Aluredian
79
A
young 1st XI started their
campaign in high spirits at
national champions Malvern
College. Conceding inside
five minutes, this rude
awakening saw King's take
the game to the champions and compete for and
win possession and territory. Captain Matthew
Griffiths and Archie Berrow produced tireless
performances in midfield, and it was only the
outstanding Malvern keeper and the woodwork
that kept the scores level at half-time.
The pursuit of an elusive equaliser saw Malvern
take a rare second-half opportunity in the dying
minutes and their relief was evident. The final
whistle saw the Malvern coaches graciously
give due praise to an exhausted King's side.
Back on home turf the visit of Wycliffe saw
frustration grow as repeated King's attacks
were ably defended. The deadlock was broken
by a powerful Jason Gonultas header, but the
expected deluge never materialised, and halftime
saw Wycliffe with an unexpected 2-1
lead, as they efficiently took advantage of rare
first-half opportunities. The second half saw
unrelenting King's pressure but we couldn't
drive home the advantage.
The visit of Sherborne produced a wellmatched
fixture with both keepers kept busy.
Ross Kieswetter put in a particularly strong
performance, but his efforts were undone in the
dying minutes when Sherborne broke clear and
secured a late winner in what was heading for
a drawn match.
The Mercian campaign got going again with the
visit of Monmouth, a strong football school. Again
we dominated possession with unquestionable
commitment from an injury-hit King's side, but an
inability to convert scoring chances in the end left
King's trailing to a goal in each half.
Attention now turned to the much disrupted
ISCA competition, as Wellington arrived on a
waterlogged and almost unplayable surface.
Despite the challenging conditions King's vented
their accumulated frustration into a focused and
clinical 3-0 victory in this local derby.
Amidweek journey to league title challengers
Clifton saw a tired King's side suffer a heavy
defeat to a well-organised Clifton outfit who
went in at half-time with a seven-goal lead,
four coming from a repeated move from
successive corners. The scoreless second half
was some consolation.
Back to the ISCA competition with the title
resting on the visit of Exeter, and again King's
pressure went unrewarded, as chances in front
of goal came and went. In contrast a quick
Exeter strike force converted two of their
handful of chances to deservedly take the
fixture.
The penultimate
fixture at QEH
Bristol
witnessed a
quality display
by the
opposition's two
key football
scholars, both
destined for
professional
football. 4-0
down at halftime,
a muchchanged
King's
side struggling
with injuries hit
back through
stand-in striker Jason Gonultas and an
energetic James Huxtable. Reserve keeper
Luke Gavin made some excellent saves and
with QEH limited to a single second-half goal,
King's regained some well-earned pride.
A long journey to Marlborough witnessed
probably the best all-round team performance
of the entire Mercian campaign. King's trailed
2-0 at the break, but an outstanding secondhalf
volley of real quality from Kelvin Chan was
due reward for a tireless King's side down to
ten men through injury, and after Archie
Berrow's equalising penalty, King's rallied to
see out the final whistle for a well-earned draw
that saw generous praise from the hosts.
Overall, the season saw King's play some
attractive and creative football which, with the
benefit of some more clinical finishing, could
have made for a more rewarding season in
terms of league position.
Omar Hamaoui holds off a
challenge during the 1st XI's
fixture against Exeter School
Football
1st XI
by Chris
Heayns