10.1 – Y5 basketball tournament at Ashington Leisure Centre

As part of the on-going Hoops for Health programme we are running with our current Y5s, we took 2 teams to this 5-a-side event. Both teams played 6 group games which led to final league standings. Team 2 had a mixed set of results which unfortunately kept them out of the play-off games. However, they played some decent basketball creating plenty of shooting chances and were strong in defense. Baskets from Ollie Mather and Daniel Bolton.

Team 1 had an exceptional tournament and thanks to fantastic team play throughout the full squad, creating attack after attack in each game, they won all their group stage games. This then led to 2 further play-off games in which they continued to play in the same superb style and subsequently won both of these games as well. Baskets from Ben Hewitt (10), Adrian Swinglehurst (5), Mark Wales (3), Jasmine Rochester (3), and Chloe Coward.

Very well done to all our players and good luck to Team 1 who have now qualified to play in the Area Finals at the Newcastle Eagles game on the evening of Friday 3rd February. Free tickets available for any pupils who want to go and support both our team and the Eagles!

The 2 squads:

17.1 – County Cross Country at Temple Park

19 of our 24 athletes that we took to the Area Cross Country qualified for this stage which is definitely our highest number, so firstly they must all be congratulated for that fantastic achievement. The conditions were fantastic for cross county running and our athletes rose to the occasion in which they gave it their all in their respective races. Special mention goes to Orla Callaghan (15th), James McConnell (9th); and Ben Walker (4th, racing against Y9s!) who all qualified for the Inter-Counties on 4th Feb in Cumbria.

Full team:

18.1 – Y7 B-team National Cup Round 5, away at St John Fisher School, Harrogate

The glamour of the National Cup finally came to an end in round 5 for this team who have stayed in the competition longer than any other Newminster team. So for that, very well done! The boys certainly enjoyed the two hour bus journey down, signing all the way! On arrival they were slightly overawed by the prestigious school, but it was the poor quality pitch that the team struggled with most. The pitch was very boggy and the ball was heavy, so we found it hard to clear our lines, which meant we were under immense pressure for most of the game. We went in at half time 4-0 down and at that point we could have easily given up, but I must gave the team fantastic credit for a much better, rallying performance in the second half when they were much the better team, working hard in defense and creating some dangerous attacking moves. It was bitterly disappointing for me that they didn’t get at least one goal that they thoroughly deserved and were caught twice on a quick counter attack, ending the game at 6-0. However, the boys soon shook off the disappointment with the memories of a superb cup run. And then sang all the way home as well!

Full squad:

20.1 – Sportshall Athletics at Chantry

Well done to all our athletes that took part in this competition. In the morning our KS2 team competed against our partnership schools. Our team was a good mix of Y5 and Y6s competing against full Y6 teams and after the complete set of running, jumping and throwing events I was extremely pleased to see our team earn second place. A great achievement by all our athletes and a fantastic effort for our Y5s who will take this experience into next years competition.

Team:

The afternoon session saw the turn of our Y7 and Y8 athletes in their respective competitions. The pupils once again competed to a very high standard, with some exceptional individual and team results. The pupils then had an agonizing wait to find out the results as the competition overran and some schools had to leave before the results were announced. I can now confirm that out Y7 and Y8 girls teams both finished in a very respectable second place and the boys went one better and both our Y7 and Y8 boys won their event and will now represent the Area at the Finals on 17th March at Morpeth Leisure Centre. Well done to all!

Teams:

20.1 – School trip to the Newcastle Eagles game v Worcester Wolves

We took our highest number of pupils on this annual trip and considering we had 64 pupils at the Sport Central stadium, can I congratulate each and everyone of them for their impeccable behaviour and organisation throughout. Unfortunately the Eagles couldn’t quite replicate this in their performance with only their 3rd defeat of the season, but our pupils didn’t seem to mind too much and thoroughly enjoyed the night.

A reminder that our Y5 team have qualified to play at this same venue on Friday 3rd before the Eagles next home game. All of Newminster pupils are entitled to free tickets for all of this and need to come to see me if they require one.

