KFSAC U11 Girls Benchball; Champions
For the tenth year in a row, TES has won the Girls U11 Benchball tournament. The ten girls showed great discipline, skill and teamwork to win the championship, beating every team they came across. Their first game against DBS, was a slow starter with numerous simple mistakes being made. Nonetheless, the girls eventually settled into the match and began to play really well. By half time, we had a 4-1 lead. The second half was a much better performance, with the girls dominating the match and winning it 9-1 in the end. A great start to the tournament. They went straight into their second fixture against ESF, and lead from start to finish. The nerves were well and truly settled, as the girls dominated the match, using their speed and discipline to their advantage. 10-0 in the end, and 2 wins from 2. Next up after a short break, were NES. To say they were giants in comparison to our girls, would be a gross understatement. Our little ‘TES mites’ showed no fear though, as they dove straight into their toughest match of the tournament. To begin with, it was goal for goal, both teams fighting it out for the win. But it was TES who went into half-time with a one goal lead, as the score stood at 3-2. As we moved into the second half, it was TES who had the better start, scoring 3 back to back goals. Our girls fought hard, and despite one or two lapses in defense, managed to hold on to the lead, eventually winning the game 10-4. On this occasion, speed really did beat height! We were then straight into our penultimate match, against yet another tall KES team! It was a ropey match, with both teams making unforced errors and bad judgements when passing at times, however TES capitalised on KES mistakes and once again lead the match from start to finish. The girls played really well in the final few minutes, and won convincingly 6-2, with just one more game to go. ATIS were the only team who could now stop us from retaining the title. The girls were fired up and hungry for their final win. From the very first whistle, TES were flying. Minimal mistakes and fantastic team-work, meant that we won the game comfortably. The girls played superbly, and won their final match 9-1. Monday evenings victory in the Benchball once again, was due to hard work, commitment and superb team work from all ten members of the squad. The support of the parents and fellow students, also ensured that we had the best supporters and the girls and I are very grateful to you all. A massive well done to Zarah, Filippa, Orla, Nunu, Melanie, Natalie, Isabella, Ella, Vivienne and Erin! Thoroughly deserving champions!
ISACK U13 Girls Netball
TES 15 v 24 NES
After 21 months of not losing an U13 girls netball fixture, the unbeaten run had to come to an end eventually, as the girls faced a very strong NES side. An old rivalry that will never die down, the girls were a bag of nerves before the game had even started. The opening 5 minutes were very much dominated by NES, as they took a 4-1 lead. The second 5 minutes were better, as our girls started to settle into the game a little more. It then turned into a goal for goal affair, with the first quarter ending 8-5 in favour of NES. Not the best of starts, but 3 goals can easily be clawed back. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case, as the second quarter turned from bad to worse. The girls heads weren’t in the game, and it seemed they had given up not even half-way through the fixture. Credit to our opponents, who played extremely well. Their standard of netball was what our girls had reached in previous fixtures, but couldn’t find today. 17-8 at half time, and the game was all but over. A few changes were made at half time, including a defensive swap, a new GA and movement in the centre of the court. The changes proved to be effective, as the second half was a much tighter affair. The third quarter was tied at 3-3, with TES scoring the first goal. The girls looked more like their old selves and it was clear, they weren’t going to let NES run away with the game. The fourth quarter was final worthy, as both teams threw everything except the kitchen sink into the match. TES took a 2-0 lead, with NES then pulling it back to 2-2. Then TES moed to 4-2 ahead, with just 2 minutes to go. With the hope of winning just one quarter on Tuesday, all the girls had to do was hold off a strong NES shooting combination. Alas we couldn’t, as the final quarter was drawn 4-4. When the match is broken down, NES won the first half convincingly,but the second half proved that our girls are good enough to win the ISACK title. Back to the drawing board we go, as we prepare for our semi-final match up (date, venue and opposition TBC) and hopefully, one epic final against NES! Heads up girls; let’s see this game as a learning curve!
