Tuesday 18th October Basketball: U15 v Westgate School (h)

This was a 'game of two halves'. In the first half Winchester missed easy shots and seemed to forget that they should be passing to the people wearing the Winchester shirts. In the second half things improved hugely, with some excellent passing and confident finishing. Westgate had some very skilful and physical players and defended their lead well, until with 80 seconds to go Winchester finally pulled level. A coolly taken layup from Jackson and a killer 20 foot bank shot from Simpson won the game, and Winchester came away victors by four points. The game was played in very good spirit and really could have gone either way. The Winchester U15s must be commended for their effort, improvement and adjustment throughout the match.

Football v Harrow

Winchester’s showtime 1st XI took to Doggers on Tuesday to take on Harrow, aiming to go seven unbeaten against a well organised football side. Despite an early chance for Casper Hall, Winchester were bombarded early by a Harrow onslaught. Vital stops from the back five and keeper kept the score level, but eventually we were broken down and trailed after a calm finish from Harrow’s striker from the edge of the box into the far corner. But this is a new Winchester, no longer soft, who don’t let the opposition walk over them and are always in the fight. With 5 minutes to go until half time, a delicate through ball by Whitehead over the top found itself at the feet of Barnes, who passed it into the middle. After his wonder goal at Gordon’s on Saturday, an eery sense of assurance swept over the pitch as the ball fell to Moghadam. 25 yards out, he pile-drived the ball into the far-left bottom corner, leaving the keeper motionless.

The second half was much more equal, Winchester at times dominating large periods of the game. There were very few clear cut chances for either side, and most play happened in the middle of the pitch. A strong one on one save from Whitehead late on was his only job of the half, but no one could find a winner as Winchester edged closer and closer to Harrow’s goal towards the finish. It ended in a 1-1 draw, a huge improvement from a 3-2 loss last year. Another well battled game for this super team, who have given it everything this half of term, and were unlucky not to win today. We will be back again after leave out to give it our all in the second half of the season. Thanks for all your support! (Will Whitehead, A)

Another good game, but on the balance of the game I felt it was a fair score line for the 2nd XI. We started well, played some decent football especially involving our wide men, Niccolo, Doran and Nasir, but were guilty of not testing their goalkeeper enough despite several good opportunities to do so! When we did, we were rewarded - the ball came in from the right-hand side into Luke Paviour, who hit an excellent first time shot into the far corner. Defensively we were sound apart from one mistake which led to the Harrow centre forward one on one with Stephen to beat, but he made a very good save low to his left.

I asked for a little more energy and intensity at half time and the boys were excellent in both their attitude and desire, competing really well in all areas of the pitch and combining with some good passing and forward play too. We managed to score a second midway into the half, when Ethan found himself unmarked and slotted in under the goalkeeper and from then on, we were pretty much in command restricting Harrow to one or two long range shots which Stephen dealt with comfortably. A very satisfactory end to the first half of term, which has been hugely enjoyable, my thanks to the team who have been committed and fun to be with, I look forward to the second half. (PNG) W2-0

At times today Winchester 3rd XI played some of their best football all season, despite missing a couple of key players. Their defensive resilience, personal discipline and fine teamwork led to some fine passing and movement. Harrow were very strong individually, but they were repeatedly frustrated and put under pressure, unsure how to deal with the Winchester tactics and determination. Only once did Winchester get caught out of position, and they were punished by a well-struck 25 yd goal that gave the otherwise brilliant Gianni-Garcia no chance. This was against the run of play as Winchester had already created several good chances. Winchester set about redressing the balance and, following a period of sustained pressure, Malik put the ball in the back of the net. 1-1 at half time.

The second half could have gone either way with Gianni-Garcia pulling off two fine saves, Kadarauch and Bullen holding firm and Allen doing his usual superb job of keeping the Harrow attackers under control. Further up the pitch, Winchester kept probing and working hard, but had little luck and the Harrow defended well. Mr Scott said that Winchester deserved to take the win, but in the end both teams had to settle for a draw. This was a very fine performance from the 3rd XI and every player should be proud of his contribution. (LNT)

Golf v Bradfield (a)

On Tuesday 18th October, the Golf team played against Bradfield at Calcot Park Golf Course, a neutral venue. The absence of our captain, Taanvir Sood, and key member, Arthur Hampel meant a slightly weaker team than usual, though this did not affect high spirit of the group as we departed. The match took the form of four-ball-better-ball, with Isaac Haines (I), our acting captain and Seb Wells (G) as first pair. A rushed tee time resulted in the pair being two down after three, however, both players were able to kick into top gear quickly. Seb’s outstanding performance through the front 9 and Isaac taking the reins for the remaining holes ultimately led to the pair winning 3&2, finishing with an excellent score of -1. Our second pair, James Redfern (A) and Jack Bristowe (A) played consistently and dominated their opponents throughout the game, finishing 2 up. The pair finished 1 over par, a praiseworthy score that would overcome even the best of players. Sander Andreason (A) and Harry Xu (I) played as third pair. A blundered first hole and their opponents eagling the second after a lucky chip from a greenside bunker saw the pair being 2 down after 2. However, determined to overcome their opponents, the pair fought on. With Harry’s steady drives and Sander’s clutch short game, the pair managed to finish all square. As this could potentially be the final match of this term, it is great to see the win secured nicely. Won 2.5-0.5 (Harry Xu, I)

Thursday 20th October:

JunJun Steeplechase

The first of the annual inter-house cross country races took place on the final day term before Leave-Out with JunJun. A superb run from Ivor Martin (G) saw him take first place by almost 90s with Caspar Edwards (A) in second narrowly beating James Zawoda-Williams (I) who took 3rd place. The house title was taken by Kenny’s.

All fixtures details can be found on: https://sportsfixtures.winchestercollege.org/

Sporting quote for the week:

"Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all"

(Sam Ewing, Former MLB player & coach)

M.S. Burley

Director of Sport

31st October 2022

Twitter: @WinCollSport