23.01 – National Cup: Newminster U12 v NSB

On bright but chilly afternoon at Red House Farm FC, Newminster U12’s produced one of the performances of the season against NSB in the National cup. With a full strength squad fresh after their winter break, Newminster dominated the game from start to finish. First half goals from James McConnell 2, Tom Wales, captain Ollie Bruce, Georgio La Rosa 2 and an own goal put Newminster 7-0 up at half time. Not content to sit back in the second half Newminster quickly got back into their groove with more goals from Josh Grenfell, another goal a piece from Ollie Bruce and James McConnell and 4 from Lucy McConnell who came on as a second half substitute to terrorise the NSB defence.

Final score – NSB 0 Newminster 14

Performance of the match for an unstoppable second half performance awarded to Lucy McConnell.

26.01 – County Cup: Newminster U12 V Heaton Manor

On a freezing cold afternoon in the east of Newcastle our U12’s took on Heaton Manor in the 4th round of the county cup. After a very even start to the game it looked like it would be Heaton who would take the lead when they were awarded a very dubious penalty. Fortunately for Newminster, Dan McConnell in goal did enough to put the Heaton striker off and the penalty was blasted over the bar. Newminster grew into the game as the half went on and created a handful of chances but unfortunately we’re unable to hit the back of the net. With the scores level at half time, the half time talk was more of the same, playing through the middle and running at Heaton’s centre backs. Midway through the second half it was the Newcastle side who struck first against the run of play. A deflected shot from outside the Newminster box squirmed its way into the back of the net. Newminster dominated the majority of the second half playing some fantastic football and at the same time, keeping their heads against some very short tempered opponents. Unfortunately, for all the possession and hard work, Newminster were unable to find that vital equaliser but still came away with their heads held high after a very hard fought cup tie. Final score – Heaton Manor 1 Newminster 0. Performance of the game awarded to the team as a whole for their ‘never give up’ attitude in freezing conditions.

U12 Squad

Dan McConnell 7W

Josh Armsworth 7B

Ollie Bruce 7R

Matthew Walton 7J

Tom Wales 7B

Louie Gourlay 7W

James McConnell 7R

Giorgio La Rosa 7W

Josh Grenfell 7B

Roan Parker 7R

Finlay Coulson 7W

Orla Callaghan 7R

Lucy McConnell 7J

26.1.17 – Y8 Basketball tournament at Chantry

Our squad of 9 performed extremely well in this very high standard competition. They created many shooting chances and were very strong in defense in every one of their 5 games. The lads will be the first to admit they unfortunately lacked in shooting accuracy which, in a seven minute game, was the deciding factor in most of their games. Despite the results their attitude and commitment stayed very positive throughout and deserved a victory in their final group stage game against Rothbury. Well done to all:

7.12 – Y7/8 Volleyball

Our Yr7/8 students arrived at Ponteland ready to play volleyball in their 4 separate teams. We had 2 girl teams and 2 boys teams. All 4 teams went into their games with great confidence and determination. We picked up some good results from the games with every team winning at least 1 game. Massive well done to all our students for taking part in the competition.

8.12 – Y8 rugby at St Cuthberts

The boys went to the RFU development tournament at St Cutherburts and were in a pool with Ponteland and Churchill. The boys played well in both of those games and beat Churchill. However, against Ponteland they were unable to dominate the break down and as a result narrowly lost. We then played St Mary’s and the St Mary’s boys were very physical and strayed outside the laws at points. The boys handled themselves admirably and kept their cool throughout to win the game.

8.12 – Y7 rugby league at Kingston Park

Arriving in pouring rain the lads were not put off and were very excited to play on the Falcons’ pitch. We had split into 2 teams and it’s fair to say both teams played with fantastic determination and commitment.

‘Mackenzie’s’ team recorded 2 draws and a loss and improved very impressively as the tournament went on. The lads benefited from tough tackling from Matteo, Mackenzie, Joe, Tom and Tom; as well as confident running with the ball by Karun, Mackenzie and Joe.

‘Ollie’s’ team started with a fantastic display of passing rugby in attack and big tackles in defense against St Cuthbert’s and got a deserved 5-3 win. The next 2 games proved very challenging against 2 excellent teams and Newminster did very well to almost match them but with injuries to very influential players we couldn’t match their tries scored. Because of injuries we drafted in Matteo, Mackenzie, Tom McKenna and Joe Lennox for the final match who all played fantastically well. Once again we played the superb rugby of the first match and ran out 5-0 winners. Special mention on this team goes to Chris Johnstone for superb work in the centre for constantly breaking down opposition attack; confident running with the ball from Josh Grenfell and Ollie Bruce; and ‘men of the tournament’ all round brilliant performances from Dan McConnell and Ollie Crooks.

