The Chronicle, Summer 2019

40 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

Boys’ Hockey By Jamie Davies, Head of Hockey

The 1st XI had a tough year. Every game, however, was extremely hard fought and competitive throughout. The season had some memorable highlights in which captain, Toby MacLachlan, was to the fore. On the first morning of pre-season the boys’ fitness was fully tested, perhaps too rigourously as we then travelled to Bloxham and lost in the afternoon. Later in the season we managed to turn that result around and beat them 3-2. The counter-attack formula we utilised very nearly proved its worth at Rugby when we went from 3-0 down to 3-2 with 10 minutes to go. Unfortunately, we lost in a nail biter, but a breakaway goal from Will Monks was one of the goals of the season. The highlight of the season, however, had to be beating Abingdon 3-2 at the St George’s Sixes, including a last minute deflection into the top corner by Max Liddy. The Upper Sixth leavers – Toby MacLachlan, George Newson, Max Liddy, Will Monks, Charlie Watson and Harry Power – led incredibly throughout the season

and will be hugely missed, whilst the Most Improved Player award went to Tom Leeson. Highlights for the 2nd XI included the 3-3 draw against Rugby and the excellent performance against Cheltenham College. The game against Radley was a case of ‘what might have been’ having been 2-0 up at half time before collapsing in the second half to lose 5-2. Over the course of the season, Alessandro Corrias performed with distinction in goal, William James was dynamic in midfield and Fergus Hill scored a number of important goals. The 4th XI showed real spirit, determination and a warrior-like attitude when faced with some impressive opposition. Whilst not a vintage season in terms of results, the focus of this team was to improve as the season developed, which certainly proved to be the case. Anchoring the defence with muscle and hard-hitting clearances, Max McNicol provided support to the midfield axis of Jack Piesse and Oliver Ward who were relentless in their efforts to seek and

defend possession of the ball. Their efforts were duly rewarded with goals from various players, giving the team confidence by scoring in most matches, often though they found themselves being beaten at the last by some stiff opposition. The most notable win came against Wellington College, with a score of 6-4. The U15A showed good progression through the season and all involved added to the team, to their individual skills and to their understanding of the game. A tight 1-2 loss to Abingdon started the season, and losses to Stowe and Radley followed a cancellation against Bradfield, but a good win against Bloxham got the season back on track. A slightly depleted Wellington side were up next, but they still had some quality and the ability to threaten. Our strongest away performance of the year swept them aside with a convincing win. Marlborough were our next opponents, a good side and a well- matched game. The final game of the season was Cheltenham. This was a tight affair in the first half, but the Teddies boys probably came out on top. A much stronger second half, with our most dominant attacking performance, resulted in a quick four goals, with the team hungry for more. The U15C were a large group this year who showed great enthusiasm and took their opportunities whenever they could to improve their game over the course of the season. The U14A had an excellent season which was not reflected in the results. As a group, many of whom had not played much hockey, they made a lot of progress and the fact that many of the games were lost by only a single goal indicates what they can hope to achieve in the future. It was very much a season of good approach play but lacking an edge in front of goal; dominant first half displays against Abingdon and Rugby could not be converted into a lead and 1-2 and 0-3 losses followed. They showed tremendous grit and skill to recover from two goals down against Bloxham and Stowe, but were overpowered by a good Radley side and a Cheltenham team with some excellent corner routines. Oscar Cawthorne, Bertie Withers Green and Freddie Walton were the commended players of the season.

George Newson v Marlborough