An amazing week of fixtures that saw Shiplake's fighting spirit earning a number of fantastic wins! In fact, every single team was unbeaten.
Football
Shiplake 2nd XI 11-1 Padworth College
Following a disappointing loss away at Abingdon the week before, this week’s fixture saw the seconds getting their first win on the road! In opposition to the considerable detour taken on the way to the Padworth College, we were direct in attack from the start. Some excellent work from Alex Ward down the left allowed Ben Arnold to switch the play and find Charlie Proctor, who calmly finished to make the score 1-0. Despite a strong reply from Padworth, Tom Harman and Nick Burnage soon managed to take control of the game- dictating play from the middle. This then allowed the impressive Adam Hunt to start feeding the strikers, which eventually led to more goals: Ben Arnold picked up 2 more and James Fenton, on his debut, also scored before half time. Padworth started the second half with a point to prove, putting a lot of pressure on our goal. However, some composed defending from Jonny Graham, Will Clark, Jack Sherman and Ben Tressider managed to keep the opposition’s attack at bay. They were assisted by the colossal Toby Brough, who was supreme between the sticks. After the initial pressure had been absorbed, we got back into our stride and the goals came once again. Ben Arnold completed his hat-trick and Adam Hunt scored 4. Another goal from Charlie Proctor, and from Captain Tom Harman, made the score 11-0. Padworth did, unfortunately, manage to sneak one goal back at the end, which we’re putting down to a lack of concentration!
Mr Duncan Miller
Shiplake 3rd XI 3-2 Claires Court
Our team came fighting fit and ready to make a comeback from what has been a difficult few weeks. Determined to take our winning position back, the team pulled together, with Will Janes and Nick Hayes scoring. A solid win against a well matched team!
Shiplake 4th XI 9-6 Leighton Park
This proved a strong and positive match for the Shiplake Toros. Leighton Park had some injuries up the team chain, and so arrived with only 7 players. Fortunately, we had an abundance of subs and so the game started with 4 Shiplake boys playing in unfamiliar Blue and Yellow. We were up 3-0 inside the space of 5 minutes, and the game looked as if it would be very one-sided. Tom Williams sparked the opposition into action though and scored a fantastic header from a corner, making the score 3-1 to the Toros. We hit back with 4 unanswered goals, including an outrageous flicked back heel by Hassan Rubbani. Half time brought about a handful of changes, which enabled Leighton Park to start the second half fighting, and score 2 goals in 2 minutes. James Vizard, laid back as ever, settled the nerves as he powerfully raced through to restore a 4 goal cushion for the home team. The opposition coach set a target of scoring at least 5 and conceding less than 10, and his words were adhered to as the final score was 9-6 to the Toros. Shiplake boys scored every goal in the match!
Mr Alex Duncan
Shiplake U15A 4-4 Thorpe House
In a thrilling encounter with Thorpe House’s well matched team, a possible win was snatched away from us. Despite gaining the lead twice in the second half, we ended up throwing it away to conclude with a solid draw. Particular mentions go to Oliver Simpson for an excellent display in goal, Ben Westbrook-Burr, Sam Neil and Ryan Jones, for 3 excellent finishes, and Eliott Jordan for another solid midfield display.
Mr Liam Morgan
Shiplake U14B 3-1 Long Close School
Wednesday’s fixture saw our U14B team playing the return away fixture against Long Close School. After a high scoring win in the home game in January, confidence was high. On an exposed pitch, with a strong wind blowing, the game was scrappy from the start, with both teams struggling to keep the ball. The game was very evenly matched with both teams taking it in turns to attack; however, slowly Shiplake began to gain more control of the in midfield. This led to the first goal from Gus Moore, neatly tucking the ball away in the box. This was swiftly followed by a second goal from Ethan Magala-Oruna, giving us a 2-0 lead at the close of the first half. Half time changes meant that Long Close started the second half strongly, catching us off-guard slightly and allowing them to pull a goal back to make it 2-1. This gain on our lead sparked us into action, developing attack after attack. Isaac Neal played particularly well in the centre of midfield, quickly turning defence into attack. Ten minutes before the final whistle, Gus Moore put the game out of Long Close’s reach after reacting to a loose ball in the box. This was another goal for us and the match ended with a 3-1 win.
