Senior Boys' 1st XI Football Roundup

December 2nd 2021

A roundup of recent Away Football matches...

Senior Boys 1^st XI Football match vs Stonar School

The final King’s Bruton 1^st XI Football match of the term took place on Thursday 2^nd December against Stonar School. Stonar were keen to get the game underway as soon as they arrived, and that quick pace carried on into the match when they scored an early goal from a corner within the first five minutes. The King’s team refused to be downhearted and redoubled their efforts to match the intensity of their opposition. Sadly, furious midfield battles between the two teams often ended with Stonar controlling the ball, and King’s conceded a second goal before half time.

After a pep talk, the team was ready to try again, and the momentum did seem to shift towards King’s for much of the second half. An excellent pass into the box from Jack was disappointingly intercepted by the Stonar defence before King’s could press the attack, and Captain Aled continued his quest to play in every possible position by rushing around the pitch like a man possessed. As the final whistle blew, the match finished 3-0 to Stonar. The 1^st XI have had a difficult first season in 2021, but the coaching staff remain hugely impressed with all of our players, and are certain that the team will be able to build on the successes they have had in 2022.

Duncan Ericson - Football Referee (English Teacher)

Senior Boys 1^st XI Football match away at Wells Cathedral School

King’s faced Wells Cathedral School in a physical and competitive clash on 25^th November. We struggled to get into the match during the first half and found ourselves 4-0 down after getting caught in defence with a series of quality link up play and movement from their forward line up with an outstanding performance from their Number 9 who led the line with intelligence and pace.

After several substitutions, we were able to take stock and as a team we began to move the ball down the channels and gain territory in the opponent’s half with a shot on goal by Bosley and great movement upfront from Jack. In the second half, after conceding 6 goals we were able to keep our composure and rally together as a team. A star performance from our captain in central midfield gave us a fighting chance as he drove the team forwards and bridged the gap between the defence and attack. King’s displayed flashes of brilliance as the ball was passed between several members of the team, resulting in a shift in the direction of travel. A deserved King’s goal came from an excellent attempt on goal by Aled followed up by Darius who slotted in whilst on the move to round off a fine team goal.

Dylan was named as man of the match for his brave keeping display and a fine performance to reduce the overall deficit in goal. After a bruising 9-1 defeat our boys deserve credit for their team spirit and positive second half display. We look forward to our final game of the season as we look to build our defence rigour and confidence in our ability as a team before next Thursday’s match with Stonar.

George Cole - Football Referee (Art Teacher)

Senior Boys 1^st XI Football match away at Downside School

Best performance of the season by a mile. Having drawn 2-2 at home in our home match against Downside, we had tentative hopes that we may achieve a positive outcome from the away match. Playing the first half uphill on a very sloped pitch, we started slowly and were down a goal after 3 minutes and were being overrun in midfield, but as the half matured, the boys took more and more control of the game. From 15 minutes onwards we were the dominant side, creating attacks which involved the whole team, and which the Downside defence struggled to deal with. The team have practiced passing and moving with intelligence and pace and, as they settled, this came to the fore. We came in at half time 1-0 down but encouraged that we could come back.

During the second half we were camped out in their half more and more as the game wore on, but prone to the counterattack, we were undone and it was 2-0. More excellent passing and moving led to a pass across the box and Bosley struck a firm shot that the keeper could not keep out, 2-1. We had our tails up, but disaster, an intercepted pass left the defence exposed and another breakaway goal doubled the deficit. Attack after attack, chance after chance came and went until moments from the end, a shot was parried and Felix was there to smash it into the back of the net, sadly there was not enough time to find an equaliser and we ended up losing 3-2 in a game which we dominated for 55 of the 70 minutes. Bodo was man of the match as a constant thorn in their side with his creativity and defending from the front.

Gareth Thompson - Football Referee (Chemistry Teacher)

Flickr album: Football vs Stonar - 2nd December 2021 | Height: auto | Theme: Default | Skin: Default Skin