Sports Report – Short Half 2022: Week 2
Tuesday 13th September 2022
Rackets v Tonbridge (h)
Our first match of the season saw us up against a vibrant Tonbridge team who had already been at school for a week. Despite this, of the 8 matches played, Winchester managed to win 4.
The flagship first pair match provided a long, tightly fought contest, and, initially, a harsh wake-up call for Bertie Vallat and Henry Nicholls. The older Tonbridge team followed the usual, ferociously hard-hitting approach, typical of former years. They also served with a sizzling bite audible by the high-pitched ‘ping’ from their tightly-strung rackets. Tonbridges's power and gutsy attitude saw to their winning game 1 against a rather sleepy Winchester. However, the stirring home team came back with effective serves of their own to draw the score at 1 all. Tonbridge seized control once more and served a long sequence of aces to grab game 3. Once more, Winchester recovered as both players were now visibly growing accustomed to the frenetic pace of the rallies. At 2 games all, with a little fortuitous help of a slower ball the new game required, Bertie and Henry managed to seal the victory with an impressive run of serves.
Our Sen Colts A pair, Jack Bristowe and Lukas Brunner, looked a little rusty, losing 3 - 1 to an accomplished Tonbridge pair. This was not entirely surprising and I expect, with more court time, their performance will significantly improve. The Senior Colts B pair, Ollie Frost and Rupert Balmain fought tenaciously to the end but narrowly lost in the final game. The Junior Colts A pair, Arthur James-Duff and Sebastian Kingsbury, posted a welcome 3 - 1 win although both pairs looked a little uncertain at times. With more matches on the horizon this pair is showing promising potential. The Junior Colts B, James Mitchell and Pran Busrapan, playing his first match managed an impressive win by winning the final game. (TERC)
Thursday 15th September
Basketball U18 v Eton
This was a practice/pre-season type game and winning was not the main aim. From the start though, it was clear that Winchester was the stronger side and they pulled out a 10 point lead in the first few minutes.
This allowed for different formations and combinations, and for players to get used to running plays in competitive situations. There were several strong periods, but on the whole Winchester looked understandably rusty and didn't operate with their usual discipline and smoothness. That said, a lot was learnt, everyone worked really hard and there were more than enough highlights to show that once things start to click, it should be a good season. (LNT)
Golf v Canford (h)
On Thursday, the golf team played Canford at home in their first match of the season. The match was a special occasion for the four new faces in the squad, who are delighted they have started their Winchester career with a 2-1 victory.
Our third pair, J. Redfern (JP-A), and S. Andreason (JP-A), played extremely well winning comfortably on the 12th hole with a score of 8&6. Their cool heads and immense talent made for great golf which allowed them to best their significantly older opponents. I think we are all looking forward to watching this pairing rise through the ranks and becoming a formidable force.
Our second pair, S. Wells (MP-G), and A. Hampel (MP-B) also won their match 5&3. With Arthur draining putts from long distance and Seb’s steady performance, the pair looked dominant throughout the game. With a score of 77 across 18 holes, the pair should be proud of their performance in tough conditions and look to improve on their already brilliant play.
Our first pair, I. Haines (VIBk2-I), and T. Sood (VIBk2-X) lost their match 3&2. The captain and vice-captain lost their footing for a moment and lost 5 straight holes early in the match. Undeterred, they carried on and with Isaac’s birdies on 9 and 12, slowly clawed the match back to fighting distance. However, their unfaltering opponent played some exceptional golf and finished the match on the 16th green.
Following last year’s upset to Canford in the regional finals of the ISGA, Thursday made for sweet revenge. We look forward to more wins against Marlborough and Dauntsey’s next week. (Taanvir Sood)
Squash 1st Team Triangular Match vs Marlborough College & Cheltenham College (a)
A good 3-2 win for the Winchester College's 1st V in their first match of the season. Against a weakened Marlborough with their 1st string withdrawing ill on the day of the match , Shiloh Wu (1st string) and Oscar Henshaw (2nd string) were too accurate and consistent for their opponents both winning 2-0. Freddy Fisher played well but making unforced errors was always trying to make amends and was defeated 2-1. Ludovic Remers, at 4th string, played very well recovering from being 2-0 down to record a very good 3-2 win whilst Will Gladston played well but was defeated by his opponent’s greater consistency.
After defeating Marlborough the Winchester 1st III played very well against Cheltenham and once again recorded a 2-1 win. Shiloh Wu was imperious at 1st string, playing great length and dropping his opponent’s poor shots he won 2-0 losing just one point in the process. Freddy Fisher recovered from his early loss against Marlborough by forcing his opponent into making mistakes and won 2-0. Oscar Henshaw very narrowly lost his match 16-18 13-15. A good start to the season by the team. (RAA)
Saturday 17th Oct: Football v Eton
With the sun shining conditions were ideal for the first Soccer XI match of the season away at Eton. After the opening exchanges Eton took the lead when we were guilty of not tracking runners but we bounced back well, harrying their centre backs into an error, and Alex Foster finished with a smart volleyed lob. The remainder of the first half saw WinColl dominate possession and territory but a failure to take chances cost us when a mistimed tackle saw a penalty conceded and Eton took a 2-1 lead into the break.
The first few minutes of the second half saw us again dominate territory but a fast counter-attack saw the hosts extend their lead to 3-1. Fatigue and cramp saw some positional changes but our hard pressing fell away allowing Eton to dominate proceedings. Two late goals created a score-line which certainly flattered the hosts and although disappointed with the result the Soccer XI boys can take confidence from the display in the first half. L5-1 (MSB)
This was a great team effort by the 2nd XI with everybody playing their part in a deserved victory against Eton 3rd XI. The game started quite evenly although Eton should have scored after approximately 10 mins, when we allowed a free header from a corner yet somehow we manged to keep the ball out of the net via the bar and a couple of last ditch blocks!
