Manor Tournament 2012

Two Ladygrove Teams went along to the Manor Tournament on Saturday morning. Here are the reports:

High 5

The team played 5 games – all the matches were keenly fought by an enthusiastic, able and supportive team. In the first match, Katherine scored all the goals, 3-0 against Long Wittenham. The second match proved the hardest – a goal from Lucy C saved the day (1-0 against Hagbourne). Next we faced Manor, who fielded a less experienced team, so 3 goals from Kate and 4 from Lucy G gave Ladygrove a 7 – 0 final score. Our next opponent was St John's, an unknown quantity to us as we had not met them before. However, Jon netting 6 goals and Benji 2 soon put paid to out fears – they did pull one back, so it ended 8 – 1 to us. Finally, a young Stephen Freeman team faced a very determined Ladygrove team, with their eyes firmly set on reaching the semi-finals. Katherine stepped up to the plate and scored 3 goals, and with 2 from Tom, we finished 5 – 0.

In the semi-final, against our friendly rivals Fir Tree, was a very close match – they marked and passed well, and scored a goal. Unfortunately an injury to one of their  players meant that they continued the match with a changed team. Goals from Lucy C and one from Kate gave us a win (3-0) and led us into the final.

The final was against Hagbourne. Although nervous, Ladygrove set out to win. It was a very tough game – the marking from both sides was excellent, the passing accurate, the defence brilliant. Unfortunately, Katherine suffered an injury and had to be replaced by Lucy C – who did a fabulous job. Benji scored 2 superb goals. Hagbourne pulled two goals back. The whistle blew for full time. The rules stated that 3 minutes extra time must be played. In a nail-biting finish, the two teams went all out to win it. Benji, our only year 5, scored a spectacular finishing goal. Ladygrove 3 – Hagbourne 2.

Congratulations to all the team, who were a pleasure to be with and were a great credit to themselves and the school.

Football

The football team, a mix of year 5 and year 6 players, had 5 matches to play in Group A of the tournament. They started excellently with a 3-0 victory over St John's. The match against Manor was much tougher and we lost 2-0. A 6-0 victory over Fir Tree boosted our spirits only for us to loose to All Saints 2-0. A 3-0 victory over Hagbourne put us third in the group just missing out on a semi-final place. Well done to Leighton for being top scorer.

 Thank you to the parents and grandparents who came to support both teams and to the staff who gave up their Saturday morning to coach them!