BOYS’ SPORTS REPORTS 02/03/15

HOCKEY 

North West U16 Finals
Ultimately the boys will admit they failed to play anywhere near their potential on the day. As so often happens players forget the simple things that had made them successful; be confident, stop the ball, look up and pass the ball accurately and then move into space.

Too often in the first two matches Sedbergh’s first touch and passing skills let them down whilst individuals tried to beat players rather than pass around them. As a result the ball was given away too regularly in dangerous parts of the pitch and despite goalkeeper Ben Hunt making several fine saves eventually Sedbergh were punished for their errors. 

The 2-0 defeat to Wirrall was the most disappointing as Sedbergh failed to execute their skills on any of their eight short corners whilst both goals conceded were gifted to the opposition by mistakes by Sedbergh. Losing the first game made it much harder to qualify as only one team went through to the final from each group.

Sedbergh knew they had to beat both Weaverham and Baines and hope that Wirrall lost a game. The first half against Weaverham saw Sedbergh lead through a Sam Stewart goal. Stewart found success through the inside left channel and controlled much of the attacking play in the first half as the ball was moved to him quickly giving him space and time to operate.

However, a failure in the second half to transfer the ball efficiently across the back gave Weaverham possession in an attacking position from which they twice scored. Sedbergh chased the game and were undone by a goal on the break close to the final whistle. Once again Sedbergh’s downfall was not a result of the opponent’s creativity and skill but poor skill execution when under pressure.

It was only in the third match when all possibility of qualifying had gone that players stood up and played at a level they would expect. Playing simple, calm and calculated hockey Sedbergh at last found their passing game and dominated their opponents.

Paco Rafel and Oliver Steele played with a control and calmness that was missing previously whilst George Hill and George Barber began to control the game in the midfield. Two goals from Bevan Rodd and one each from Max Silvester and Sam Stewart showed what could have been. Hopefully the boys will learn from the experience and work hard for the remainder of the term to develop their playing style.

V Wirrall GS lost 2-0
V Weaverham High School lost 3-1
V Baines Won 4-0

MPS

North West Finals

The 1st team failed to qualify for the North of England under 18s Schools final after conceding a goal in the last five seconds of the final group game at Timperley HC on Wednesday.

Goals from Alex Simpson, Sam Stewart and Johnny Campbell had helped Sedbergh win the first two games and set up the decider against current North of England champions Calday Grange. Sedbergh just needed a draw to qualify as group winners after Calday had previously drawn with Altringham.

In an even match Sedbergh worked tirelessly and could easily have led at half time after Calday had cleared off the line with the goalkeeper beaten. However fatigue began to take its toll late in the second half and with Calday bringing on fresh legs Sedbergh’s cause was not helped when two players were unfortunate to receive yellow cards reducing the Brown to nine players for the last four minutes.

Despite this, with thirty seconds left on the clock Sedbergh had a free hit on the right touch line just inside the Calday half. A run down the line and keeping possession would see Sedbergh to victory but the boys mistakenly believed they had to win the game to qualify and pushed forward in search of the goal.

Exposed at the back, Calday regained possession and broke; despite three saves from the superb Harry Radcliffe Calday finally scored seconds before the final whistle. 

This was a hugely disappointing end to what should have been a fantastic day for the hockey club, one that should have seen the third time a team from the school had reached the North finals this season.

V Bolton GS Won 3-0
V Altringham GS Won 2-1
V Calday Grange GS Lost 1-0

MPS

SEVENS

Sedbergh 1st VII – QES Kirkby Lonsdale Tournament: (held at Sedbergh) Won 
Sedbergh hosted the QES Kirkby Lonsdale Tournament on the Lupton pitches after some heavy overnight rain forced a late venue change. The Sedbergh VII came out firing right from the start as they relished the rare opportunity to play in front of home support.

After sweeping aside their opposition with ease during pool play Sedbergh came up against Queen Ethelburgas in what proved to be a very one sided final. Sedbergh were too strong as they dominated possession in a very physical display. This was another impressive performance from a strong side who are picking up some real momentum as they head towards the bigger tournaments to come.  

Manchester GS Won 57 – 5
Bolton School Won 65 – 0
Ermysteds Won 35 – 0 
Final: Won 55 – 0 V Queen Ethelburgas

SM

Sedbergh U15 VII – Bradford Tournament: Lost Semi Final
The B1 VII came through their group comfortably but faced stiffer competition in the knockout stages of the Bradford Grammar School Storm 7s tournament. Barnard Castle led Brown 5-0 at half time in the quarter final and Sedbergh showed great patience to work their way back to a 7-5 lead.

With time out on the clock Bevan Rodd attempted to kick the ball out but ended up chipping the winger, collecting his own kick and running away to score. The semi-final was even more dramatic. Trailing 19-7 at half time against Hill House it took a Matt Greene try to level things up at 24-24 in the final play of the game.

In the following passage of golden try extra time Sedbergh broke and looked like scoring but the final pass went astray and Hill House collected the ball to run the length and score.

A disappointing end to an excellent day’s sevens throughout which Sedbergh defended with aggression and urgency and attacked with the control and patience that  had been missing last week.  

CJS

Sedbergh U14 VII – St Peters York: Lost Semi Final
A good learning experience from a team playing their first ever tournament together.
Ampleforth Won 32-12
Ripon Won 24-10
Bradford GS Won 34-7
Pocklington Won 36-7
Semi Final: Lost 27 – 19 V RGS Newcastle 

Sedbergh U16 VII – Sedbergh Tournament: Finished 7th 
A disappointing day from a Sedbergh team who simply did not perform.
RGS Lancaster Lost 34-14
RGS Newcastle Lost 26-21
Durham Lost 10-7
Kings Macclesfield Won 35-14
Barnard Castle Won 35-17

Sedbergh 1st VII – Durham Tournament: 

Sedbergh U15 VII – Durham Tournament: 

JUNIOR HOUSE RUGBY TOURNAMENT

Evans 59 Winder 5 
Evans win the final for the third year in a row.

RIFLE SHOOTING
Sedbergh 1st Team V Stonyhurst (A)

BASKETBALL
Sedbergh V Merchiston (A) Won 49-47
Sedbergh come from behind to win a superb match. 21-11 to hosts at halftime.

SWIMMING
Sedbergh V Merchiston (A) Lost 59-23.
A valiant effort against a superior team.

TENNIS
Sedbergh 1st Team V Strathallan

RUNNING
Sedbergh 1st Team – MANISCC

LENT TERM CUP 
Football Results 
1.  Evans
2.  Sedgwick
3.  Winder 
4.  Powell
5.  Hart
6.  School 

Rowing Challenge 
Winder
Powell
Sedgwick
School
Evans
Hart
Lupton

Biathlon 
1st                           Winder
2nd                          School
3rd                           Powell
4th                           Sedgwick
5th =                       Lupton
5th =                       Hart
5th =                       Evans
8th                           Robertson

Individuals 
Yr 11:                     Eliza Nelstrop (L, Yr 10)
Yr 12:                     Will Ballard (SH, Yr 12)

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