Football at New Hall Preparatory School
The Year 3 and 4 football team is, again, up and running. Another very popular club, with lots of boys working hard to copy their favourite players from professional clubs. Small-sided games are more of a focus for this younger age group, as we hope to try and give our children different positions to experience. The Year 5 and 6 football team has taken on a new coach, Mr Walding. With his experience as a coach he is hoping for a good season. Children will mostly be playing full 11 a-side games, however, some tournaments are for smaller teams. With a few of the boys attending professional clubs outside of the school, competition for places is sure to be keenly contested!
New Hall vs Heathcote
New Hall began the game assertively, passing the ball confidently and working well as a team. There were a number of good early shots from Justin Smith and Jose Miguel Abad, either clipping the crossbar or missing by a matter of inches. Several minutes later, Justin followed up a great corner by intercepting a goal kick and scoring New Hall’s first goal of the match and the season. The boys maintained the pressure on their opponents and were rewarded with another fine goal, courtesy of Samuel Makins, who calmly finished with his left foot into the right bottom corner of the goal. Henry Baird and Emilio Disco held firm in defence and were an impassable obstacle for any Heathcote players.
A few substitutions were made towards the end of the first half and Connor Sheehan was denied an early opportunity, after a powerful shot was deflected off a defender. Henry and James Bacon demonstrated excellent passing and defensive skills, blocking the small number of attacks from Heathcote. In the final minutes of this half, Justin and Connor put a lot of pressure on the other school, firing in a variety of shots and crosses to keep the goalkeeper busy. Eventually, after an inspirational run the whole length of the pitch by James, Connor was able to score New Hall’s third goal after the keeper didn’t quite control the ball properly and it rolled towards the ever vigilant Connor. The first half finished 3-0 to New Hall.
The second half began with an invigorated Heathcote side attacking New Hall right from the whistle, the two teams now more evenly matched. Callum Grummitt continued to work hard throughout the game and was certainly unlucky to miss the target two or three times, after all his passing and crucial tackles. Justin maintained the flair he had shown in the first half and after setting up several other players, he was rewarded with a brace of goals – one that powered in off a defender and a further goal that was yet again the result of Justin putting pressure on the Heathcote goalkeeper.
A strong but marginally late tackle from New Hall led to a Heathcote free kick which was easily headed away by Henry. Richard Barber, the New Hall Captain and Keeper, then unfortunately gave away an additional free kick for handling the ball outside his area, but the powerful shot (heading towards the back of the net) was easily stopped by a great diving save from Richard, who showed plenty of agility throughout the match. Kavin Kugan demonstrated ample pluck and speed in this half, taking the ball around many players and passing accurately to his team-mates. There were a number of substitutions again towards the end of the half and Connor once more kept the keeper busy with strong shots, as well as running back into his own half to defend where necessary. As the second half came to a close, Marco Choi, a promising goalkeeper from Year 5 and sub for Richard, was unfortunate not to be able to block a rocketing shot from a Heathcote attacker and the match ended 5-1 to New Hall. A great result for the team and a very promising start to this football season – every boy certainly gave his best and it was extremely pleasing to see such a high level of team work.
The team were: Richard Barber (C), Justin Smith, Jose Miguel Abad, Henry Baird, Emilio Disco, Callum Grummitt, Connor Sheehan, James Bacon, Marco Choi, Kavin Kugan and Samuel Makins.
Football vs Moreton Hall
After a long trip to Moreton Hall, our boys quickly got ready for the game by having a good warm-up. From kick off, the first few minutes had a few good attacks from both sides, with plenty of players looking to get their first touches. The first goal came directly from a corner taken by Gregory Oxlade, with Aaron Phipps helping the ball into the back of the net. From a quick re-start, Gregory pounced on a loose ball and broke free, putting the ball past the diving keeper to score the second goal. The game continued with New Hall being forced to defend for the next few minutes from Moreton Hall corners. The first quarter finished off with some frantic end-to-end action, with Harrison Ellis and Scott Taylor again being called into defensive action before the referee blew the whistle.
A few changes were made at the break, introducing Callum Bain to the game, who quickly found his range with a ball in the middle of the goal, 3-0 to New Hall. Callum was helpful in scoring New Hall’s next goal, with a cross which Gregory neatly finished. Just before the half time interval, Kieran went on a mazy run with a pass into Callum who just passed the ball wide. From the resulting goal kick, Callum quickly made an interception and scored to bring the score to 5-0 at half time.
The second half saw Etienne Moule changing from goalkeeper to defender. Luckily for New Hall, his pace saved the day as he ran the whole length of the pitch to make a crucial goal-saving tackle. Goals 6 and 7 came in rapid succession, both in exactly the same way: Callum crossing the ball from the right hand side, and James Fraser scoring calmly. The pressure from New Hall continued, with Robert Hadley making a break down the left. The goalkeeper made a good save, turning a shot from Aaron onto the post and out for a corner. From the corner, another cross from Callum led to a mix-up at the back from Moreton Hall resulting in an own goal. The next action saw Aaron scoring from a Moreton Hall goal kick to make the score 9-0 at the next break.
The last quarter of the game saw Moreton Hall increasing the pressure on New Hall but a strong run from Callum led to a great goal. Next, a cross to Aaron tipped the balance back in New Hall’s favour, the ball hitting the post again! Gregory made a good move passing to Kieran, who just shot wide. The best goal came seconds from the end: some good passing which led to another cross, which Aaron volleyed into the back of the net! The final result was 11-0 to New Hall.
After this great result, we look forward to other games confident that we are able to take on any opposition. Players will develop their communication skills and continue to pass the ball around team-mates a little more for the challenges that lie ahead.
