Sports Report – 21st January
Netball
1st VII
The 1st team beat Denstone College 34 – 23. In a very physical match, the girls kept calm and played fast and controlled netball. Sophie Bradley and Nicole Spencer continued to work well turning over the ball in the circle whilst Hattie Lawrie and Isobel Hose converted the turnover into goals with some impressive shooting throughout. Player of the Match goes to Sophie Bradley for her great work in the defensive circle.
2nd VII
The 2nd team beat Denstone College 19 – 8. The girls started strongly in the first quarter leading with an 8 – 7 advantage. The girls continue to play well throughout the game, gaining possession from fantastic interceptions and turnovers from the defensive unit. Each player worked tirelessly and really focused throughout the duration of the game to keep the lead. Coaches’ Player was awarded to Dani Hendry for her endless work in the circle, achieving the most turnovers out of all the players in the entire game! Well done girls a fantastic first result.
3rd VII
The 3rd team lost to Denstone 18 – 25 in an excellent match. Throughout the game they played some lovely controlled netball, going into the second half leading by two goals. However, with no substitutes to call on, they struggled to keep up with the fast pace of the opposition. Emma Turner and Samantha Seidu were Players of the Match but special mention must go to Sophie Brown who stepped in at the last minute and proved her worth whilst Caitlin Lawrence was impressive in the shooting circle.
U15A
The U15A team unfortunately lost 21 – 18 to Denstone. The girls fought hard to claw back the game after going 7 down at ¾ time, drawing it back to within three at full time. Player of the Match goes to Elise Atkinson for great all-round play, with special mention to Maddie Bryant for excellent defending through the game.
U15B
The U15B team lost 19 – 7. Ratcliffe started well leading 6 – 3 at half-time. The team played well together and in the first half had a much higher shot percentage. At half-time Denstone made a lot of changes and this seemed to be a much stronger line-up for them resulting in Denstone pulling back to take the win. A great team performance in cold conditions. Player of the Match goes to Matilda Cregeen for fantastic mid-court play.
U14A
The U14A team won 12 – 8 against a physical Denstone side. The whole team were committed and showed a great level of teamwork and resilience to come from a goal down a half-time to win by four. The play transitioned well from defence to attack to create lots of attacking opportunities for shooters Annie Jarvis and Talluah Wood. Coaches’ Player of the Match was Holly Clark Pratt and Players’ Player of the Match was Captain Eleni Malhan.
U14B
The U14B team beat Denstone College 10 – 5. A stronger team performance in the second half, including a robust defensive performance from Fisayo Abiodum, Amelia Tebbutt and Shreya Mistry, enabled Ratcliffe to capitalise on Denstone’s mistakes. Coaches’ Player of the Match was Vice-Captain Shreya Mistry who had a tough job defending a tall WA and Players’ Player of the Match was Olivia Chapman after dominating at both GS and GA.
U13B
The U13B team beat Denstone College 11 – 0. Katherine McCrindell and Sophie Shield were shooting well, ending the first half with a 5 – 0 lead. Great defence throughout by Jayde Patterson and Ruby Lord prevented Denstone conceding a goal and Ratcliffe finishing off the game with an 11 – 0 win. Player of the Match was Sophie Shield and Coaches’ Player of the Match was Romi White.
U13C
The U13C team lost 11 – 0. The opening quarter was very tightly-contested with fine shooting from Denstone giving them a 3 – 2 lead at the end of the quarter. Going in to the second quarter, Ratcliffe began to dominate more of the possession. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be converted into goals, with more excellent shooting from Denstone giving them a 6 – 3 lead at half-time. Denstone controlled the third-quarter from start-to-finish, leading to them opening an 11 – 3 lead going into the final quarter. Ratcliffe however, kept giving their all until the end and were very unfortunate not to score in the fourth-quarter, with the final score finishing 13 – 3 victory to Denstone. Player of the Match was given to Ejemen Joel and Coaches’ Player goes to Ella-Rose Seymour.
