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T
he 2012 Mercian League campaign
kicked off with the visit of Wycliffe
and a well-contested 2-2 draw, in a
game which we dominated but failed to
convert our many chances including a
penalty - goals from Parsons and Regan
earned a share of the spoils.
Next, the visit of a typically spirited
Wellington side provided a good test in the
first of the ISCA Cup fixtures. Two goals
apiece for Jonny Parsons, Omar Hamaoui
and debutant Liam Redrup were topped up
with strikes from Smith, May and Regan.
A hard-fought 2-0 win at Bristol Grammar
School saw the team rise to share the lead
of the Mercian South League with two
goals from man of the match Hamaoui.
Then, in our inaugural fixture against Sidcot
School, the visitors took an early lead, and
we had to show real spirit to cancel out the
deficit through James Regan. This proved
the turning point as King's dominated
possession, with Hamaoui scoring two
headed goals to give us a 3-1 half-time
lead, after which Regan powered a free-kick
over the wall from 30 yards and into the
top corner to seal a convincing win.
In the second half of term we welcomed
Exeter School in the ISCA Cup. King's
took the lead from an excellent free-kick
from Archie Watts and created the greater
number of chances, but scores were level
at half-time. In the second half we were
rewarded with a goal from Peter Smith,
but Exeter took their chance when we
failed to deal with a corner, and the match
was drawn 2 -2.
Millfield 2nds provided a welcome
distraction from league and cup. We
started well in an evenly balanced first half
that would have been reflected in the halftime
scoreline, but for a missed penalty.
As we pressed, Millfield broke to take the
lead, and scored a third from a last-minute
corner.
A well-taken drive from Ryan May against
the OAs was followed by two goals from
Hamaoui in a satisfying 3-0 win, before we
returned to the Mercian League and
Monmouth, who scored first, but excellent
spirit saw King's come from behind to
lead, with goals from Watts and Parsons.
We came close to a third goal when a
Parsons shot was cleared from the goal,
before Monmouth equalised from the spot
to share the points 2-2.
A Mercian fixture at QEH Bristol saw King's
chase the game, after a defensive mix-up
presented QEH with a simple tap-in. Jonny
Parsons scored from the spot but QEH
held on to their lead for a 2-1 win. Injuries
and defeats to Marlborough, Malvern and
Clifton represented a disappointing end to
the season, but there had been many
positives.
The year saw King's designated the
first ISFA Futsal Development School
to add to our ISFA Girls Development
School status. Our girls reached the
semi-finals of the National Under 18
six-a-side competition at Bradfield.
Archie Watts and Peter Smith were
excellent ambassadors for King's
football in the North v South Mercian
League fixture, Pete scoring twice in
the South's 6-2 win.
Erin Slade, Flora Cohen and Pippa
O'Neill were all part of the ISFA
Under 18 South West Squad that
competed in the National Tournament
at Marlborough College, while Erin
was selected for ISFA England Under
18s, and Flora was selected for the
FA National Leadership Camp.
Football
1st XI
by Chris Heayns
Omar Hamaoui heads
home against the OAs