ISACK U13 Boys 5-a-side Football Tournament

TES played very well on Saturday morning to claim the ISACK 5-a-side tournament, hosted by Dasman Bilingual School. TES opened the competition with a sound victory over ESF. The boys dominated the opening game, comfortably winning 2-0. Maxwell got both goals in the opening game, with two superb finishes. Next up, TES faced TEA. Ciaran scored both goals in the second game, getting a tap in from a quick pass by Maxwell and then later on following up from a rebound off the TEA keeper after a powerful strike by Sam. Another 2-0 victory added to the scorecard. In the opening two games, the defence looked solid with Sverre, Patrick and Haydn protecting Jad well. Jad had a quiet game overall, but when called upon, was able to protect our goal extremely well. The third game was against the hosts DBS and it proved to be a very tough and competitive affair. The game was littered with fouls and free kicks. A lack of concentration in the TES defence led to DBS getting a shot from close range. Jad made a brilliant first save but was unable to stop DBS from scoring from the rebound. After taking the lead, DBS were then in control, as they prevented TES from playing fast football. Despite this, TES hit the post and crossbar and were very unlucky to lose 1-0. TES showed great character in the fourth fixture, beating a good KES side 5-1. Sam scored a hat trick and Ciaran added the other two. Against BSK, TES began to look a little tired after having to play four consecutive matches. Despite the tired legs, the boys battled through and beat BSK 2-0. Going into the final fixture there were 3 teams that could win the competition. Our boys knew only a win would give them a chance of claiming the ISACK title. The deciding game was fairly even with both goalkeepers making good saves early on and both sides trying to play football the right way. Midway through the fixture NES took a 1-0 lead, but our boys didn't let their heads drop and continued to battle and pressure the opposition. An error from the NES defence led to a free kick from close range which Ciaran fired through the NES team. Despite the equaliser the TES boys knew it wouldn't be enough to win the competition, a draw would lead to a DBS win overall. With probably the best way to finish a tournament, TES won it in the last minute with a great display of teamwork. The defence remained solid and forced NES backwards with the ball. Maxwell then flicked the ball to Ciaran who returned a pass to put Maxwell 1-on-1 with the NES keeper, in a great display of teamwork and unselfishness Maxwell then returned the ball to Ciaran for a tap in to win the game and competition overall. It was a great display from the TES boys all morning and they can be very proud of the way they played the matches. Jad in goal made some super saves and Patrick, Haydn, Sverre and Sam playing defensively at times, all put in some excellent challenges and played the ball out from the back. In the more attacking positions, Maxwell, Ciaran and Sam were superb scoring lots of goals and creating numerous chances. Not only did TES have the best team on the day but we also had the best supporters. I would like to extend a big thank you to all the TES supporters! A great day for the boys. Well done TES; 2018 Champions!

ISACK U13 Girls Swimming Gala

Our U13 girls were in action this week, in part one of two of their swimming campaign for the academic year. A strong squad of students from Year 6-8 participated and competed really well. Our ‘small but mighty’ girls rose to the challenge on Monday, swimming superbly as individuals and in their relay races. We finished 2nd in both relays, beating off tough competition from NES and BSK. Melanie, Thalia, Filippa, Alice and Taarika were all able to win medals, including a couple of golds. They were well supported by Orla who stepped up at the last minute to replace an unwell Ruby. We were also able to provide opportunity for Emilia, Serena and Kylah to compete as exhibition swimmers. The three of them also swam really well and it was great to see so many girls competing for TES.
The combined efforts of our A squad swimmers, meant that we finished 2nd place overall- higher than our third place last year. The girls did extremely well and aren’t too far behind the current leaders KES. With more ‘oomph’ in the water, who knows what these girls might achieve. Well done to the coaches and swimmers! We are very proud of you all.
Our boys are in action on Thursday, however this report will follow in next week’s article.

ISACK U13 Girls Netball

TES 26 - 5 KES

Well the girls came out firing off all cylinders on Tuesday! Without doubt, their best performance to date. What made our success so special on Tuesday, was seeing every member of the squad play during the match. KES are to be commended though, for proving to be our toughest opponent yet. They did not make it ease and played well right until the final whistle.
The opening 2 minutes were excellent. I couldn’t have hoped for a better start, as we quickly took a 4-0 lead. Things started to slow a little then, as KES started to come back making one or two good interceptions. Defensively, Azariah, Lucy and Yara made life very difficult for the KES GS and GA. Standing at not far off 6 foot tall, Lucy did a great job keeping her at bay. KES managed to find a gap later in the first quarter, to score their first and then second goal of the quarter. After the first quarter, TES lead 7-2. A good start and momentum was on our side. Moving into the second quarter, an unwell Ruby had to leave the court and Aubrey came on to make her GA debut alongside Thalia. The two worked really well and Nourhan and Melanie (as always) fed them superbly from outside of the semi-circle. Defensively, the girls remained strong and only conceded one goal in the second quarter. Offensively, we were almost unstoppable as our momentum grew. The ball was being passed beautifully around the circle, minimal penalties were being given away and our girls played some fantastic netball. After the second quarter, we lead 15-3. The third quarter, Azariah was rested and Zara came on to have her say in the match. Much like the second quarter, the girls momentum and level of netball was high as they continued to pressure KES both offensively and defensively. Lucy and Yara were sublime in quarter three, managing to keep a clean sheet and limit KES’ shooting opportunities. After three quarter, the score was 24-2 and the game was almost ours. With 10 minutes left to play, Nourhan took to the bench after playing superbly well. She was replaced by Thalya, who, with fresh legs and energy, played really well alongside Alice, who came on in place of Zara. Both girls played with confidence and tenacity making valuable contributions to the final victory. Ruby also returned to the court to finish in style, playing with more confidence and determination. Despite being sick, she did her job and supported Thalia well. But tiredness and mistakes started creeping in, as the girls were made to work hard for the final quarter. Possession even out at 50/50, with KES really applying pressure on our shooters. The quarter was tied 2-2 in the end, but our hard work and dominance in the first three quarters, meant that we finished the game 26-5. Well done to all of the girls today. It was a huge team victory. Next week, they face TEA at home.

