With only a few games played before the restful half term, our pupils were put through their paces at the Lord Wandsworth Hockey 7s tournament, where our Junior A team fought in an uphill struggle. Our Netball B team, however, had an incredible game against rivals Leighton Park, and the 4th XI football team were tried by The Gordon's School, and worked their socks off!
Hockey
Junior As v Lord Wandsworth College
Wednesday 7 February saw the Junior As travel to an innovative 7s tournament organised at Lord Wandsworth College! The boys had to learn quite a few new interpretations of the rules and really had to think outside the box. The boys even got to use 3-minute power-plays during each game. Five games of two 9-minute halves with new short corner rules and restart rules resulted in some awesome, fast-paced hockey.
Shiplake started off against Lord Wandsworth A and lost 1-5 with Harvey Groves-Raines opening his goal account for the season. Next up, our boys played King’s College School and went down 2-4 in a very tight game. Again, Harvey slotted one past the keeper and Oliver Rouse-Roberts hit the net with a great reverse hit. The Shiplake boys began to find their stride and took on King Edwards next. Our boys used their power-play well, with Harvey netting a hat trick and Henry Poustie poaching a goal from Harvey to make the final score 4-1.
Finally, Shiplake got a break and were able to watch some great hockey before facing Pangbourne in a closely fought battle. The score ended 1-2, with Oliver scoring from free play. Another break saw the team shiver and stiffen up in the cold. This meant the last game against Lord Wandsworth B was very difficult, and with no subs for this game due to exhaustion, our boys went down 0-9.
A great tournament with eight goals scored. A special mention to Max Bromell for some unbelievable saves in goal and some great new 'bouncing' skills displayed and Oliver Rouse-Roberts for unstoppable work rate.
Football
4th XI v Gordon’s School
With little warmup, Shiplake kicked off and both teams were away! Our boys soon found their stride and inspired Adam Porter to take a shot from 40 yards. They soon found themselves taking a corner, and with great delivery and an even greater header, Jerome Rocks achieved the first of Shiplake’s goals.
It was brilliant to see both teams giving the game all they had while having to defend from both sides. In no time at all, Louis Vickers had scored again, and just before half time no less. Seconds after Gordon’s School had kicked off; it became clear that the 4th XI don’t cope well with long journeys! Despite this, Shiplake saw great defence from Archie Buchanan and Taz Ruparel who cleared several balls off the line.
Unfortunately, our boys conceded a slippery goal which inspired them to come back kicking. After a few tactical substitutions from Mr Geyton, the boys stood tall. In the last five minutes and apparently out of nowhere, Jack Powell snuck in two consecutive goals, leaving the final score at 4-1.
Well done for an Incredible performance by Isaac Beasley in goal! This result puts Shiplake’s 4th XI 6 points ahead in the league.
Netball
U18B VS Leighton Park
The first quarter began with the girls getting a taste of Leighton Park’s play, which wasn’t dissimilar to our girls’. Excellent centre play from Hannah Burnett allowed Shiplake to keep the ball moving up and down the court, which lead to eight early goals in the first quarter. Great defence from Hannah Stevens and Georgia Holliday allowed the team to regain the ball from Leighton park on many occasions. Hannah Simmonds-Gooding managed to keep hold of the ball so well, making it challenging for Leighton Park to score.
At the start of the second quarter, Rhian Edwards was brought on and demonstrated some excellent defensive skills, which allowed the girls to continue from where they had lead off in the first quarter. By channelling the ball up and down the line, the girls were able to get it down to their own goal quickly, meaning that Megan and Daisy were ready to take a shot.
Seconds into the third quarter, Shiplake had already scored four further goals, which encouraged the girls to carry on and score a few more before Leighton Park had the chance to. Great defending and attacking from all the girls allowed the team to get a well-deserved win, with the final score being 31-10 to Shiplake.
Another well-earned win from Shiplake; Player of the match goes to Megan Tooley.
Report provided by Captain Emma Renwick