A vs Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School
Final score: Shiplake College 4-6 Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School
Coach: Mr T Crisford
Netball
Gilson vs College
On Tuesday 27 February, the Gilson vs College match took place in the most anticipated netball match of the year. The girls knew it would be a physical and different game to any that they had previously played. In the first quarter, the girls took a convincing lead of 6-3, however they knew the boys were close behind in the score and more than capable of a comeback. O Parkin made some phenomenal drives into the pocket, setting up the play nicely for the ball to be fed into the ‘D’. In the second quarter, the score still remained close as the boys caught on to the rules and gained a greater understanding of the game. R Acton made some pivotal tips in defence to be picked up by F Lenthall. In the third and fourth quarter, Gilson knew they had to focus and play their own game. G Weedon and A Botterill's precise shooting helped to extend their lead even further. This resulted in Gilson securing a 22-12 win against College House! A brilliant match by all players involved!
Players of the Match were G Wyndham-Smith and D Coles, while Umpires’ Players of the Match were O Parkin and H Simmons.
Girls’ U18A Netball Tournament
On Saturday 2 March, the U18A team travelled to Lord Wandsworth College to play in the annual Plate Tournament. Shiplake played against 11 other teams during the afternoon. Our first match started at around 1.00pm where we played Charterhouse School. Not knowing how short the matches were going to be, Shiplake lost 8-4 before losing the following two matches against Bradfield College and Lord Wandsworth just by 2 goals.
Shiplake considered those as their ‘warmup games’ and won their fourth match against Ryde 11-0! We also won our fifth game against Alton School 8-7, as well as our sixth game against King's College 7-4. Then after a long break in the cold, we played our seventh and eighth matches, unfortunately losing to King Edward's School and Downe House.
Before we knew it, it was time for our last match against Reeds. All the girls desperately wanted to finish on a win to reflect the fun day that they had had. With a whole squad effort, we won impressively 9-0 to leave Lord Wandsworth with our heads held high! A brilliant day of netball and thank you so much to Mrs Lovelock and Miss James for taking the girls.
Players’ Player of the Tournament was O Parkin and Coaches’ Player of the Tournament was A Botterill.
Report: A Botterill, U18A Netball Captain
Coaches: Mrs C Lovelock and Miss A James
Girls’ U18A vs Reading Blue Coat
For Shiplake's penultimate league match of the season, we played Reading Blue Coat. This was a tough game; however, we kept their spirits high. The first quarter saw Shiplake leading the score well, with some amazing interceptions from S Pendlebury and F Lenthall in defence. The second quarter saw Shiplake keep their lead with some clinical passing in attack by L Cheek, T Gillard and O Parkin. However, in the 3rd quarter Blue Coat pulled away. Shiplake continued to play hard to the very end, but when the final whistle blew, the final score was 24-21 to Blue Coat. Player of the Match was T Gillard. Players’ Players went L Cheek and S Pendlebury, while Coach's Player was S Ferguson.
Report: A Botterill, U18A Netball Captain
Coach: Mrs C Lovelock
Girls’ U18B vs Reading Blue Coat
Shiplake's U18Bs took on Blue Coat B Team in their penultimate match of this season. Shiplake took the first centre pass and got off to a strong start with intense attacks from E Morris and L Schoenmakers. Even with an aggressive attack from Blue Coat, Shiplake remained calm with amazing defence from F Short and L Price. By half-time, Blue Coat were ahead, but Shiplake was eager to keep going. With great shooting from E O’Neill and perfect passes from E Bell down the court, Shiplake powered through. Even though Blue Coat were winning, Shiplake kept their high spirits until the very end of the match. Final score was 26-8 to Reading Blue Coat.
Player of the Match went to L Price, Coach’s Player to R Acton, and Players’ Player to G Wyndham-Smith.
Report: R Acton, U18B Netball Captain
Coach: Miss A James
Girls’ U18C vs The Oratory School
On Wednesday 28 February, Shiplake’s U18C team played an intense match against Oratory U18B. The game began with an Oratory centre which was quickly turned over to Shiplake through great defence from R Dewar. Shiplake scored the first goal of the match through E Flower. The first quarter ended with a close score of 4-2 to Oratory. Shiplake went into the second quarter with a brilliant attitude but unfortunately, The Oratory gained the upper hand to lead 10-3 at half-time. After a tactical half-time talk, the girls went into the second half with a positive mindset. Great defence was shown by M Rider and L Nicholas who were both making good interceptions and turning the ball over for Shiplake. The last quarter saw great play from S Woodeson in centre and B Sauboua in Wing Attack who worked well to pass the ball into the attacking ‘D’. Despite a brilliant game from the girls, the final score was 15-9 to Oratory.
Player of the Match went to E Flower, Players’ Player was M Rider, and Coach’s Players were L Nicholas and R Dewar.
Report: E Flower, U18B Netball Captain
Coach: Mrs E Rojas
Girls’ U12 vs LVS Ascot
On Tuesday 27 February, our U12 girls took on LVS Ascot in two short matches. In the first match, the As put in a dominant performance to take the win 18-0, while the Bs were just as impressive in their 5-1 victory.
Coach: Mrs K Neill
