Sports Report – Short Half 2022: Week 9

Tuesday 8th November: Football: ISFA U18 Trophy v Wellington College

Winchester’s 1st XI made the awkward trip to Wellington College Tuesday looking to extend their impressive unbeaten streak in the highly anticipated first round of the ISFA Trophy. The team were confident that a win was impending, however the captain shrewdly pointed out the struggle that lay ahead in the difficult conditions, regardless of the quality of the opposition. Still, the side remained carefully confident as they splashed through the mud onto the narrow Wellington pitch. In classic fashion, we slipped down 1-0 yet again after some casual miscommunication in defence. However, the resilient Soccer XI inevitably found their footing and despite the weather, dominated the game in possession. As confidence grew, so did the number of chances and Caspar Hall didn’t fail to take advantage. A beautifully worked goal around the Wellington defence saw Caspar leather the ball in from close range to level the scores. We didn’t stop there! On the brink of half time, a floating ball into the box from Fennel found the head of Fergus Brant. Despite his height, composed Brant guided the ball into the top right corner to put us 2-1 up at the break.

‘It is a reoccurring theme that after the half time we take it a new level’; today was no exception. The weary Wellington defence were no match for the dynamic duo up top as Caspar proceeded to slide the ball gracefully in at the near post, 3-1! The game felt firmly within our grasp as we continued to entertain the crowd with our exquisite passing. Still, our ‘exquisite passing’ ceased after a moment of poor judgment saw a pitiable attempt at passing the ball back (to GK William Whitehead) intercepted. Once more, a defensive error gifted the Wellington striker, which would later earn him post-match comparisons to Atlético’s Álvaro Morata. However, within minutes, we responded. A deft chip from Foster over the defence found isolated Caspar Hall who scored the final goal of the game, rounding the goalkeeper before passing it into an empty net. 4-2. Caspar’s third secured the result, and we progress to the next round of the ISFA Trophy. Today’s performance showed great patience, determination, and resilience from every player. We are TEN (10) games unbeaten and face the Corinthian Casuals (H) on Saturday next. W4-2 Alex Foster (I)

Chess: English Schools Chess Championships, Regional Qualifier (h)

Congratulations to two of the senior teams on their victories which sees them progress to the next round of the competition.

Thursday 10th November

Fives: U15A v Marlborough College: Won 170-96

Rackets: v Haileybury

First up on the right was our JCA pair of Arthur James-Duff and Seb Kingsbury, against a formidable Haileybury pair who boasted the 3rd seed in the upcoming U15 National Schools Singles Championships. As expected, Haileybury’s pair looked extremely impressive whilst warming up. However, the combination of Arthur’s consistency and some powerful shots from Seb proved a match for the opposition, with Winchester ultimately winning the 3-1. This was a commendable victory against such tough opponents.

Jamie Mitchell and William Hammerson-Jones were next on, playing as the Junior Colts B pair. Some level-headed and controlled play from Jamie ensured that Winchester stayed on top of the rallies, whilst Will’s backhand serve proved effective in helping Winchester to pull ahead in the last two games. These were decisively won 15-5 and 15-2 respectively. Despite the score line, this was a tightly contested match with some exciting rallies against a capable Haileybury pair that saw Winchester win 3-1.

Oliver Frost and Rupert Balmain, one of our Colts pairs, were next on court, playing against a top year girls pair from Haileybury. This was an interesting match with some good rallying displayed all round and many points being closely fought. However, the Winchester pair’s effective use of the side wall and more reliable returning ensured that they maintained control, winning 3-0.

Haileybury also brought some Yearlings pairs, providing a chance for many of the Winchester Yearlings to play in their first rackets match. The format was lots of one game matches, with the intention that everyone played both, with and against, as many opponents as possible. This took place all afternoon on the second court. Some notable performances include: Thai Leetrakul (C) who executed several impressive returns of serve, Kourosh Moghadam (C) who thrived under the pressure of competition and John Langdon (K) who showed great potential in keeping rallies alive. Raul Laszlo-Louro (K), despite his inexperience, rose well to the occasion, as did Caspar Edwards (A), whose left-handed serves created challenging angles for the opposition. Dima Kasumov (I) and Oscar O’Carroll (I) also played well, beating two of Haileybury’s stronger Yearlings in a closely fought clash. This was a great experience for our Yearlings and they all noticeably improved over the course of the afternoon. Rupert Balmain (K)

Squash v Radley (a)

Radley proved too strong in depth for the Winchester 1st V who were defeated 3-2 on Radley's fast courts. The Radley team more used to the livelier conditions won their first three matches 3-0 although a number of the games were very close. The top two Winchester players Shiloh Wu (1st string) and Oscar Henshaw (2nd string) played very well by varying the pace and direction of their shots defeating their opponents 3-0.