9.12 – Indoor rowing at Cambois

Our top rowers took to the machines at Cambois Rowing Club to compete against the best rowers in our region. All of our pupils did exceptionally well, despite a few technical difficulties with a couple of the machines. Very well done to Danny O’Shea, Harvey Gillie, Ben Waterfield, Maia Smith, Rebecca Bradley and particularly to Rory Dwyer (4th overall), Eadie Barakat (3rd overall) and Lucy McConnell (2nd overall). Rory, Lucy and Eadie will now be asked to compete for the county in the North East finals in March.

12.12 – Y7 B-team National Cup game away at Dykehouse (Hartlepool)

The boys turned up at the ‘Centre for Hartlepool Utd Academy’ with more than a little uneasiness about them. However they quickly realised there was no need for the nerves as they created several early attacks and a goal from Evan Logan. Newminster dominated the first half and scored a further goal from good team play and the finish from Tom McKenna. The second half proved more of the same with our team creating chance after chance and subsequent goals from Evan, Joe Lennox and an own goal thanks to great wing play from Josh Morina. Dykehouse stole a late consolation goal but apart from that it was a perfect display in defense and wonderful attacking play from our midfielders through to Evan and Joe Hardy up front. We are now the only North-East team left in the cup so lets hope for another away trip next January in round 5.

13.12 – U13s County Cup game away at Cramlington

This game was without doubt against the toughest opponents we have faced all season as Cramlington showed in the first 10 minutes, dominating possession and passing the ball well around the huge pitch. The first half continued in a similar fashion as Cramlington put the ball in the net but had it ruled out for being offside and without the benefit of Goal-line Technology had another effort chalked off as not fully crossing the line. The lads came in at half time knowing they needed to step up their efforts and definitely showed that in the second half, resulting in a more even game, with both sides being reduced to only a few half-chances. With only 4 minutes left and a superb defensive display from the entire Newminster team it looked like it may run into extra time, but Cramlington’s tricky right midfielder played the ball across from the wing and with a huge amount of luck looped it over Dan’s head into the net. The same player then sealed the win with a strong run down the right and smashed the ball into the net despite a strong hand from Dan almost pushing it wide. A huge amount of credit goes to our full squad as the played with a real fighting team spirit and can all hold their heads high, knowing they gave their all against a very good team.

14.12 – U13s Cheviot rugby

We took a large squad to Kingston Park for the county cup finals. In the pool were Dame Allans and Ponteland Middle. The games were only 7 minutes each way, so we could easily have fallen behind if we weren’t switched on and prepared. The boys warmed up well and were all excited to be playing on the Falcons pitch. There first game was against Ponteland and we flew out of the blocks and dominated the game. Ben Loknes played particularly well off the bench and the forwards controlled the breakdown. The game ended 20-0 to Cheviot. We faced Dame Allans next, this was a real test with the previous result from earlier in the season going the way of Dame Allans. In this short format both teams had opportunities to put the game to bed, but the score ended 0-0. This meant that on tries scored we were the victors. The boys have played well all season and in the previous cup rounds, so deserved the result. We’re looking forward to continuing the season after Christmas. Well done boys.

15.12 – Y7/8 indoor cricket tournament at Blyth

Our boys were representing our Area at this county event at Blyth Sports Centre.

The first game was against Valley Gardens who went to National competition level last year, so I knew it was going to be a tough start. The boys however, batted with some good attacking play and took a few wickets to keep the score respectable but a defeat was the final outcome. The second game was a much more even game but again our indecision when to run caused us to lose too many wickets and again we were defeated. Unfortunately I believe this knocked our confidence a bit as we went into the final group game against Ovingham and we never really raised our game enough to beat another very strong team.

With the group games complete the lads picked themselves up for the final ‘blast-off’ in which we played against Valley again and the rules were simple – every pair faces 1 over and whichever team score the most, wins. Valley batted first and gained a very good score. Knowing what we had to beat the team were much more positive in every aspect and steadily chipped away at their target. Going into the final over we knew it was going to be close as the number of runs left to achieve was shouted out at every ball. With 1 ball left to be delivered, 2 runs were required to level the game and that’s exactly what we did. A fair and very positive result for our team. Well done to Dominic Marshall, Ben Waterfield, Jake Leonard, Harvey Gillie, Chris Johnstone, Joe Lennox, Alfie Clark and Dan McConnell.

