Thursday 25th February 2010

Under 15s  Chester & District 7 a side
Runners up 

In a Round Robin event of 5 matches the College were slow starters on a very quick astro surface and lost narrowly to Blacon before outplaying Christleton and scoring 2 great goals yet still managing to lose! The goalkeeping of Simon Povey was outstanding all evening and contributed significantly to the rapid improvement as the games continued.

The team regrouped and then played some outstanding possession football with intricate passes and fluent movement to beat Bishops Blue Coat with a sharp finish from Josh Isles. The next game against King’s was one way traffic with Nick Bellis and a Ben Handley penalty giving a much deserved 2-0 win. The final game saw a Catholic High team chase shadows as the College cruised to a 3-0 win. A thoroughly enjoyable experience for all the boys who displayed composure, commitment and a fantastic team spirit to come second after such a poor start.

Well done.

Mr Cutler 

Saturday 21st November 2009

Under 15s v North Cestrian (Home)-Friendly

Lost 2-3

Scorers: Ben Phillips (2)

At the final whistle the College team were disappointed with their performance. Unfortunately many felt they hadn’t given their all and it showed throughout.  The College team did find the net on two occasions without reply, courtesy of Ben Phillips, and were leading 2-0 at half time.

Ben Handley continued to put himself about and worked hard, Ben Phillips’s link up play was excellent at times and Yousef Al-Rafai often broke through the opposition defence. However, the second half demonstrated that with a little loss of concentration teams can be punished and within 5 minutes the game was level at 2-2.  It wasn’t long until the visitors put themselves ahead with still twenty minutes to play. 

Yousef Al-Rafai and Joe Wardle found themselves on a couple of occasions in front of goal but the goal keeper was well positioned.  A disappointing match but I am sure the team will regain confidence soon.

Man of the Match: Ben Handley – was often in the thick of things and tried to drive his team forward. 

Mr G Barton

Saturday 14th November 2009

Under 15s V Oswestry School (Away)

Won 1 - 3

Goal scorers: Hal Wilson, Ben Handley & Yousef Al-Rafai.
 
Following the successes in Malta and the victory over Shrewsbury School the U15 team travelled to Oswestry missing 7 of the tour squad through other commitments. This meant that a number of players were able to step up and take their opportunity to represent the College. Two such players were Hal Wilson and Yousef Al-Rafai both of whom scored excellent goals. Hal opened the scoring after 5 minutes with a well struck shot in to the top left hand corner of the goal. Yousef scored the third goal, blasting home from close range.

In between these excellent efforts Ben Handley produced a memorable moment striking from just 4 metres inside the opposition half. The Oswestry goalkeeper was helpless as the ball sailed over his head. Other players that stepped in were Joe Wardle who worked hard on the right flank, Simon Povey who made some telling saves in goal and Oliver Eastwood.

The Oswestry boys worked hard throughout the game but were denied goal scoring opportunities thanks to the determination of Johnny Aplas and the rest of the back four.

It is always a great feeling to come away with a win but to win so comprehensively with this team showed that we now have a large squad of players all of whom have plenty to offer. Hopefully we can maintain this winning streak against North Cestrian next week.

Man of the match Ben Handley ( Dominated mid-field & stunning goal)

A Green

Saturday 7th November 2009

Under 15s V Shrewsbury School (Away) - Friendly

Won 3 - 4

Goal scorers:  Ben Handley (2), Joshua Iles and Oliver Eastwood.

The College team were depleted with many players off due to illness, however the team started extremely well with Joshua Iles on top form once again and causing the home defence all sorts of problems.  It was Joshua who broke the deadlock with a fine finish early into the first half; he managed to beat the opposition goal keeper to the ball and slid the ball home from a tight angle.  All game Joshua’s pace was too much to deal with by the central defensive pair of the home team.  However, Joshua’s game was ended abruptly by the home keeper who recklessly brought him down in the penalty area but with no penalty awarded.  Joshua’s injury was serious enough for him to play no more part in this thrilling encounter.  Shortly after this incident the College were awarded a penalty and the ever dependable Ben Handley coolly slotted the ball home to the right of the goal keeper. 

The second half was thoroughly entertaining with both teams counter attacking with style and acute passing.  The College team again were the first to score via Oliver Eastwood. Shrewsbury School upped their tempo and managed to equalise from a long distant strike to make the game 3-1, the goal certainly sparked the home team into life and the College team found themselves struggling to keep hold of the ball.  With so much pressure on the College defence it was only a matter of time when Shrewsbury scored again and with the game at 3-2 it was anybody’s match.  However, Ben Handley had something to say, he saw the Shrewsbury goal keeper too far off of his line and from just inside the opponents half he fired the ball over the keeper into the back of the net.  This goal calmed the College team and even a last minute goal from Shrewsbury couldn’t spoil prevent a 4-3 loss.

Man of the Match: Simon Povey, dominated his area and made some important saves.

Saturday 19th September 2009

Under 15s V Shrewsbury School (Away)

Won 5—6

Goal scorers:  Joshua Iles (3), Ben Handley (2) and Myles Reid

A fantastic start to the season for last years’ ISA North Champions.  The College team started extremely well with Joshua Iles on top form and causing the home defence all sorts of problems.  It was Joshua who broke the deadlock with a fine finish early into the first half.  All game Joshua’s pace was too much to deal with for the central defensive pair of the home team.  However, against the run of play the home team found themselves level before the interval.  Sloppy defending saw the Shrewsbury attacker poke the ball home after a goal mouth scramble to make it 1-1 at half time. 

The second half was thoroughly entertaining with both teams counter attacking with style and acute passing.  The College team again were the first to score via Joshua Iles; he once again latched onto a through ball played by Henry Smith and slotted the ball past the on rushing goal keeper.  Shrewsbury managed to equalise from a long distant strike but that did not stop the College drive and morale.

The College soon hit back mid-way through the second half with Joshua Iles grabbing his hat-trick.  That was not the end of it, Ben Handley headed home shortly after to make it 4-2 to the College team.  However, Shrewsbury did not give up the fight and continued to press forward.  They managed to close the gap to a single goal, only for Ben Handley to score from distance to make it 5-3.

The game was not far from finishing but the drama was maintained until the final whistle.  Shrewsbury scored two quick goals to level the score line, a ‘fair result one might say’ but it was not to be the end; Myles Reid had other ideas and within minutes of the final whistle, found space on the edge of the area to fire home the winner.   

Every player contributed in a tenacious display, winning the physical battles and showing composure on the ball when required.

Man of the Match: Joshua Iles: A fantastic hat-trick, great pace and enthusiasm.
Henry Smith, Ben Handley, Ben Phillips and Johnny Aplas were also outstanding.