Sports Report – Short Half 2024, Week 1

The opening weekend of term saw the Soccer Club start the inter-school fixture list with a part-block against Hampton School. The U15s will play their section of the block towards the end of the month. Although there weren’t any victories this time, two battling draws for the top two senior teams stands them in good stead for the upcoming block fixture against Eton on Saturday.

It is always difficult for the first year pupils playing their first match together after just two training sessions but the Yearlings A team have an EFSA Cup first round match this Thursday to try and bed in some patterns before they host Eton Saturday.

Saturday 7th September 2024: Football v Hampton School

Soccer XI opened up our season with a game against traditionally strong Hampton producing a hard-fought 0 - 0 draw. And yes it was not a boring draw as both teams gave everything as they looked to nick the goal which would win the game, but in the end a draw was probably a fair result from a Winchester point of view. Some excellent defensive displays from Jack and Dom Jin the centre of defence and Jason M and George B in midfield, but all over the pitch the boys were superb. Hampton were always pushing and challenging our boys but I was so pleased with the work rate and togetherness. This stands us in good stead leading into Eton next week and a positive start to our campaign. Well done boys. [JRD]

A refreshed Second XI took to a damp Bull's drove to take on Hampton where we looked to attack right from the off. We pressed well as a team and looked to close down Hampton's midfield at every opportunity. We crafted openings well and a whipped Jason C corner was headed down and handballed by a Hampton defender with the referee awarding a penalty. Nerves were nowhere to be seen as left back Max J stepped up to the spot and nearly ripped the net off as he rifled the ball into the top left corner to make it 1-0 to Winchester. We kept up the pressure and after a whipped ball down the line, the Hampton keeper came to claim but spilled into the path of the marauding Tomo O who slapped the loose ball from the edge of the box into the top left corner. We kept the pressure up but without forcing anything and work rate was good both going forward and defensively and anything that did get through was cleaned up well by Seb B in goal.

At half time we spoke about maintaining our concentration and keeping things tidy and simple, attempting to restrict the amount of time that Hampton had on the ball which we managed reasonably well. Good runs from the Hampton wingers resulted in multiple successive corners and we felt the pressure defensively with a ball to the far post being headed back across the box and nestling into the bottom left corner. The Hampton corner was to be our undoing again as another far post ball fund a towering Hampton head and found its place in the net as we saw our 2 goal lead cancelled out. We looked to regroup and find a winner and this left us open at the back, with good recovery runs being made by our changed backline to prevent any further concessions. A final result of 2-2 can only be viewed as fair and gives us a lot of positives to take from it and we hope to carry lots of momentum into a tough away game at Eton next weekend. [Seb B, G]

3 rd XI (h): 0-2

4th XI (h): 1-6

Yearlings A took kick-off and from the start it was clear that they were a very good team. However, after Barnaby D’s long ball over the top Tobi had a chance on goal. He got very close with his left foot effort across the goal which just missed. Hampton took the lead in the 26th minute after the original cross was not dealt with properly. The ball back into the middle was a very nice cross and then a very good volley from the edge of the box shot in to the top corner off the crossbar. The next Hampton goal was from a nicely threaded through ball and two of our defenders were playing them onside meaning they had a very easy finish. In the 45th minute the ball was bouncing around the Hampton area and Otis took one touch off his chest and volleyed it into the bottom of the post. Sadly from there it was all Hampton’s game. A few tired mistakes lead to two well taken Hampton goals before Freddie, after having a successful run up the wing, crossed it into the crossbar. This was another close chance for Winchester. Hampton, in the closing minutes sealed the victory with a very strong header from a cross right on the byline. The game finished a disappointing 5-0, however, there were many positives to take back from our performance. L5-0 (OD, G)

The first game is always tricky when no one is certain of their position, least of all their coach. Many thanks to the players who played out of place for the Yearlings B. Some players were overawed by the occasion, but I'm sure they will gain confidence as the season progresses. There were lots of positives: Freddie was brimming with assurance and battled well throughout. Jeremy scored a morale boosting goal, which was nicely taken. The men of the match though were Dylan who was a dynamo in midfield and Noah who was stalwart in defence, rather like the Ents guarding Fangorn Forest. L1-6 [PAH]

A tough opening fixture awaited a fledgling Yearling C team but we began with vigour and enthusiasm. There were some good moments of play early on but the deadlock was eventually broken by a looping freekick from Hampton on the edge of the box which found its way under the keeper. This was followed by two more before half time, one of which may have been stopped on the line but which was given. Regardless, the momentum was with Hampton. The second half was a more even affair and although Hampton managed to thread a pass through to their forward who slotted it in the corner, Winchester had their own chances and finished the game with gusto. Some great passing enabled by movement off the ball allowed Pengxiao to break free after a quality run he buried the ball past the keeper. The final five minutes were all Winchester and if the team can remember this form, the team has promise for the season ahead. L4-1 [SJM]

This week’s Yearlings D match was sadly won by a very strong Hampton side. However, the Winchester team played very well, with specific mention to our 2 subs brought in at very short notice. The game started off with a very poor kick-off from us that was then turned into a Hampton attack. Though our defence fought valiantly Hampton squeezed a goal past Harvey W in net. We then fought back and gained an excellent goal scored by Jonty S, in midfield, to end the first half. Sports Department The second half again started with Hampton dominating in attack, resulting in a very (very) scrappy goal from a corner. The mighty Ds then - assisted with some tactical subs by Mr Mapstone-went on an all out attack, along with some Winchester domination (especially on the left wing). Our opposition then collected the ball and cleverly used the vacated right side to score a third in the final touch of the game. Overall it was a great performance, precisely what was needed to start the season off. One that shows lots of promise for the coming season. We hope to welcome some more parents at our coming game, where we shall beat Eton! L3-1 [PM]

There are golf, rackets, squash and badminton matches taking place this week as well as more football fixtures and all details can be found on:

https://sportsfixtures.winchestercollege.org/

Sporting quote for the week:

“It is amazing how much you can accomplish when it doesn’t matter who gets the credit.” Former US President, Harry Truman

M.S. Burley

Director of Sport 10th September 2024

X: @WinCollSports