ISACK U13 Girls Swimming

This week it was the turn of our U13 girls to take to the water in the first of two ISACK swimming competitions. The gala was held here at TES. The girls swam extremely well, both in the individual and team races. Their combined efforts, managed to secure them a very respectable 3rd place finish overall in the U13 category. Another fantastic effort in the pool from our swimmers- well done to all of the girls involved!
ISACK U13 Boys Football
TES 2 v 1 NES

TES carried on their successful start to the ISACK season, making it 3 wins from 4 games. The boys started the game very sloppily with NES playing the better football. At times, the TES team got the ball on the floor and played some good passes, which has been a focus during training, however too often the play was slow and the ball given away cheaply. Despite not playing their best, the boys still managed to grind out a result and did open up the NES defence to create a number of chances. From a set piece Ben got a good flick on and the ball which fell to Jack around the penalty spot, with a good touch he brought the ball down and struck the ball past the keeper who managed to get a hand to it but not enough to stop the goal. Within minutes Woojin had the ball in the back of the net with a great strike from 20 yards but was unfortunate to be offside when he received the ball. Just before half time TES went 2-0 up after Maxwell smashed the ball from 25 yards out - the NES goalkeeper had no chance to save the ball. Even after being 2 up the defence probably were the busiest they have been all season with a combination of Luca, Matthew, Omar and Richard having to make a lot of challenges and Jad in goal had many shots to save. In the second half TES had a number of great chances to finish the game but were unable to pass the ball effectively in the final third and spoiled lots of great scoring opportunities. Even though it was not a great performance, they still worked hard which was epitomised by Jack and Truman on the wings who were constantly running up and down the wings. TES could have scored 4 or 5 goals, with both Maxwell and Benjamin coming close. NES still kept the TES defenders busy and hit the bar from a free kick from the edge of the area. Being wasteful with the many great chances to finish the game led to more pressure on the defence and with NES on top in the last few minutes, they managed to score after a great block by Richard, then Jack, however no-one was able to clear the danger and NES made it 2-1 with a tap in. There is one more league game to play against KES next week and that will decide the TES squad’s ranking position in the semi final stage. A great start so far.
ISACK U13 Girls Netball
TES 60 vs 0 TEA

The girls continued their winning streak this week, with a superb performance. It was an almost flawless performance in many respects, with the TES girls showing great discipline and control from start to finish. Defensively, the girls were fantastic from the very whistle. They put immense pressure on TEA and rewarded themselves this time with a stream of goals. In the first quarter, the girls played an almost perfect match, scoring countless goals with minimum effort at times. Their passing and movement around the court was excellent and they are to be commended for their slick linking play throughout the whole court. Darcy and Callie both started off the game superbly, with neither of them putting a foot wrong. Interceptions and perfect passing made these two invaluable. But as always, they were extremely well supported by Melanie, Olivia - who was kept very quiet this game - Thalia, Ruby and Angelina. The starting seven made sure the game was to be ours, leading 15-0 after the first quarter. As we moved into the second quarter, the bar was set even higher. The girls continued their great start, adding a further 17 goals to the scoreline. Josefin featured in this quarter and had a positive impact on the game, making numerous intercepts. Thalia and Olivia were strong today ensuring that not only were TEA not entering the D, but that they only had two shots on goal the entire game. At halftime, the girls had a very comfortable lead of 32-0, meaning for the fourth consecutive match, the ‘mercy rule’ was to be applied. Into the third quarter and the girls never let up. After half-time, Sienna came on to have her say in the game. She did extremely well, producing some top quality feeds into the shooting circle. Defensively, the girls were relentless and never gave up chasing after and fighting for any loose ball rolling around the court. Their resilience was a joy to watch and they thoroughly deserved the further 12 goals they added to their score. 44-0 with just 10 more minutes to play. The final quarter saw Lily and Lucy once again take to the court. The final quarter saw the girls somehow find another gear. They were determined to reach their target of 60 goals - not reaching this target was not an option to them! They pushed each other and encouraged until the final whistle. 60-0 was the end score and one which highlighted what hard work and dedication in training can do. Next week, they face NES in their final group game of the season. Can they remain undefeated going into the semi-finals?
KFSAC 5 /6 Boys Football
TES vs NES