Y8 Girls (U13) Northumberland Netball League

The Year 8 Girls Netball Team have had an impressive start to their 2016/17 season in the U13 Northumberland Netball League.

4/11 – Y5/6 TAG rugby

We took three teams to the tournament at MRFC and all teams performed really well. Each team really benefited from playing lots of games in succession and developed as a team through out the afternoon. Unfortunately, there were some very strong teams from Chantry and Ponteland who took the tournament on the day.

8/11 – Y7 Rugby League

We headed to Churchill Community College on a cold and wet day, to play against other schools from the area in a Newcastle area rugby league tournament. The boys had missed the first day of the tournament before due to a fixture clash. But they were able to play all the teams in the tournament on the day. They competed well against some well coached RL sides and if we had been able to attend the first day of the tournament could have qualified for the next round. The same format runs again next year so I am hopeful they can continue to develop and play again next year.

10/11 – Y8 Rugby League

We took the boys along to Astley High school for there first Rugby League tournament of the year. Cramlington and Marden Brigde were very strong and it took the boys a few games to get into the flow of the games. But all enjoyed the tournament and I hope a different experience in playing rugby league.

21/11 – Y7/8 Girls Rugby Ponteland

The girls headed to Ponteland on a cold, wet and windy day for rugby. Playing against girls from various school across Northumberland the all got the opportunity for game time and to continue to develop there contact skills. All teams played really well and won most of there games. I look forward to continue to seeing the progress in the tournaments over the year.

21/11 – Y7 5-a-side tournament at NCEA

In torrential rain and gale force winds we took two teams to this event. Despite the horrific conditions the boys played some great football and as always played with immense determination and effort. Both teams played 4 games, each in a different group. The ‘A-team’ won two, drew 1 and lost 1 to the eventual winners. The ‘B-team’ were superb in their group and won 3 and drew 1 and therefore topped their group. Well done to all the lads for enduring the weather and playing so well.

24, 28, 29/11 – House rugby, dodgeball and cross country

Well done to all our pupils for representing their House in the first events of the year. The rugby pitches were deemed playable on the morning of the 24th and all staff were impressed with the attitude, ability and commitment shown by almost all teams throughout the day. A big thank you also goes out to the House Captains for organising their teams and helping with scoring etc. The following week saw all pupils run in the House Cross Country and every pupil earned points for their house. First and foremost I want to say well done to all those who ran to the best of their ability. Special mention to the individual race winners:

Ben Hewitt, Kate Kennedy, Dylan Walker, Sophia Cunningham, James McConnell, Orla Callaghan, Ben Walker and Fay Smith.

Points so far: Collingwood: 42, Mitford: 49, Howard: 50 and run-a-way leaders so far; Dacre: 63.

28/11 – Y7 B-team National Cup (round 4) v Ponteland.

This game started very evenly with both teams looking comfortable on the ball and in defense. It was Ponteland who arguably started to play better as a team and took a 2 goal advantage into the second half. With the game starting to look like it was slipping away from Newminster, we stepped up a gear and scored 2 good team goals, finished by Tom McKenna and Evan Logan. Unfortunately almost immediately after, Ponteland scored again and took a 3-2 lead into the dying moments. Then Joe Cromar picked up the ball right over on the touchline and played a high ball over into the box. Only Joe will tell you if it was intended as a shot or cross but nevertheless it sailed over the keeper, sending the team into delirium and taking the game to extra-time. Newminster were probably the better team during this time but neither team could score, meaning the game was to be decided on penalties. Our players were very confident in offering to take and this was further demonstrated with our first 3 penalties taken superbly by Joe Lennox, Alfie Clark and Tom McKenna. Ponteland in contrast missed the goal, had 1 magnificently save d by Chris Johnston then scored their third. The next 2 penalties would therefore prove decisive and as both teams missed it meant Newminster went through with a 3-1 penalty win. Fantastic!

Next game – Wednesday 30th, away at Dykehouse school in Hartlepool.