U12A
On Saturday, the U12A team travelled to Denstone and won 22 – 4. Ratcliffe worked on their feedback from last week and ensured they remained in control of the game to maintain possession. A steady centre court from Mollie Hunt, Holly McNeeney and Fran Best allowed the ball to travel safely through court to the shooters where Becky and Sophie shot perfectly. The defensive combination of Milly Lake and Isabella Westwood worked tirelessly to turn over ball, allowing Ratcliffe to capitalise. Ratcliffe produced some outstanding netball in the second half, finishing the game 22 – 4. Both parents and the coach of Denstone commended Ratcliffe’s play, stating they were like a ‘well-oiled machine’. The oppositions Player of the Match was Mollie Hunt and Coaches’ Player of the Match was Fran Best for giving 100% consistently through all four quarters and her success at turning over the ball.
U12B
The U12B team beat Denstone College 16 – 1. There were some great defensive displays from all players particularly Lydia Haggis and some excellent shooting from Kerry Wells. Olivia Monkhouse was Player of the Match.
U12C
The U12C beat Denstone College 12 – 2. Esme Slade and Sienna Mitchell-Johnson scored some excellent goals and everyone did some excellent defending. Player of the Match went to Esme Slade for her excellent goal scoring and defense.
Hockey
1st XI
The 1st team had the 1st round of the National Tier Cup on Thursday and lost to a very strong Rugby School 1st team 7 – 1. The boys performed well but were always going to be up against it having drawn a tier 1 side in round 1. The boys will now be entered automatically to the National Shield Competition. Reece Goodman was the goal scorer and Player of the Match was Harry Culpin.
On Saturday, the 1st team put in a spirited performance against a strong Kimbolton team and came away with a thoroughly deserved 3-3 draw. Ratcliffe went behind twice in the game and showed strong character to come back into it. Goal Scorers were James Turner and Archie Heaney. Player of the Match was Matt Lindley
2nd XI
The 2nd team was beaten 4 – 1 by a strong Kimbolton side. They took the lead in the first-half with a great strike from Josh Chapman. Unfortunately, they couldn’t keep up this tempo of play and conceded some soft goals. The second half was a tight affair with both sides having chances. Player of the Match was Will Oswell.
3rd XI
Ratcliffe 3rd XI had a strong defensive first-half holding Kimbolton to a one goal lead. Player of the Match Maciej Buczkowski saved countless attempts on goal to keep us in the match. However, the match finished 7 – 0 to Kimbolton.
U15A
The U15s had two games this week. In the Independent Schools Cup, they faced Solihull. Unfortunately, a sluggish start meant they were three goals behind in no time. They rallied and competed well for the rest of the game but could only pull back one goal, losing 3 – 1. Roman Carpenter was Player of the Match.
On Saturday, they got back to winning ways against Kimbolton. Ratcliffe dominated most of the game but, after going 3 – 1 up early in the second-half, could not quite kill off the game. Sloppy defence allowed Kimbolton to pull back to 3 – 2 but Ratcliffe weathered the storm in the final minutes to hold on for a well-deserved win. Henry Bower was Player of the Match.
U15/14B
The U15/U14B game started slowly which had Ratcliffe defending for most of the first-half. Phelton Tandoh was solid in defence but, unfortunately, after constant pressure from Kimbolton, they conceded a goal just before the end of the half. In the second half the boys played with a lot more urgency led by Ethan Bruiners and Temi Abiodun. The boys kept the pressure on Kimbolton which finally led to a goal from Temi Abiodun. The final score was 1 – 1. Players of the Match were awarded to Ethan Bruiners and Temi Abiodun for their high work rates during the game.
U14A
The U14A team unfortunately lost 6 – 0 to a very strong Kimbolton team. Though the score line suggests otherwise, Ratcliffe put on a commendable display, particularly in defensive situations. Ratcliffe held out well until halfway through the first-half, when Kimbolton broke through the backline and scored a very good goal. Kimbolton went on to score two more and lead 3 – 0 at half-time. From this position, it was very difficult for Ratcliffe to control the game as the opposition pressed high in the second half. The boys should not be disheartened by the result, as their performance contributed to an entertaining game of hockey. Players’ Player of the Match goes to Matt Heywood for some brilliant saves in goal, whilst Coaches’ Player of the Match goes to Wilfred Milner for his central defensive performance.
