3.11 – U13s Football National Cup v Chantry

Going into the match we needed to make a few last minute changes to the squad and with key members missing through injury the patched-up squad seemed even more determined to play well against ‘the Old Enemy!’. The game was a very entertaining encounter despite the 0-0 score-line for most of it. Throughout this time no-one could predict an eventual winner with both sides creating chances and on balance Chantry probably had the more clear-cut chances in which they hit the ‘woodwork’ twice and Dan Lloyd pulled off some fantastic saves. As full time approached, our team not having any subs, potentially should have been running low on energy but we actually raised our game and led to a fantastic move down the right involving Ben Morrison and Ben Loknes who squared the ball for a superb James Allan finish to take the lead. At this point a more cautious team may have turned very defensive but instead we kept pushing and the result was confirmed after a fantastic solo effort from David Jenkinson. I cannot praise enough the lads for their effort and determination and special mention also goes to Max Milburn and Dominic Marshall who stepped in last minute and performed very well.

3.11 – U11s Football County Cup v Dame Allans

4.11 – Y5/6 Tag Rugby Sports Partnership event

4.11 – Sports Catains’ day with Katy Storie

Our 23 Sports Captains thoroughly enjoyed this event with our Sky Sports Ambassador. Katy has captained the England Rugby ‘A’ team, played 24 times for the senior England team, won a record four consecutive Six Nations titles and three European Championships and narrowly lost out in the World Cup final in 2006.
As well as recapping on her inspiration journey to becoming a successful rugby player she challenged the Captains’ leadership skills throughout the morning. In addition to our pupils enjoyment it was very positive to hear how much Katy enjoyed working with this particular group and they can be very proud of their attitude demonstrated throughout.

4.11 – U12 Mini League V Ponteland

A game of two halves. Newminster dominated the opening exchanges, peppering the Ponteland goal with shot after shot. Unfortunately is wasn’t until just before the break that an emense drive forward by Tom Wales brought a lovely cheeky finish from Lucy McConnell. Newminster went in 1.0 at the break. The second half was a different story. Ponteland made their possession count scoring 3 quick breakaway goals. A goal a piece in the closing stages meant the final score finished 4-2 and Newminster tasted defeat for the first time this season. Performance of the game awarded to Lucy McConnell for showing superb strength and control in midfield, topped off with a very well taken goal.

7.11 – U12s Football National Cup v Valley Gardens

On a very cold Monday evening Newminster’s U12 footballers, accompanied by a few hardy parent supporters braved the driving rain to take on Valley Gardens in round 3 of the ESFA national cup. The game started well for Newminster as they controlled the ball in midfield, taking the lead midway through the first half with a super cool finish from Finlay Coulson in what was his first start of the season. As the second half started it was clear that Newminster had learned valuable lessons from the previous weeks defeat, keeping play very tight in the middle of the pitch. As the game wore on, the game became stretched but it was James McConnell with a superb break away goal from a long ball from Tom Wales which put Newminster 2 – 0 up. As Newminster dominated closing the stages, a Louis Gourlay half volley with lots of spin found its way into the back of the Valley Gardens goal. Final score Newminster 3 Valley Gardens 0. Performance of the match for keeping a well earned clean sheet in a tough cup tie awarded to Daniel McConnell, our goalkeeper and captain for the game.

8.11 – Y7 Rugby League Cup at Marden Bridge

10.11 – Y8 Rugby League Cup at Marden Bridge

10.11 – U13s Football National Cup v Cramlington LV

Another great footballing spectacle and battling performance from both teams. The game was end to end action and both teams had good chances to score. After Cramlington took the lead, Newminster had Sam Lowes in goal and Joe Berry at the back to thank for superb performances that prevented Cramlington running away with the game. Max Milburn then slotted in a well deserved equaliser and the game was once again back in the balance. Cramlington always looked dangerous with 3 or 4 towering players in midfield and attack and eventually they took the lead again and then scored a screamer from 20 yards out that Sam could do nothing with. Max again stole into the box to nick another good goal to give us hope but we couldn’t find the much needed equaliser and the game ended 3-2. A great performance from the squad, despite the result.

14.11 – U12s Football County Cup v Walker

15.11 – Y5 skipping day with Chris Corcoran

All our Y5s took part in a skipping session with Chris to learn some techniques needed for a competition in March. Our pupils have now been invited to practice (using ropes from home or borrowed from Mr Dick). We will then we will narrow it down to 30 pupils to have further practice with Chris in January in preparation for the tournament.