Charterhouse - Block Fixtures

Date: Friday 19 September 2008

Newcomers to our fixture list are the footballers of Charterhouse School from Godalming in Surrey. One the alma mater of England's best post-war batsman, Peter May, Charterhouse produces some top quality players, and we were privileged to field four sides against them today.

Our juniors travelled to Surrey, while their seniors reached Canterbury - eventually! - to take on our 1sts and 2nds. We were on the wrong end of an 8 - 0 walloping in the reserve match. It was only 1 - 0 at the interval, but a lack of fitness proved disastrous against a technically far more skilful side.

The SES 1st XI continued a winning run now stretching to three in a week! In an evenly balanced first half, Charterhouse should have taken the lead before Rafi Stone's left-wing cross-cum-shot deceived the keeper, and nestled in the far corner. Five minutes from time a defensive mishap allowed Charterhouse to tap in an equaliser, but a magical coaching decision by Robert Robinson pushed Ben Kemp up front alongside James Attwood, who laid the ball back to Stone to drive in the winner from 25 yards. Another excellent result before the ISFA Under-19 cup match on Wednesday, against the might of recent tournament winners, Hampton G.S.

The junior sides came back from Surrey with one good win, and one narrow defeat. The Under 15s had most of the game against a Charterhouse 'C' XI, but failed to capitalise on a string of chances, apart from one goal from Jack Blain. It was one of those games where the better side lost, through a couple of defensive errors, and a lack of firepower. It needs to be better on Tuesday in the cup against Alleyn's.

The Under 14s, however, playing a 'B' XI, won 5 - 3 in a seesaw encounter in which feeble defending gifted the lead to the Surrey side. A half-time team talk led to the SES boys 'winning every tackle in the second half', and coming out on top. A hat-trick from Oli Kirkness, with goals from Andrew Pittard and Joel Whitewood, were enough to give us the cushion to survive late Charterhouse pressure, and come home with the three points.