Match summary: 24th February 2010
Netball v Oakham:
Various changes led to some challenging games v Oakham netball teams. Witham U13Bs played against Oakham U13As: they fought bravely, but their passing let them down on numerous occasions. Oakham were quick and won many 50/50 balls. The Witham spirit was ever-present and the girls tried hard to win the game, but unfortunately they lost 4-10. As a practice for their tournament next week the U13A girls then played a quick tournament length game v Oakham U13As: they were slow to start and were quickly down 0-3. In the second half they pulled themselves together and were able to pull back to achieve a 4-4 draw.
The U13C team played a combined Oakham U13B/C team: our girls got off to a rather poor start and gave Oakham much of the possession which led to many goals. However, at half time the enthusiasm in the team increased and they won the second half 7-5! Unfortunately, overall it was a 7-15 loss. Holly Carvath-Stubley and Alicia Skinner shot very well in the second half.
Witham U11As played Oakham’s U12Bs in an end to end nail biting game of netball. Our mid court players worked hard to find space, the shooters supported each other in the circle and shot some super goals and the defence marked their opponents tightly making many great interceptions. Another great result against an older and taller team - the girl’s should be very proud of how they played as a team, well done. Final score: 13-12 to Witham. The U11B girls played against Oakham U11A. Good team work and great netball skills were demonstrated consistently throughout the game. Shooting was at its best during the first and third quarters. The Witham girls won easily in the end 11-3.
Senior Boys Hockey v Oundle:
Resolute defending was the order of the day as Witham’s 1st XI took on a pacey Oundle side. Much of the first half was spent defending our territory and the back 3 of Ed Beddows, George Chatterton and Charles Hay showed superb cohesion and worked effectively as a unit. Witham were forced to rely on sporadic counter-attacks. However the half-time whistle went with neither side having made a breakthrough. Our second half performance was a vast improvement and the boys created a great deal more space with Barney Carr pulling the strings in the centre and our wingers using more width to aid the attack. Unfortunately, Oundle continued to threaten on breakaways and their right winger showed blistering pace to race through on goal and slot the ball home under an onward rushing Rob Shepherd. With little time left, Witham tried to muster an equaliser and were gifted the perfect opportunity with a short corner awarded 1 second prior to the final whistle. The execution of the move was not good enough and Oundle were able to clear the ball up-field to seal victory. Congratulations to Charles Hay on receiving the Man of the Match award.
The 2nd XI had a closely contested game, albeit one in which possession was conceded rather too easily by both sides. Brute force, it is now realised, is less effective than work rate and accuracy. Both teams had opportunities on goal but neither scored: final result 0-0.
The 3rd VII put in a very pleasing and committed performance against quite strong opposition. Oliver Skinner played particularly well and Anthony Morris is to be commended for unstinting effort. Final score: 0-3.
Football v Great Houghton:
The Colts A put in another inspired performance to comprehensively outclass Great Houghton. The opposition simply could not handle Witham’s crisp passing, intelligent movement and incisive shooting. Goals were scored by Charles Cox (2), Charlie Forecast (2), Alex Hobill (2), Adam Castle, Alex Lambert and Josh Lewis. Very well played again boys!
The Colts B had a very strong first half against Great Houghton resulting in a 5-0 lead at half-time. Matt Vaughan set up a number of goals, three of which were scored by Luke Beale. It was a pleasing 6-0 win at full time.
The growing confidence of the Colts C team continues to please with a convincing display to outplay Great Houghton 6-0 with Archie Sumner and Will Knight both recording hat-tricks. The Colts D also played a short match v Great Houghton Colts C.The boys showed great resilience in fighting back to secure a 3-3 draw when it had looked like the balance of the game had dipped away from them. All the boys played their part and showed their versatility by swapping positions with ease during the match. Henry Neve’s brace secured the draw but the champagne moment went to Gaby Forbes-Roger’s goal from a ludicrously narrow angle.
Netball v The Elm’s:
The U9A team had a decisive 7-0 win over The Elm’s. It was a super game in which the whole team improved and Eve Scott shot strongly. The U9B team game was a 1-1 draw in which Chloe Sharman shot a great goal and Georgina Hakney was solid in defence. Well done U9s!
Mrs Edwards