The TES A squad put in a very good performance against NES in their second competitive match of the season. The boys played with a lot more intensity than in the previous game and came out with a fantastic 6-1 victory. At the start of the match it was quite scrappy with both sides trying to gain possession and territory. The front three of Ciaran, Maxwell and Sam were a constant threat and put together some great attacking moves. Finnley in goal made a couple of good saves, however the defence of Dexter, Harry and Patrick did well to limit the NES team to long distance shots. The breakthrough for TES came when Maxwell struck a left footed shot past the keeper. Ciaran added the second after great attacking play from TES and a well placed cross from Sam found Ciaran on the back post to convert the opportunity. Shortly after, TES added a third when Harry hit the ball well towards goal and Sam redirected the ball into the back of the net with a header. Despite the 3-0 scoreline the game was very well contested but TES could have also easily scored another 2 or 3 by halftime. At halftime Haydn came on to tighten up the defence and TES really started to dominate the game more and added a fourth early in the second half. After conceding again, NES could have easily given in but they didn't and fought throughout and got on the scoresheet keeping the match competitive till the end. The disappointment of conceding inspired the TES boys and they pushed the NES team back, creating numerous chances and added a further two to make the final scoreline 6-1. A very good overall performance from the boys and the front three for TES ended with 2 goals a piece. Great job boys!
After a great win last week the B squad had a much tougher game versus NES B squad. The game was a lot more scrappy than last week’s match and the boys had a lot less time on the ball as they were pressured by the NES players. Despite coming up against strong competition the boys started the game well and took an early lead when Chad burst forward from defence and squared the ball to Oli in the middle, who managed to beat the keeper with a clean strike from his left foot. The game was end-to-end with both teams throwing players forward into the attack looking for goals. NES managed an equaliser with a superb solo effort with the attacker beating a couple of weak challenges before striking the ball past Harrison with a solid finish from the edge of the box. The second half was much like the first with both teams looking to push forward but neither side could really find their cutting edge and finish the chances they created. TES did find a breakthrough when James launched an attack forward and hit a decent shot which the NES goalkeeper could not handle. Chad had worked hard to join the attack and ended up converting the rebound into the back of the net. 2-1 up the boys looked good and should have added to their tally but came unstuck in defence when a number of players switched off and NES took advantage with an easy finish from the middle of the goal. The game ended with a 2-2 scoreline that could have been better for the boys. Both teams remain unbeaten and will play ATIS in the next fixture.
KFSAC 5 /6 Girls Benchball Tournament

This year’s squad of 10 were looking to retain the Benchball title for the 9th consecutive year. The tournament was once again held at TES. Our first game was against NIS. After a nervy start, the girls settled into what was to be a superb performance! They passed and moved extremely well, limiting NIS to taking long shots to no avail. They mounted the pressure from start to finish and came out with a 13-0 win - not a bad start to the day’s proceedings! After this, they went straight into their second fixture against a rather tall ESF team. The girls used their speed and agility to their advantage, proving all too much for the ESF defence to keep up with them. A couple of lapses in our defence however, meant that ESF managed to score. But, nonetheless the girls remained calm under pressure and fought till the end. Another big victory of 13-3. Next they faced NES, who historically have always been our toughest opponents. It was a real tussle with both teams feeling the pressure. Numerous unforced errors were made by both teams, meaning the scoring was kept to a minimum. We were leading 3-1 at half time, but NES came firing back at us straight away offensively. They managed to capitalise on far too many mistakes made by our girls, and so the game finished in a 3-3 draw. Still not a loss, but the girls had work to do in their final two games if they were to retain the title once more. Straight into the next game where they faced the KES giants! To say height wasn’t on our side would be a gross understatement. But speed beats height today as the girls thundered their way to a 6-2 victory. It was a tight game, but defensively our girls were much stronger and made many fantastic interceptions really putting KES on the back foot. With one game to play, it had to be a big win. NES had won all of their games and drawn one. So for us to win overall, we had to beat ATIS well. Fired up for their final encounter, the girls didn’t relent from the first to the last whistle. They were hungry for the title, which after numerous breaktimes given up, they deserved. It was an impressive final display from all of the girls - in the excitement of winning this so convincingly, the score was never noted by the coach - oops! But whatever it was, it was enough to secure us the benchball title. The girls really did play superbly today in extreme heat and under pressure in front of a home crowd. Nourhan, Chloe, Azariah, Divine, Aubrey, Zarah, Nunu, Filippa, Melanie and Noura, are to be commended for their fantastic efforts this afternoon - well done to you all!
British Army Ladies Coaching Session

Immediately following the benchball on Wednesday, the British Army ladies’ football team came to TES to coach our Year 5-8 girls. Over 40 of our female superstars turned and enjoyed 90 minutes of fun playing football! The girls smiled from start to finish, and all of them are to be commended for their enthusiasm, politeness and work ethic throughout. A huge thank to all of those involved in the event, particularly the British Army - it really was a roaring success!