U9A Oratory Football Tournament
The Beacon School delivered a dominant performance, scoring a total of 26 goals and only conceding 1 across the entire tournament, at the Oratory Prep School tournament, emerging as champions after a series of impressive displays.
Group Stage Results
The tournament featured 10 teams divided into two groups, with the top two teams from each group progressing to the semi-finals. The Beacon competed in Group B and delivered exceptional performances throughout:
- Round 1: The Beacon 5-0 St Hugh’s
- Round 2: The Beacon 5-0 Claire’s Court
- Round 3: Rest period (off for a game)
- Round 4: The Beacon 1-0 Moulsford
- Round 5: The Beacon 5-1 Oratory Prep
With four wins from four matches, The Beacon topped Group B, while Moulsford claimed second place. In Group A, Davenies secured the top spot, with St John’s Beaumont finishing second.
Semi-Finals: The Beacon V St John’s Beaumont
As group winners, The Beacon faced St John’s Beaumont in the semi-finals. The Beacon produced a commanding performance, winning 6-0 to book their place in the final.
In the other semi-final, Moulsford faced Davenies in a tightly contested match that ended 2-2. Davenies ultimately triumphed in the penalty shootout to progress to the final.
Final: The Beacon V Davenies
Facing local rivals Davenies in the final, The Beacon maintained their superb form, claiming a convincing 4-0 victory to be crowned Tournament Champions!!!
Squad – Teddy S-S (C), Harley G, Sebi W, Maxim M, Quinn R, Austin B, Wilf W, Macsen T
The entire squad demonstrated outstanding teamwork, skill, and determination, ensuring The Beacon’s triumphant journey through the tournament. The boys looked strong across every position and all performed exceptionally, linking up nicely to create exciting goals. It has been a pleasure coaching these boys as it is clear that they want to improve. Congratulations to all involved on a fantastic achievement!
Reported by Mr M Harris
U9B Oratory Football Tournament
Preparation for the for Under 9B football tournament at Oratory Prep School did not start well. In the course of a single break time, on the morning of the tournament, the B1 squad lost two players to injury! This left the squad with 7 players and no subs for the whole afternoon. A daunting task, but not one the B1’s would shy away from.
In the scramble for replacements a diamond in the rough was uncovered in the form of Arjun Pal, who eagerly embraced the challenge. His calm, disciplined performance at the back certainly puts him into consideration for a more permanent position in the squad. Alongside him Aaron Fernandes’s strong challenges and reliable distribution meant we always had an outlet from defence. Robert Preston was a cool head in goal and even managed to bag a goal for himself in the last of our group games. The midfield trio of Barney King, Left Wing, William Daughtry, Centre Mid, and Neo Dembinski, Right Wing worked tirelessly and their movement off the ball and ability to retain and recycle the ball meant they were able to create openings and opportunities throughout the afternoon. Captain and striker, Edward Brunt, put in a player of the tournament performance. Bagging 10 of our 23 goals and assisting in at least half of the others he was a constant threat to opposition defences.
The group stage was navigated confidently with victories against St Hugh’s, 2-0, Christchurch Cathedral School, 5-0, Whitchurch, 4-1, and Claire’s Court, 7-0. Finishing top of the group put us in a commanding position, as we faced off against the runners up of the other group.
The Semi Final was against a different St Hugh’s side. The B1’s gave a dominating performance ending with a 4-0 win, though it could have been more had they not been quite so profligate in front of goal.
So, onto the final and a match against a well organised and drilled Moulsford B team. A close contest saw both teams moving the ball well and creating openings. Moulsford played a high pressing game that meant carving out opportunities was a lot harder than in our previous matches. But with 2 minutes to play the ball was slipped through from the right for, who else, Brunty to smash it past the keeper high into the net! A tense end to the match saw Fernandes and Pal remain resolute in defence and the midfield’s willingness to get back and support made it impossible for Moulsford to break us down.
A fantastic win for the B1’s, well done, boys!
Reported by Mr A Horn
Cross-Country at Lowndes Park
The final local cross-country event of the year took place at Lowndes Park, last Saturday 8th March. It was a fantastic day of racing, not least due to the weather! Year 3 and Year 5 (pictured) both secured second place in the team competition, while Year 4 claimed first, showing their dominance on the course. Year 6 finished in third, rounding off a great day with medals across the board in all team competitions. Well done to all the boys for their hard work and determination!
Reported by Mr L Sutcliffe
3rd IX Football vs Moulsford
U11D vs Moulsford
On Wednesday afternoon, the Colts D had a home fixture against Moulsford.
The boys started very well and got two early goals, thanks to Nicholas B and we added a third not long afterwards by Mark Z. At half time, we discussed how the slope might make things trickier for us but the boys proved me wrong and kicked on with some great passing and more goals.
In the second half, once we got back to moving the ball quickly and into space, we looked more confident and dangerous. Thankfully, the goals came. Mark got his hat-trick and put in a real captain’s performance, George W and Rajan S were dominant in defence and Seb W worked tirelessly throughout the game and got a well-deserved goal. We finished winning 7-0.
Great game, boys, well done!
Reported by Mr T Powell