Against a strong Radley 2nd V the Winchester 2nd V had some great matches but were defeated 5-0. The matches were close, especially at 2nd string where Pran Busrapan's tight serves were very effective eventually losing 1-3. The closest match was at 5th string where the Radley player started stronger with some good drops but Zach Goulding playing good length, positioning his opponent deep on the court won the next two games to set up a 5th game decider. Playing good tight squash Goulding was 9-6 up only for the Radley player to show great resilience and win 11-9.

The U14V were defeated by a strong Radley side 0-5. The matches were largely decided on the serve and it's return with the Radley players using a fast serve to really force their opponents to volley. The tactic proved very effective and in all but the first string match the Radley players won 3-0. The 1st string match was an epic battle with Holly Wang (Winchester) retrieving his opponents great drops from deep on the court and attacking them with his own superbly placed cross court drops. Eventually the Radley player was able to play Wang deeper on the court and won the 5th game 11-8. A great game with both players having to play great squash. (RAA)

Rowing

All four of our GB trialists (George Travis, Hugo Killian-Dawson, Lawrence Hagger, Maxim Koval), have made it through to the next stage of the selection process, which will be in February/March. They all did a great job, in some quite intimidating conditions with hundreds of trialists competing.

Saturday 12th November

Football v Corinthian Casuals FC, Westminster School & Charterhouse School

The Soccer XI match against the world famous Corinthian Casuals FC was originally scheduled for the first weekend of September but was postponed due to the death of the Queen. Thankfully, we managed to work a date into the fixture list and despite being the second weekend of November the weather resembled a September afternoon.

The opening exchanges were pretty even with CCFC shooting narrowly wide after three minutes and a rapid counter attack from WinColl leading to a shot over the bar from Alex Foster. The ball was being passed well from both teams with the Casuals sitting off their younger opponents but using their communication and anticipation skills to nip in and break up some of the Soccer XI attacks. Midway through the first half the Casuals conceded a free kick just outside the box and a clip into the danger area from Freddie Van Every saw Alex Claisse rise to deftly glance a header into the top corner. The Casuals came back quickly and a thundering shot from outside the box smashed against the cross bar with keeper Whitehead rooted firmly to the spot. More pressure ensued from the Casuals and this time Whitehead pulled off a great save to deny the veterans and we went into the break 1-0 up.

The first couple of minutes of the second half saw the Casuals attack with intent and we were very much on the back foot. One shot crept past the post and Whitehead made another couple of very smart saves to deny the visitors. However, speed was always going to prove decisive and soon after, another counter attack from WinColl saw striker Caspar Hall go through and take an opportunistic goal to double the lead. Just a few minutes later Soccer XI struck the killer blow with a sweeping attack which saw Hall drive deep into the penalty box and square the ball selflessly to Fergus Brant who hit a 1st time shot into the bottom corner.

The Casuals have too much pride and experience to let things slip and still put some clever attacks together. They hit the woodwork again and then forced Whitehead into an absolute wonder save to deny them a consolation and keep his clean sheet. Soccer XI had the final say when Hugo Barnes smashed a penalty straight down the middle to open his account for the season.

The Casuals spoke generously about the performance of Soccer XI and how welcome they had been made and presented two awards at the end of the game. The first to skipper Freddie, commending him not only on his ability but also his sportsmanship and approach to the game as well as Hugo Barnes for his impressive work throughout the game. Soccer XI now move onto a home match on Thursday against Marlborough in round 2 of the ISFA Trophy. W4-0 (MSB)

This was always going to be a tough game for the 2nd XI as we played against Westminster 1st XI. The boys however acquitted themselves very well and kept going until the very end. The first half was pretty even, if anything we edged the first 25 mins and conceded a goal slightly against the run of play, when Westminster broke and their winger crossed the ball which was headed in at the near post. We were guilty of losing a little shape and discipline, which we addressed at Half Time

Again, the Second half started evenly, but unfortunately, we conceded a second goal when we were unable to clear a corner and the Westminster player reacted the quickest and forced the ball over the line. We then had a good chance to pull one back but Pat's shot was blocked brilliantly by the defender. The boys gave absolutely everything, and we changed the formation in search of goals, but alas conceded another. The eventual scoreline was possibly a little unfair on the balance of play, but hopefully a great learning experience in preparation for Bradfield. L0-3 (PNG)

3rd XI v Westminster 2nd XI L1-2

4th XI v Westminster 3rd XI W3-0

6th XI v Charterhouse 6th XI L5-2

The 7th XI played their best football of the season so far but were undone by speedy opposition forwards who profited from rapid turnovers and breakaway goals on the few occasions we were not pinning them in their half. Bertie Vacher scored our only goal and played very well throughout as did Rudra Patel on his 7th XI debut. L4-1 (RS)

