DAY 7
Another bright but cold South African morning dawned,
promising much. The morning start was a little more leisurely than has been the
norm as only the girls were due to play in the
mid-afternoon . After breakfast the troops were subjected to a thorough room
check by: RIT. “Room Inspection Team” – Assessment criteria: Smell, folding of
clothes, general cleanliness: Best boys room went to; George Gilder & Jack
Merron, with George Trevaskis getting highly commended for his folding skills.
The Best girsl room went to; Mimi Pincott & Georgia Dyer having bribed the
inspectors with a cup of tea. The
inspection concluded the girls undertook some gentle exercise, playing Frisbee and
rounders, while the boys were put through their paces with a full training
session under the guidance of messrs: Rees, Lewis & Watson. At midday the
group enjoyed another light lunch before departing for the hockey games against
St Mary’s.
If playing fixtures against one of the top School sides in
the country was not a difficult enough task, doing so with a number of the
cohort suffering slightly from a variety of ailments, shocking mid-winter
temperatures of 21 centigrade just added to the challenge. As we drove into the
impressive School campus it was evident that this establishment took their
sport very seriously, with hockey firmly established at the top of its agenda.
In a slight change the 1st X1 played first and it
was evident from the very beginning that it was going to be a difficult task
against a squad containing 3 international, 6 provincial and 4 district
players. A squad coached by the former coach to the South African Ladies
National side.
Perhaps the performance is best summarised by the players
themselves:
A thorough warm up led
by Captain Alice Shea loosened our stiff bodies and prepared us mentally,
ensuring that we were fully aroused and pumped to take on the famous St Mary’s
side. Little did we know what we were about to encounter. As the game swung
into motion we began to realise the sheer strength of the well drilled and
skilful St Mary’s. By the end of the first half we had unfortunately conceded 2
goals. We had an inspirational talk led by the two amazing, beautiful,
intellectual, pretty much perfect leaders, sent the teams spirits soaring for
the 2nd half. Some excellent teamwork against the ferocious
opposition was necessary to stem the tide of constant attacks. Heroic defence
by the Jones sisters and the outstanding bravery of goalkeeper Georgia Dyer
repelled numerous short corners, at the other end quick passing by Georgie
Cannon, Emily Pascoe and Alice Shea saw the ball enter the opposition D several
times unfortunately to no avail, despite valiant efforts from Vicki Harris,
Ellie Hunt and Mimi Pincott. Having conceded another 3 goals a dramatic turn of
events occurred. From an improvised short corner Alice Shea smashed the ball at
the goal missing by millimetres, St Edward’s heads hung momentarily with
disappointment as they thought our single goal opportunity was over. Suddenly
out of the corner of our eyes we spotted the pink and white flash of the one
and only Vickie Harris’s stick superbly angling the ball towards the goal. The
next thing we heard was the satisfying crunch of the ball hitting the
backboard. Tears of joy came to everyone’s eyes, players and spectators alike,
with cheers of congratulations from the boys team as we ran past the stand to
our positions.
Despite the spectacular goal, fitness levels , altitude and the supreme standard of the St Mary’s team saw us concede another 2 well worked goals. At this point the authors would like to highlight once again the phenomenal goalkeeping skills and bravery of Georgia Dyer who saved numerous shots, one of which was flying straight to her head. Whilst the score did not go our way, we were and are very proud of the excellent all-round efforts of all members of the team and we are already looking forward to our next two matches in Cape Town.
By: Amy Jones & Ellie Hunt.
Score St Mary’s 7 – St Edward’s 1 (Goal scorer – Vicki Harris)
Player of the match: Georgia Dyer.
Immediately after with the setting sun casting shadows over the pitch the 2nd X1 began their encounter with St Mary’s U16 A team. Although the pace was less frenetic the endeavour and commitment was never the less evident. The following account was written by Emily Shea and Lottie Cooper:
Unfortunately the 2nd X1 did not get off to a very strong start against another very strong St Mary’s side. The opposition playing with skill and pace throughout scored four goals having created many more chances but thanks to Millie Tupper in goal the team spirit remained high. (2 very early goals, were a setback but these were then followed by 75% of the game being a fairly even contest). Our forwards Amy Lawrence & Mimi Pincott played very skilfully posting up to receive the attacking ball. The midfield also put up a very good fight in their attempts to deliver the through balls to the forwards and to deny the opposition time and space. In defence the excellent Clare Royle worked nonstop throughout the game. Mention must also be made of, the superb enthusiasm that Katie Paul added to the team effort with her strong passes and her outstanding skills. Imogen Parnham was valiant and persistent in her tackling .The Captain Sarah Reid kept our spirits up and ensured that we battled to the end. Overall the team gave a fantastic performance and should be proud of the match, but were unfortunate to meet such strong opponents who were clearly firing on all cylinders as they approach the peak of their playing programme.
Account written by: Emily Shea & Lottie Cooper
Player of the match: Millie Tupper
.
Following a pleasant post match reception the girls
re-joined the boys who had returned earlier to the hotel to enjoy a couple of
hours of dancing , pool and darts before an early morning departure to begin the second part of our African
adventure in the beautiful city of Cape Town, situated at the Southern tip of
the African continent.
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