28/11 – Y7 A team National Cup v Cramlington

2/12/16 – Y5/6 girls and Y5 boys football tournament at Chantry

Our Y5 boys team had their first taste of a competitive tournament without the Y6s. The event started very well with a 2-0 victory over Richard Coates school, and then a very hard fixture against Ponteland. Both teams played very well but neither team managed to score. The boys then demonstrated fantastic competitive play, defensive stability and creativity in attack with a 2-0 victory over Chantry A, 5-0 win over Chantry B and a 6-0 victory over Ponteland B. Ponteland A team results perfectly matched ours so we had to decide the tournament on a penalty shoot-out. Unfortunately our first 2 penalties struck the same post then our second 2 were saved by their keeper, which meant we finished second overall. A great start for our Y5 lads including a perfect set of clean sheets and 13 goals scored. Well done!

7/12 – Area Cross Country at Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Ashington

Our top 6 cross country runners from the Y7 and Y8 boys and girls took part in this annual event against all the top runners from our Area. Huge congratulations go to all those who took part especially as this was probably our most successful set of results ever. The overall school team results had both our Y7 boys and girls as winners and our Y8 boys and girls were both second behind a high school. To put this in perspective our Y8s were racing against Y8s and Y9s and they were the best Y8s there and beat teams from 5 or 6 high schools.

Individual results:

Y7 girls: Orla Callaghan (2), Lola Jackson (6), Fran Takher (7), Izzy Bird (9), Bella Deacon (10), Molly Ions (14).

Y7 boys: James McConnell (1), Ollie Bruce (2), Matty Walton (4), Roan Parker (15), Josh Grenfell (17), Sam Parker (20)

Y8 girls: Fay Smith (6), Rebecca Bradley (7), Laura Stevenson (11), Ellie Dandie (13), Rhianna Brennan-Davies (18), Ava Da Costa (34)

Y8 boys: Ben Walker (1), Ben Waterfield (7), Charlie Lane (9), Dylan Gooding (10), Aidan McInally (12), Ben Loknes (38)

All of our top 16 finishers will now represent the area at the County Cross Country next month. Well done!

7/12 – Sports Partnership Volleyball tournament at Ponteland

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.

10.10.16 U12 9-a-side Football – County Cup V Highfield

In their first competitive match of the new season, Newminster U12’s took on Highfield the first round of the County Cup. With an extremely strong starting line up it was Newminster who came out of the starting blocks fastest , sailing into an early 3-0 lead. Highfield shocked by the early onslaught, never really got back into the game. As the game progressed, Newminster went from strength to strength, they dominated possession and ended up as 13-2 winners! Outstanding performances on the night came from James McConnell, Orla Callaghan and Josh Grenfell, as well as a sterling performance from our captain for the game, Louie Gourlay. Next up for the U12 team is St Marys in the National Cup on Wednesday evening.

U11s League – v Chantry

The boys took part in the Newminster and Chantry Open Evening football game. A big test for them as they faced their first 9-a-side game and the first match where they had played as a team. The boys lost to a strong Chantry team, however they demonstrated some great play and a massive effort from everyone. Special mention goes to Louie Wilson who scored our only goal, with a great run from the halfway line placing the ball comfortably past the keeper.

11.10 – U13 Girls Football- Malcolm Berry cup vs NCEA and Meadowdale Middle

This was the girls first 2 games in the Malcolm Berry cup and not even the horrible cold and rainy weather was going to stop these girls from playing. The girls took on NCEA in their first game, getting off to a good start with Lucy opening the scoring within 4 minutes. The girls played some fantastic football and worked well as a team. Great link up play from Orla, Lucy, Laura and Fran resulted in further goals from Lucy (5), Orla (2) and Laura (1) finishing their first game with a 9-0 win.

Going into the girl’s second game saw them take on a more challenging game against Meadowdale. Solid defending from Emma, Eadie, Alysia, and Ruby saw nothing get past them. Again Lucy opened up the scoring for the girls with a great strike. The girls then had a good spell of 5 minutes with loads of chances but were unable to finish off any. A break from Meadowdale caught Newminster defenders out, but a save from Alysia kept the girls 1-0 up. The goals then kept coming with more from Lucy (2), Orla (1) and Laura (1) seeing the girls through their second victory of the night with 5-0 being the final score.