Mr Joel Rowlinson
Hockey
Shiplake Junior Colts 10-0 Lord Wandsworth College
After a drubbing at the hands of Lord Wandsworth College earlier in the season, our Junior Colts team were out for revenge and it was not slow in coming. Lots of early pressure saw an array of shots from the Shiplake boys, which culminated in a 4 goal lead by half time. Half time did nothing to deter our fighting attitude, and our lead was extended with further efforts on the goal. This lead to another 6 goals in the second half, leaving the score 10-0 to Shiplake!
Shiplake 2nd XI 4-0 Reading Blue Coat
With a depleted side of only 10 players, we knew we had to work hard to stay in the game. This we did and for most of the first half we were playing in and around their D. Eventually, Tom McCooke slotted one home. This was quickly followed up with a blistering shot from new recruit Freddie Davis. Being 2-0 up at half time meant that our biggest danger was complacency, and the performance from the second half didn’t quite reach the level of our earlier action. However, we did manage to score twice more. Tom McCooke took a reverse stick shot into the top corner, and a composed individual effort from Finn Arbuckle, who took the ball into the D and rounded the keeper, ensured us another goal. Our team Coach, Dr Bob Snellgrove said of the match that it was a ‘very solid effort, and a thoroughly deserved win.’
Shiplake 3rd XI 2-1 Lord Wandsworth College
The 3rd XI season has peaked with a memorable win against Lord Wandsworth. This long overdue victory came after a number of near misses, a drubbing at the hands of Henley College! A team weakened by injury, promotion and an English GCSE trip displayed their now characteristic slow start and went into half time 1 goal down. However, the moaning of Coach Nick Brown and far more constructive advice from Head of Hockey Tom Walter, convinced the team that they were in with a chance. Consequently we made far more of our chances in the second half, playing a more confident and open game. Alex Bradley worked hard in midfield and Angus Hall and Tom Riches looked far more dangerous when the ball was pushed forward. Charlie Hunt excelled on the left wing and Emma King-Lewis worked hard as well. Both goals were scored by Tom Riches, who is showing immense improvement in finishing. As the final whistle sounded, the shouts of joy reverberated across the Hampshire countryside!
Mr Nick Brown
Rugby
Shiplake U12A 40-10 Leighton Park
We came into this game unbeaten in 3 games, and were keen to add to that track record. We started the game well, with Ben Wills scoring a try and Max Way kicking home the conversion. With confidence high after the first try, Kai O’Hare quickly added the second try for Shiplake, followed by the conversion. Leighton Park pulled back, causing us some concern. However, some brilliant tackles were made and from the turnover we played quickly, with some lovely passing that enabled Toby Coles to go over for our third try.
Leighton Park started the second half with a strong performance, scoring 2 quick tries but luckily missing the conversions. We were phased about conceding some sloppy tries because of silly mistakes, so pulled together as a team. This resulted in some good possession and the awarding of 2 penalties. We took the first penalty quickly, and Max ran over another try, following this swiftly with another try. We were playing well and Ben Wills scored a second try. With only 5 minutes left, it looked like we had given all we had, but Theo Fewtrell outpaced the Leighton Park defence and scored one final try, giving us a confident win.
Ben Ferguson
Netball
College House v Gilson House
History was made in the annual Boys V Girls Netball ‘grudge’ match, with the College House Tropics beating Gilson House for the first time in the College’s history! The boys played a fantastic match, despite being hazy on some of the rules of the game. Hannah Cartwright put in a strong performance, deservedly winning Woman of the Match, whilst the Tropics’ James Sloman brought home Man of the Match.
More photos from this week's sporting action can be found in our Media Gallery.
