Sports Report – 3rd November
Hockey
1st XI
The 1st XI enjoyed a well-earned 2 – 0 victory against Welbeck. The game itself was scrappy at times with both teams having to work hard for possession. Ratcliffe did dominate territory and possession and scored both goals in the first half. Coaches’ Player of the Match Danni Hendry and Molly Edwards were the goal scorers. The second half was dominated by Ratcliffe but they could not add to their tally. Players’ Player was Hattie Lawrie.
2nd XI
The 2nd XI beat Welbeck 7 – 0 with an excellent performance. Leading 3 – 0 at half-time after pressing high up the field, it was a pleasure to watch the girls play. The performance stayed the same in the second half with four more goals being scored. Goal scorers were Lauren Brown and Megha Patel with one each, Sarah Astill with two and Player of the Match, Maddy Lindop with a hat-trick.
3rd XI
The 3rd XI had a fine 4 – 0 win against Kimbolton. Ratcliffe went out feeling positive about the game working hard in the first half to find openings in the Kimbolton defence. This led to goals being scored by Captain Ellie Hollinshead and then Dalila Watson with a brace, going in to the half 3 – 0 up. Dalila Watson managed to find the back of the net again in the second half making the final score 4 – 0 to Ratcliffe. Player of the Match was Dalila Watson for her hat-trick,
U15A
On Thursday, the U15A team drew 0 – 0 against Leicester Grammar. In an exciting game the girls dominated, they played some fantastic hockey and were unlucky not to score. Though Leicester caught us on the break a couple of time, our defence was solid and they didn’t break through. A great performance the girls should be proud of with an equally good result. Coaches Player was Amy Mason and Players’ Players was Maddie Bryant.
U15/14B
The Ratcliffe U15/14B team played against Kimbolton this week with the game resulting in a deserved 5 – 0 victory for Ratcliffe. The girls played fantastic hockey gaining a 4 – 0 advantage by half-time. The result was representative of brilliant wide play, using the space to get around the back of the opposition and creating good chances. Player of the Match was Eleni Malhan for her fantastic work rate in midfield and her attacking contributions. All the girls played brilliantly and deserve all the credit for the fantastic result.
U14A
Despite losing the match, the U14 girls played well against a strong Leicester Grammar side. The final score did not reflect the game as Leicester scored their last three goals in the final 10 minutes of the match when Ratcliffe tired. Players’ Player goes to Chelsea Makandeni and Coaches’ Player goes to Matilda Miles for hard work throughout.
U13A
The U13A’s came up against a strong side from Loughborough High School and lost 6 – 1, but were determined to improve on their result from last year which they did. The girls really held their own and after a late goal in the first half they entered half-time 2 – 1 down. Unfortunately, after many great saves from Rosie Dickerson, Loughborough were able to break us down in the second half and the game ended 6 – 1. Special mentions go to Avani Gupta and Madelaine Whalley in defence, but Player of the Match must go to Rosie Dickerson.
U13B
On Tuesday, the U13B team played against Loughborough High School and lost 3 – 2. Ratcliffe had the majority of possession and plenty of shots on target, though just couldn’t convert, partly due to the fantastic work of the opposition keeper. Loughborough hit us twice on the break in the first half scoring both, however, we soon scored courtesy of Player of the Match, Jesse Bardsley. Unfortunately, Loughborough scored before the half-time break to make the score 3 –1 going in to half-time. The second half was much the same, with possession being maintain mainly by Ratcliffe. Lola Hobbs-Break managed to score the second of the game for Ratcliffe, though we couldn’t quite find the equaliser. A great game with some fantastic hockey, unfortunately the result didn’t go our way.
U12A
On Monday the U12A team came up against Loughborough High school. The game was evenly matched for the first half with some great opportunities from both sides, however, Loughborough managed to sneak a goal right before the half-time whistle. In the second half Mollie Hunt and Olivia Monkhouse played some outstanding hockey but once again Loughborough converted two more goals from quick breaks. The final score was 3 – 0 to Loughborough. The whole team were awarded Players’ of the Match.