KFSAC U11 Boys A and B Team Football

A: TES 2 - 1 KES
B: TES 0 - 3 KES

The TES boys opened up the defence of the KFSAC football league title with a win against KES. It was KES who dominated the possession and territory early and the TES defence of Sebastian, Adham, Sam and Joshua were kept very busy. For the first 5 minutes of the game, we were unable to get out of our half and were lucky not to be a goal or two down early on. Gradually, the boys worked themselves into the game and were able to get the ball out wide and force some attacks. Taylor, Carl and Andrew were able to get more of the ball and forced a few saves from the KES keeper. At half-time, the score was 0-0 and the boys had worked hard to keep it that way! In the second half, the KES team again controlled the start of the half and took a 1-0 lead with a long distance shot that beat Sebastian. Mohammad and Rakan added energy to the team and pressed the opposition. It was Rakan that scored the equaliser for TES, after a good corner was attacked by Joshua and rebounded to the edge of the area where Rakan placed the ball past the KES keeper. The game was end to end with both teams having chances to score and take the lead. The team to score next, were most likely going to win. A few good interventions by the TES defenders stopped KES from claiming the win and with minutes left Carl poked the ball past the keeper from distance. We were perhaps fortunate to claim the win but the boys worked hard and did just enough things right on the day. Well done!

The B team wasn't able to replicate the result of the first team and had a very tough fixture. KES had a number of very good players and controlled the game for most of the 20 minutes. From kickoff, the KES team pushed forward and put great pressure on the TES team. Mohammad in goal had plenty to do and Sean, Matt and Tristan in defence made a number of vital challenges and interceptions to prevent KES from taking the lead. Ali, Gonzague and Tarik in the attack had very little ball and spent most of the half defending in front of their own goal. Unlike the A team, the B team didn't get the ball wide and advance up the pitch. KES took a deserved lead with a long-range free-kick that beat Mohammad unfortunately. Just before the end of the first half, the KES boys took a 2-0 lead with another good shot that beat the TES defence. Senai and Kabir were subbed on and worked hard with the other boys. The second half was very similar to the first with KES dominating but the TES boys worked very hard and did create a number of attacks and forced a couple of saves from the opposition goalie. It was a much improved second half but KES were still the better side and made the score 3-0 late in the game. The boys worked very hard and hopefully the effort and enthusiasm they showed will lead to improved performances during the rest of the season.

ISACK U13 Boys Football

TES 7 - 0 TEA

The ISACK boys continued their great start to the football season with another convincing win, this time against TEA. From the very start of the game the TES boys pressured and forced the TEA team backward with most of the game being played in the TEA final third. The boys attacked continuously and left the defense of Patrick, Sverre, and James very little to do. Jad in goal was a spectator for the vast majority of the game. Despite the dominance, the boys couldn't convert their chances into goals in the opening minutes, but then midway through the first half we were 2-0 up. Ciaran worked the ball down the line beating his defender before squaring the ball to Maxwell who tapped it home. Seconds later, Maxwell added a second. The defence then began to join the attackers upfield with James and Patrick working the ball well wide and Sverre had a shot from distance which troubled the TEA goalie. Chad, Ethan, Haydn all entered the game and TES were creating numerous chances. Oe was finally converted from a corner when Truman attacked the ball well and put us 3-0 just before halftime. The passing and movement from the boys was a delight to watch and they controlled the game from start to finish. The second half carried on in the same way as the first, with Chad hitting the post with a great volley and Sam also going close to a fourth goal moments later. It was Sam who added the fourth goal, with a great strike from 20 yards out that flashed past the keeper after driving forward from the halfway line. 30 minutes into the game, the score was 5-0. Ciaran then got on the end of a pass from Maxwell and placed the ball beyond the TEA keeper. Ciaran then added his second of the game flicking the ball in a corner at the near post from Sam's good delivery. TEA then managed to get some possession and capitalised on some lack of concentration in the TES defence and Jad made a great save to keep a clean sheet. At the very end of the game, Truman beat a couple of defenders with good footwork and then passed the ball back to Sverre who fired a great shot into the top corner to end the game 7-0. Another great performance boys, keep it up!