ISACK U13 Boys Football
TES 0-0 DBS
The football squad continued their undefeated start to the season with a 0-0 draw against DBS. The boys put in a much-improved performance from the previous week against BSK, showing more desire and being more positive during the game. The boys pressured the opposition and forced them back into their own half continually and forced DBS to resort long ball. Sam and Truman were flying down the wings with the ball and created a couple of chances for Maxwell, who worked very well along the front line. Ciaran, in midfield, was controlling the middle of the pitch and was able to get a number of shots off from distance. DBS did get a number of chances up front but Jad in goal made a few comfortable saves and the defense made vital interceptions and tackles. The boys attacked the ball in the air a lot better this week, winning a majority of headers and Chad made a great defensive clearance midway through the first half. Sverre, Dexter, and Haydn looked calm and controlled in defense with Patrick, James and Ali all came on to add energy to the performance. At halftime, TES had perhaps the better of the game but could not get the opening goal (Ciaran looked destined to score after beating a few players but he was brought down by the last defender and Maxwell's free-kick just went over the crossbar). The second half was very similar to the first but both teams had better scoring chances, both goalies made superb saves to keep the game level. TES was getting closer and closer to scoring but the last pass or shot just wasn't quite right. Sam, Ciaran, and Maxwell all went close to scoring but the DBS made some fantastic saves and TES really did deserve to get the lead. Despite having the better of the game, DBS did come close to scoring but Jad also made some excellent saves. A better performance but another draw for the boys, we will look to get back on a winning streak against ESF in our final group game
KFSAC U11 Boys Football
TES 0-7 NES
The TES boys had a very disheartening result against a superb NES squad on Wednesday afternoon. NES started the game very well and looked great from kickoff and looked very composed on the ball. Despite coming up against a strong opponent, the boys started the game well and created a couple of very good scoring chances. Carl, Taylor, and Andrew worked extremely hard in attack and the defense of Adham, Rakan, and Josh all had to make numerous tackles. Sam, in goal, made a few brilliant saves and showed great bravery when diving down at players feet to stop NES from taking the lead. Despite playing against a good team, the boys managed to force NES back and keeping the pressure and game at their end of the pitch. Taylor went close to scoring but his shot was deflected onto the NES post and bounced away from goal. Carl, Mohammad, and Andrew also forced saves but we were unable to strike to ball cleanly, unlike NES when they opened up the scoring with a long distance shot that beat Sam. NES added another 2 goals before halftime and put a great deal of pressure on the boys. Tristan entered the game, in defense, and he was also under a lot of pressure throughout the game. The boys did a better job of staying goalside of the opposition and were defending a bit better individually. Unfortunately for the boys, NES's quality shone through and they completely dominated the second half scoring another 4 goals to take the score to 7-0. It was a very tough match for the boys and we look forward to the next game, where hopefully we can back on a winning track
The KFSAC B squad suffered the same outcome as the A squad but the game was a lot more competitive than the A squad. The positioning of the forwards for the team was much improved from the previous week, which resulted in more scoring chances for the boys. Gonzague, Tarik, and Sean all were working well as a team and kept the ball near the NES goal but were just unable to score. Tarik went closest with scoring for TES when his well-hit free kick flew straight onto the post, the goalie was not close to it but unfortunately, it bounced away from goal. Ali, Senai, and Matt all worked very hard getting up and down in defense but due to a lack of concentration NES managed to behind us and Seb, in goal, had no chance of saving the 2 goals that NES got in the first half. Kabir and Mohammad G both came onto the pitch a halftime and worked really hard for their teammates. The second half for TES was a lot better and they created a number of scoring chances with Gonzague forcing a few saves and us forcing lots of corners during the half. The defense looked a lot more organised and the boys put in a great effort in the second half. TES managed to get the goal they deserved when Matt scrambled in a shot after sustained pressure by the TES team. A much better second half by the boys and we will look to carry that momentum over into the next fixture.