U12B
The U12B’s faced a tough away fixture against Loughborough High School and came away with a well-deserved 1 – 0 win. The game was closely contested with Ratcliffe going close to opening the scoring, however, the fixture remained goalless at half-time. Ratcliffe’s attackers continued to threaten in the second half with Holly McNeeney opening the scoring through an outstanding solo dribble and finish. At the other end of the pitch, Esha Karia and Lydia Haggis put in a very strong defensive performance to nullify any Loughborough attacks. Ratcliffe finished the game as 1 – 0 victors thanks to a fantastic last-minute save from Rebecca Bloor, which maintains their unbeaten season, winning all four games without conceding. Players’ Player goes to Holly McNeeney and Coaches’ Player to the entire team for their brilliant team-work and performance.
Rugby
1st XV
A disappointing result for the 1st XV losing 50 – 26 to Wisbech. A poor start saw Ratcliffe go two tries down early and they were 35 – 5 down at half-time with a well taken try by Alex Purcell. Ratcliffe came back well in the second half to win the second half through tries from Matt Lindley and Callum Allsopp. Joe Stamp had a strong game but Man of the Match was Connor Foster for an outstanding individual try and an excellent all-round game.
2nd XV
The 2nd XV beat Wisbech 64 – 27. An entertaining game full of attacking rugby saw Ratcliffe have seven different try scorers, with some players scoring twice. Men of the Match were Stanley Chell and John Wells for both their attacking and their defensive work.
U15
The U15 team got their first win of the season with a 31 – 20 victory away at De Lisle. The game was even for large periods but eventually Ratcliffe pulled away as the backs began to score following some good handling. Ollie Howard and Xabier Zanotti-Baranano played well and Will Marsden had a good game in the forwards. Man of the Match went to Victor Feng, on debut, for an excellent defensive display and a try.
The U15s won their second game of the week on Saturday against a Wisbech side featuring some very big players. Ratcliffe surged into the lead with tries from Ollie Howard, Jacob McCahill and a fine solo effort from Rajen Gupta. After a Wisbech fightback, Ratcliffe replied with a fine try from Wilson Lee and finished off defending valiantly for a 24 – 19 win. Will Marsden was Man of the Match for his excellent work at the breakdown.
U14B
The U14B team lost in an entertaining game away at Wisbech against the Wisbech U14A team 26 – 38. Both sides played entertaining end to end rugby with Wisbech getting the win at the end and Ratcliffe showing good skills and determination throughout. Guy Gamble played very well at full back and Harley Walker who scored one of Ratcliffe’s four tries also played very well on the wing. Samson Kwok bagged the other three tries in a man of the match performance.
U13
The U13s went two early scores down to a big, aggressive Wisbech team before fighting back with good tries from Rocco Lanza and Charlie Grayson. Unfortunately, Wisbech scored four more tries through their outstanding centres to make the half-time score six tries to two. Ratcliffe showed excellent character in the second half, dominating possession and territory and scoring four more tries through the superb play of Rocco who scored three more tries and a good team effort finished well by Seb Welch. Unfortunately, Wisbech scored two breakaway tries making the final score 40 – 30 to Wisbech although Ratcliffe won the second half 20 – 10. Man of the Match goes to Rocco Lanza.
U12A
The U12s began the second half-term with a well-fought win against an athletic Wisbech side. Right from the start Ratcliffe used the ball well, using the space in the wide channels effectively, and were subsequently rewarded with tries (a hat-trick for Kim O’sullivan in particular). With the teams trading blows throughout the second half the team managed to hold on to a 35 – 30 lead, shutting out one last attack from the opposition. Ben Cooper was exceptional in defence as always, and Men of the Match were Fin Martin and Xav Illsley-Ridge for their game management.
Netball
1st XI
This week the U18’s played in County Netball Tournament at Leicester Grammar School. The girls played continuous netball for four hours and showed great determination throughout, losing to Oakham by 1 goal and drawing against Uppingham. The girls should be very pleased with a fourth-place finish. Coaches’ Player of the tournament was Nicole Spencer for hard work and excellent defence throughout.
X Country
Congratulations to Mia Atkinson who competed in the National Cross Country Championships in Mansfield over the weekend, she got the 5th fastest time of the day out of 200 runners in the U17 women category.
Equestrian
Congratulations to Jade and Brooke England and Georgie Daynes who all competed for Rearsby Lodge Riding Club in the winter show-jumping qualifier this weekend. Brooke and Georgie were in a 90 junior team who won their junior section and qualified for the winter championships. Jade was in a 100 team in a mixed junior/senior class, their team won, and Jade won overall against all the seniors!
Jenna Pole and Matthew Lindley
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