Orla Callaghan 7R (3)

Lola Jackson 7R

Ruby Gerrard 7R

Eadie Barakat 7R

Esme Scott 7R

Emma Gerrard 7R

Fran Takher 7J

Izzy Bird 7J

Lucy McConnell 7J (9)

Ellie Chrinside 7J

Laura Stevenson 8SW (2)

Alysia Donnison 8U

U13s Boys – League –  v Ponteland

A fantastic performance that didn’t deserve the score-line of a 2-1 defeat. The full squad (including currently injured player-coach James Allan) was superb and played with a real team spirit. Playing some delightful football in the midfield, bringing in the full-backs they created several good chances and looked solid at the back. Both team managers agreed we were the better team, but once again in the league, the victory has escaped us. Roll on next league game against Richard Coates.

U13s Boys – County Cup –  v Seaton Burn

Another superb performance from the entire squad and this time they got the result they deserved with a 7-1 win. After a nail-biting first half the game was level at 1-1 which included an equalizing goal from Ben Loknes, who looked dangerous throughout. The match definitely turned into a game of two halves with much more gritty battling in central midfield from Ben Morrison, Ben Waterfield, Ben Loknes, James Herron and  Will Wood who all took their turn extremely well. The back four and Dan Lloyd looked solid again throughout and the midfield and strikers performed exceptionally well in the second half in particular. They created chance after chance with another goal from Ben Loknes, plus others from Will Wood, Fergus Barclay, Tom Wales and two from Joe Buxton.

U12s Sky Try Rugby League Tournament

Well done to the whole squad for a fantastic display at their first Rugby League event of the year. After only 3 weeks of training the lads played so well as a team and dominated each of the 3 games they played in this tournament. The first game was arguably the hardest of the lot against a well drilled Churchill team. Both sides played with real determination but it was with superb organisation both in attack and defense that Newminster won the game. The team then went from strength to strength with dominant displays against Chantry and Mortimer to finish the tournament with a 100% win record. Special mention goes to Captain Marvel Chris Johnstone for his leadership and organisation; James McConnell and Tom Wales for fantastic individual running with the ball; and player of the tournament Ollie Crooks who not only ran the ball with superb power and agility but his defensive work and breaking down opposition attack on numerous occasions.

17.10 – U11s 9-a-side League vs Richard Coates

19.10 – U12s Boys – Sports Partnership Level 2 tournament

It was fantastic to see so many pupils involved in this tournament, especially considering they were all playing in a match either on the same night or the day after. So firstly a huge thank you from me for the effort displayed throughout both these days. Our second team played with fantastic determination throughout all their games but were unfortunately narrowly beaten in each game. The first team also played with similar determination, but possibly with one eye on the Cup game later that day, they could only manage 2 draws in the first 2 games. This unfortunately effectively meant they could not gain top spot in their group. However, with the pressure off they played some superb football and convincingly beat Chantry’s second team in their last group game. This set up a 3rd/4th place playoff game which they again won, playing some great football.

Also many thanks to our Sports Leader referees: Ben Morrison, Ben Waterfield, James Allan, Dominic Marshall, Aidan McInally, Fergus Barclay and Tom Holden.

19.10 – U13s Girls – Sports Partnership Level 2 tournament

The Under 13 netball team have got off to a great start in the 2016/17 season. The girls have played 3 matches and really displayed an excellent standard of game play. In their first match at home against Meadowdale their ability was clear to see with some lovely flowing play, resulting in a convincing win of 17-3. Rihanna Brennan -Davies was voted player of the match.

In their second match the girls took on a well drilled Chantry team. From the first quarter it was clear to see that this was going to be a really tight game. Excellent defending from both teams resulted in a low scoring game. Chantry crucially took their shots with poise to eventually win the game by a 2 goal margin. Laura Stevenson was voted player of the match.

In their third match the girls faced Cramlington Learning Village. Due to the absence of some players, in Paris, others confidently stepped in along with two Year 7 players. Straight away the girls jelled and played so well as a team. Lessons learnt from the previous match, against Chantry, the girls took every chance to shoot and it paid off, winning the game 18-3. Player of the match was Ava Da Costa.

19.10 – U12 9 aside Football – National Cup V St Marys

20.10 – U12s B-team National Cup Game

We traveled to Valley Gardens the day after the disappointment of the tournament with the players determined to get a better result in their first round of the National Cup. The game started fairly evenly with both sides creating chances. However, with a combination of solid defending, goalkeeping and more clinical finishing in front of goal, we took the lead and looked much the more confident team going into the break with two goals from Evan Logan. The second half was more of the same, with plenty of chances created by a very balanced and determined Newminster team. Valley Gardens pulled a goal back but with goals from Daniel Walker and Ethan Young, Newminster go into the next round with a 4-1 away victory. Well done lads!

