The Chronicle, Summer Term 2017

30 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

Football By Nicholas Bond, Master i/c Football The football 1st XI started the season well, attending Rugby School’s pre-season tournament, and recording some positive results versus Abingdon and Oakham. This was a great chance for the new Head Coach, Chris Hackett, to see the boys in action. Chris joined the coaching team having recently retired from professional football, playing at clubs such as Millwall and Oxford City. The start of the season brought some tough fixtures for the senior teams. Despite playing some fantastic football, goals were few and far between. It quickly became apparent that the senior teams were struggling to hit the target during the early part of the season. It wasn’t until the latter half of the season versus Stowe

2016/17 1st XI awards winners: Players’ player: Rory Saldanha ( Dragon ) Coach’s player: Rawdie Marks (Captain) Golden boot: Maximilian Heil ( St Alban’s College ) and Dekoye Coker ( Summer Fields ) As we look forward to next season, the U16s showed some great footballing prowess, with a great result versus MCS on Corfe, and a narrow loss to a physical Stowe team away from home. This sets the football club up for a positive 2017/18 season.

when both the 1st and 2nd XIs found their scoring boots, with the 1st XI putting six past a strong Stowe team. The goal-scoring continued with a strong win versus the SES Martyrs XI during the penultimate week of term. 1st XI captain Rawdie Marks ( Leighton Park ) had this to say about the season: “The season was a tough one, made harder by a few injuries. However, the boys continued to put the effort in throughout the season and played some good football, even though the results did not always go our way. The boys were able to tap into some great coaching during the season, though we struggled with our finishing at the top end. The season ended with a great home win, which the team thoroughly deserved.”

Alex Holding ( Swanbourne House )