We then started to grow into the game, playing some decent passes and utilising the width well through both Sasha and Dorian. Both were ably supported by Pat Ritchie who seemed to be involved in every attacking move. It was from one such move that we created a really good goal. Nasir played a neat one two and found himself on the edge of the box where he hit a wonderful first time shot into the bottom right hand corner of the goal. Soon after, we scored a second. Dorian found himself clear down the right and hit a good shot across the goalkeeper who parried the ball out, only to see Wilf LFJ follow up and hit into the open goal, his first touch of the game!
We expected Eton to put pressure on us in the second half, but it was us who really should have added to the score, missing several excellent chances, one of which was well saved by the Eton Goalkeeper from a Sasha volley. However we did put ourselves under pressure with 10 minutes to go, giving away a penalty, which Eton scored. We then acquitted ourselves well and were especially resolute at the back, Chris, Jack, Lucas and Henry all playing their part and we managed to see out the game.
I was really impressed with our team spirit, resolve but especially our commitment to the game. A great start to the Season, with the whole squad playing their part. W1-2 (PNG)
Amongst the other senior teams there was a 4-1 loss for the 3rd XI, the 4th XI claimed a 3-2 win against Eton’s 5th XI and our 5th XI went down 2-0. The 7th XI ended up in a triangular with Eton’s remaining senior teams and performed admirably, creating several chances but unfortunately not breaking their duck in either game.
Amongst the matches at Senior Colts level there were far closer games than in previous years for the A and B teams but the Junior Colts A, B , D & E teams all conceded heavily.
The JCC's began the season in beautiful, yet crisp, sunshine at Eton. Pre-match confidence was not high as we know Eton are the bigger, and arguably stronger, school, but we hoped could compete against their E team.
Unfortunately, the bus journey from Winchester resulted in the boys starting lethargically, and we were 1-0 down within 90 seconds. Once the game settled down Eton remained the stronger team, but a William Hagger penalty save kept us in the game, and we were trailing 2-0 at half time.
At half-time the manager asked the boys to focus more on their positioning, particularly in defence and without the ball, and to compete more, both in terms of energy and combativity. The boys took both these things on board, and both were much better in the second half. However, Eton remained the stronger team, and the final score was a 6-0 defeat. However, Winchester competed for more of the second half than that scoreline suggests.
William Hagger was named man-of-the-match for his penalty save, some good saves, and all round command of his area, with an honourable mention to Nikita Sirotin for being the most aggressive outfield player. L0-6 (JMS)
A quick and strong Eton side offered a tough test for the Yearlings A first game of the term. Our guests immediately dominated possession and spent much of the first half in our half. With many of the team playing in new positions and developing new partnerships they had to learn fast and many of them made good progress in the first 35 minutes. The back four got tighter together and stood up well when faced with pacy and skilful wingers. This mostly limited Eton to shots from outside the penalty area which Browning handled easily enough. In front of them, Santagati and Oluwabusola quickly worked out their positioning and made themselves difficult to play through, the former regularly winning back possession and the latter blocking shots and intercepting passes. There were a few moments of optimism for our forwards too, especially when Laarman pressed well as the opposition looked to play out from the back.
Keeping the game goalless to the break was success and we would have to sustain our efforts to keep it tight. Redfern and Kashirin, as full backs, began the second half well and prevented their wingers from making inroads behind us in the first 10 minutes. Until a cross was cut back behind our retreating defensive line and a well struck half volley into the far top corner broke the deadlock. A second soon followed for Eton, in similar fashion, as a scuffed cross made it across the top of the box for the left winger to step back onto it and place it into the bottom left-hand corner. Despite a third being conceded, we looked to finish on the front foot and Laarman gained a consolation goal for our efforts. He just broke the off-side trap on the half way line and ran through on goal, before finishing smartly into the far right corner from outside the box.
The players will all have learnt a lot from this first game and, after a restful weekend, can look forward to their first cup match on Wednesday. L1-3 (JMB)
Having lost 5 players to injury, including both centre backs, on the morning of the match, this could have been a lot worse for the Yearlings B. I was really impressed by the tenacity and effort of the boys, particularly Leo and George who ran around like lunatics. Obviously in our first match, there was lots of naivety in covering players and our passing, but once we started to get stuck into Eton, they looked as vulnerable as anyone. Monty did a marvellous job from right back, getting the ball back into play and using his throw to put pressure on their left-back. Leo produced a great free kick for Prince to nod in, and then a corner for Ziao to produce a bullet header. However, man of the match goes to Oscar, without whom this could have been a cricket score. L2-6 (PAH)
Amongst the remaining matches there was an excellent 2-1 victory for the Yearlings C and a 4-0 loss for the Yearlings E team. After a delayed start a shortened match got underway for the Yearlings D against Eton G team who put 3 away in quick succession. Yearlings Dhad only a few chances but were not able to capitalise these sparse opportunities. Nathan Lenoble in goal made some good saves to spare the team an even bigger score. Lessons will have been learnt and a rematch in two weeks away will give the team an opportunity to give a better account of themselves. L0-11 (PM)
Captains
Congratulations to the following pupils who have been made senior Captains this year.
Soccer XI: Freddie Van Every
Tennis: Chris Lee
Fencing: Adam Porter
Rackets: George Gardiner
Golf: Taanvir Sood
All fixtures details can be found on: https://sportsfixtures.winchestercollege.org/
Sporting quote for the week:
Whether you know it or not, whether you like it or not, the habits you are developing now will be with you for the rest of your life.”
(Former UCLA Basketball Coach, John Wooden)
M.S. Burley
Director of Sport
20th September 2022
Twitter: @WinCollSports