SCB v Westminster U16A W5-1

SCC v Westminster U16B W4-2

The JCA's took on Westminster on the Lords outfield on Saturday, and we were out for revenge after losing narrowly last year in a very close game. We started on the front foot and pressed well as a team forcing Westminster to make errors. After a few early chances we found the opener through Seb Kingsbury (A) who calmly guided a lofted cross into the side netting with his head. Unlike some previous games where we slightly reduced the intensity after an early goal, we carried on our high press as a unit and we were rewarded with another goal this time by Jason Chiang (F). We then continued to dominate possession and went into the break 2-0 up. Westminster came into the second half more dangerous and they started pressing well. They capitalised on a fast break and this led to their first goal just a few minutes into the second half. 2-1. However, we responded in a fast and clinical fashion with a composed finish by Jason to calm any arising nerves. In a chaotic few minutes, both sides found the net with Jason completing his hat-trick. Seb then snuffed any Westminster comeback hopes by volleying with class into the top right. We kept our strong defensive shape throughout due to the excellent performances of Arthur Hampel (B) and Arthur James-Duff (D) even as they scored a late consolation goal. A statement win which represents our development as a side from last year. Thank you to so many parents and staff who came to support. W5-3 Max Jackson (A)

The JCB’s took to the fortress of Palmer for their game against Westminster. Winchester started off slowly which led to Westminster capitalizing and scoring the first goal of the match. However, with our spirit unbreakable they only remained in the lead for 5 minutes after pressure from Alexis Lecourt (K) and Stanley Askew (K) forced the opposition into conceding an own goal. Only a few minutes later with a precise through ball Alexis managed to break through the opposition and score a Dennis Bergkamp wonder-chip from outside the box. Unfortunately, they managed to get one back after an unlucky miscommunication in the box. The first half ended 2-2.

Mr Clay delivered some motivational advice during the break, with Arryaveer B (K) also interjecting and giving some good tactical guidance. Due to this we started the second half with an immediate tenacity we had not seen since Lancing. Tom Gordon (B) and Stanley Askew (K) both dominated their respective wings, constantly putting in through balls and crosses. This eventually led to our third goal from none other than top-scorer Piers Fletcher (A) who, until this point had failed to profit from any of the chances. After some excellent midfield play from Zain Naqui (A) and Vardhan Mehrotra (F) Piers F (A) managed to take advantage of a well-placed pass and replicated Alexis’s earlier goal of a wonder-chip, somehow this time from further out! Overall great win for the JCB’s. Man of the match is awarded to Stanley Askew (K) – with an honourable mention to Piers Fletcher (A), Alexis Lecourt (K) and Zain Naqui (A) for an excellent performance today. We move onto Bradfield on Thursday where we hopefully can keep our unbeaten streak of this half-term. W4-2 (Zain Naqui, A).

The Yearlings A conceded early in this game but soon stepped up the defensive effort to restrict any further good chances in the half. Going forwards we began to move the ball nicely but then struggled to create enough clear opportunities until the introduction of Oluwabusola. His extra pace and drive caused countless problems for the Westminster defence and he soon found an equaliser and could have had another had it not struck both bar and far post before being cleared off the line.

We sustained our momentum into the second half and Oluwabusola added two more to complete his hat-trick. MacCabe and Feyita were linking defence and attack together nicely and Jurdjevic and Zawoda provided plenty of width to stretch the opposition. Despite the goal at the start of the game, Kaung began to play with a calmness and assurance in defence that we have been waiting for too.However, whilst still seeking more goals we began to make the odd mistake at the back and, after sequential momentary lapses and errors down our left side, conceded late on to give Westminster some hope of a draw. Some fight and spirit, in particular from an injured Coles, helped us avoid any additional late scares and we saw out the victory. W3-2 (JMB)

We shrugged off a breakaway goal by the opposition and hit five goals in the first half. Captain leo scored a hat trick and Greg a brace. All nice moves relying on Westminster not waking up. Bur wake up they did in the second half and played some neat football. Disappointed by no clean sheet and by a lack of urgency from some players at times. Geza did show some urgency and was our best midfielder. MOTM to Ned for unflustered defending. Well done on the win though and a guaranteed winning season. W5-2 (PAH)

Swimming

A final mention goes to VIBK1 pupil Jake Hudson (B) who on the weekend of the 5-6th November competed at the SE Regional Swimming Championships. In the 100m Breaststroke, Jake went in seeded 10th, and swam a 0.6 second personal best to finish 2nd in the 18 & under category and 4th overall. Entering the 50m Breaststroke seeded 18th he swam another PB to finish 2nd in 18 & under and 6th overall. In the 200m Breaststroke, a 4th place finish in 18 & under and 6th overall was another solid result. All three of the times achieved by Jake mean he has qualified in the top 15 in Britain for his age group and progresses to the national championships next month.

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

Sporting quote for the week:

Never believe talent is only ability. You need sustainability, durability, reliability and coachability to have true success. (Tom Crean, NCAA Basketball Coach )

M.S. Burley

Director of Sport

15th November 2022

Twitter: @WinCollSports