As the season progresses, the teams tackle increasingly challenging rivals. As such, it was a mixed bag this week on the results front; the girls impressed with a victorious netball match, but local opposition Abingdon School proved tough to beat for the 2nd XI hockey team.
Hockey
2nd XI 0-5 Abingdon School
‘The 2nd XI hockey team took on Abingdon School at Reading, in a difficult match against a strong side. We put up a good fight in the first half but ended up 2-0 down at half time. In the second half we began to tire, and conceded a further three goals, to end up with a loss of 5-0. Credit must go to Joe Gilbert-Blay (defence) and Justin Van Vuuren (goalkeeper) who both prevented an even bigger loss!’
Dr Bob Snellgrove
U14A 4-0 Abingdon School
Captain Callum Creighton offers the following report from the victorious match:
‘The game started strongly as Shiplake took control right from the very start, but couldn’t punish the ball into the goal as the overload of Abingdon defence cleared time after time. The strong midfield breezed past their defenders, and that paid off late in the half with Callum Creighton putting Shiplake in front at the break.
The second half saw Shiplake immediately up the score to 2-0, thanks to a great passing play from Barney Rivett and Jacob Kirby, with Callum again getting on the end of it. Abingdon slowly started to attack more, but were halted by the solid defence of Rory Diez-Harrison and Thierry Althorp.
As the game progressed Abingdon started to tire and Shiplake capitalised on this, with Toby Gorringe and Tom Lynskey grabbing a goal each. This made the final score 4-0 to Shiplake.
U13B 3-4 Licensed Victuallers School Ascot
Director of Sport Mr James Gaunt provides a report of a challenging game against a worthy opposition:
‘What a game this was! End to end from the very start, with Shiplake creating many chances whilst also allowing their opposition to have their fair share of chances on goal. Shiplake scored early through George Lucas who was lively and determined throughout. However, despite the best efforts of Jonnie Yulhanson and George Hutchins in defence, it wasn’t long before LVS were back all square. Elliot Richards and Toby Coles gave us good width, often getting good crosses into the LVS D. A number of changes didn’t help the fluidity with which Shiplake played, and this meant that we found ourselves 4-1 down with 15 minutes to play. The most impressive factor was that Kersha Sarkytbayev, Ben Thornber and Ralph Burrows made huge steps forward in only their second game of hockey. Will Lovatt made some good saves in goal and Sylvester Sutherland had some telling contributions in midfield. Shiplake really came back into it in the last ten minutes, scoring twice to set up a tense finish. Unfortunately we did not quite manage to draw level, but it was a very rewarding game for all involved.’
Netball
The 3rd and 4th VII teams took on challengers from Lord Wandsworth College. Despite a mixed result between the teams, both matches provided invaluable experience for the girls.
3rd VII 13-23 Lord Wandsworth College
Despite the disappointing final score, this was a well-balanced match between two very competent teams. From the start, Shiplake were on the attacking front; a lot of their passes and movements were planned and calculated, and the defence didn’t need to spend an awful lot of time reacting to the opposition. Although the score didn’t go their way, the girls learnt a lot working together and where their strengths lie.
4th VII 8-4 Lord Wandsworth College
This exhilarating match was incredibly close; both teams maintained good possession of the ball and created good opportunities for themselves. Shiplake’s defence put in a fantastic performance, communicating well with the rest of the team and using the full length of the court to their advantage. A well-deserved score.