Much anticipation has followed our current 1st XI footballers throughout their time at the school. Whilst COVID-19 restrictions may have robbed them of last season, there are high hopes for this one, which is most of their final year at the school.
Kicking off with a couple of friendlies; the experimental team, demonstrating a fair bit of rustiness, succumbed to a 2-3 defeat at St. Edwards, in a stereotypical ‘game of two halves’ where a draw would have been easier to digest. Despite the result, there were standout performances at either end of the pitch. Upper Sixth Former Freddie Sellars in goal not only made numerous smart saves but a quite remarkable double save from a penalty, and up front was Upper Sixth Former Ellis Morgan, who scored both Bedford goals with calm finishes.
Following this the boys faced a challenging fixture against a very strong Haileybury side. Outplayed in the first half, the team had to demonstrate not only grit but also plenty of defensive intellect to keep the visitors at bay. Upper Sixth Formers Ben Eidmans and Tai Tsang Goodwin led with strong performances keeping the score to 0-1 at half time. As in the previous fixture, the boys settled into the second half well. Upper Sixth Former Raoul Flora and Lower Sixth Former Jerry Williams started to gain control of the midfield battle and they looked to dominate for a period of the match. Ellis Morgan ensured this was capitalised on with another two comfortable finishes either side of an unfortunate own goal for the home side. Whilst Haileybury regained the attacking impetus for the final 10 minutes, a solid and organised performance ensured the match finished 2-2.
Combined with plenty of hard work on the training pitch, the 1st XI now look to take this momentum into the Mercian League, having started with a solid victory and controlling performance over Uppingham 1-0 where Upper Sixth Former Jake Pattison fired the boys to three points. Away fixtures against Oakham and Rugby will take place over the next week before we host Wellingborough and Oundle after half term, sandwiched between travels to Loughborough Grammar and Kings Ely.
Please do come and support the boys as they look to not only make up for the disappointments of 2020/21 but also end their time with the school football club on a high.