U13A
The U13As came up against a strong, athletic Kimbolton side and unfortunately came away with a 4 – 1 loss. In the first half things were not going our way and we entered half-time 3 – 0 down. After a change of tactics during the half-time team talk, they came out in the second half and really held their own against a strong Kimbolton side. The boys ended up drawing the second half 1 – 1 after a great finish by Fin Spencer, making the final score 4 – 1. Player of the Match goes to Fin Spencer, not only for his goal, but for consistently controlling the midfield and creating some great attacking chances.
U13/12B
The Under 12/13Bs put together a clinical performance against a well drilled Kimbolton side by winning 4 – 1. Right from the off, Kimbolton showed their experience, earning territory and peppering Quin Capstick in goal. After a long period of pressure and countless saves, Kimbolton broke the deadlock, only to give up the lead almost immediately. Throughout the second half, Kimbolton maintained their pressure, but more last ditch defending from Max Diaz and Ben Cooper kept them at bay. At the other end, Lucas Kariolis and Harry Carroll proved ruthless scoring on three fast breaks.
U12A
The U12s played some excellent hockey and dominated the first half against Kimbolton. Sam Leake hit the post and the opposition goalkeeper made some excellent saves to deny Ratcliffe so they went into half-time, only 1 – 0 up with a well taken goal by Michael Joy. In the second half, Kimbolton really upped their game and they scored a well-deserved equaliser. In a very even, excellent game of hockey, the final score was 1 – 1 and was probably a fair reflection of the match. Sam Leake and Kim O ‘Sullivan played very well but Fin Martin and Michael Joy were awarded Players of the Match for their excellent all-round games.
Equestrian
Congratulations to Tabitha Kyle who had an excellent weekend at Keysoe Equestrian in Bedfordshire. On Saturday, she placed 1st 2nd 3rd in her first class and won the next two classes qualifying her ponies called ‘Living The Dream’ & Playboy Van De Zoetowi for the main ring at Hickstead Royal International show in July. On Sunday, she managed to place 1st 2nd 3rd 4th & 6th in the first class, & 1st & 2nd in the second class, qualifying another pony ‘ Borderhill William’ for Hickstead. In total, three ponies qualified at the first Winter Premier show which is a fantastic achievement.
Tabitha Kyle
Cross Country
On Saturday the 12th of January, the last XC league race was held at Burbage Common. Two of our Ratcliffe XC Team members raced on a fast but slippy course. Tobias Hollington turned out for the Year 7 Boys Race and with a sprint finish crossed the line in 38th place. In the Junior Girls Race, Caitlin Cummins looked to be thoroughly enjoying herself and raced confidently to finish 39th. Well done to both runners. The next race is the County XC Championships on the 2nd of February being held at Ratcliffe College. New courses have been mapped out for each race so let’s hope for good weather and a great turnout.
Rugby
Congratulations to Oliver Welch who has been selected for the Leicestershire County Rugby U17 team.
Congratulations to Connor Foster who has been selected for Leicestershire County U16 Rugby Team and has been putting in some eye-catching performance for them. In their recent match versus Notts, Lincs and Derby, Connor made a significant contribution in Leicestershire’s win with one try assist and he also scoring two tries of his own and put in a very strong defensive effort. Well done to Connor on this fantastic achievement and good luck in the remaining county matches to come.
Football
Thai Scholars v United of Manchester
The Thai scholars continued their winning run with a convincing 4 – 1 home win against United of Manchester. It was a hard-fought match and end to end with the back four (Farhad, Boat, Pot and Aof) being kept very busy and Num being a tower of strength in goal. Pom and Tar both scored from the penalty spot with two further brilliant goals from Frank and Au.
Jenna Pole and Matthew Lindley
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