20.10.16 – U11s 9-a-side League vs Ponteland Middle

Some resolute defending and heroic goalkeeping from Ethan Johnston kept the scoreline to a 6-1 defeat against a very strong Ponteland side. Adonis Godopoulos provided the only goal after some brilliant build-up play by Mark Wales and Ben Hewitt.

U13 girls netball

The Under 13 netball team have got off to a great start in the 2016/17 season.
The girls have played 3 matches and really displayed an excellent standard of game play. In their first match at home against Meadowdale their ability was clear to see with some lovely flowing play, resulting in a convincing win of 17-3. Rihanna Brennan -Davies was voted player of the match.
In their second match the girls took on a well drilled Chantry team. From the first quarter it was clear to see that this was going to be a really tight game. Excellent defending from both teams resulted in a low scoring game. Chantry crucially took their shots with poise to eventually win the game by a 2 goal margin. Laura Stevenson was voted player of the match.
In their third match the girls faced Cramlington Learning Village. Due to the absence of some players, in Paris, others confidently stepped in along with two Year 7 players. Straight away the girls jelled and played so well as a team. Lessons learnt from the previous match, against Chantry, the girls took every chance to shoot and it paid off, winning the game 18-3. Player of the match was Ava Da Costa.

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22.9 – Y7/8 girls National Cup Football game vs John Spence

The girls kicked off their footballing campaign with a game against John Spence in the schools National cup. The girls got off to a good start with Laura Stevenson opening the scoring up with a great 20 yard run through 4 defenders then past the keeper to give the girls the lead. Great link up play between Lucy McConnell and Orla Callaghan provided the girls with more goal scoring opportunities but neither Orla or Lucy could find the back of the net early on. John Spence then found some life and had a few very strong attacks hitting the cross bar and forcing some good saves from goalkeeper Eadie Barakat. Late into the first half the girls still creating chances taking the half time score to 4-0 with goals from Orla, Esme and Katie.

Early into the second half Lucy ran from halfway through the defenders and scored very confidently. Further goals from Laura and Alysia (2) saw the girls take their first win of the season 8-0! Massive well done to the girls for stepping up in their first 9 a side game and playing some outstanding football.
Team Goals: Orla 7R 1, Lola 7R, Ruby 7R, Izzy 7J, Lucy 7J 1, Ellie C 7J, Fran 7J, Eadie 7R, Esme 7R 1, Emma 7R, Ellie D 8C 1, Laura 8SW 2, Alysia 8U 2.

21.9 – Danone Cup Tournament

This was the first competitive tournament for the new KS2 team. It was very close during the group stages with the team finishing with a 6-0 win. Unfortunately this was not enough for the team to progress through to the semi-finals. It was an encouraging start to the season and all of those involved had fantastic attitudes throughout.

U13 Boys B-team – National Cup

Fantastic start with a 7-0 away win at Ponteland Middle, with goals from Roan S (2), Max M (2), Ben M (2) and Joe B. Next round – Cramlington LV at home on the 10th November.

U13 Boys League

A fantastic dominant display against Chantry ending in a 1-1 draw. A game we probably should have won, defending very strongly and creating many chances but unfortunately this time we couldn’t convert them. Great effort form all, and special mention to James M for slotting in our goal.

11/10/16  U13 Girls – Malcolm Berry Cup vs NCEA & Meadowdale Middle 

This was the girls first 2 games in the Malcolm Berry cup and not even the horrible cold and rainy weather was going to stop these girls from playing. The girls took on NCEA in their first game, getting off to a good start with Lucy opening the scoring within 4 minutes. The girls played some fantastic football and worked well as a team. Great link up play from Orla, Lucy, Laura and Fran resulted in further goals from Lucy (5), Orla (20 and Laura (1) finishing their first game with a 9-0 win.

Going into the girl’s second game saw them take on a more challenging game vs Meadowdale. Solid defending from Emma, Eadie, Alysia, and Ruby saw nothing get passed them. Again Lucy opened up the scoring for the girls with a great strike. The girls then had a good spell of 5 minutes with loads of chances but were unable to finish off any chances. A break from Meadowdale caught Newminster defenders out, but a save from Alysia kept the girls 1-0 up. The goals then kept coming with more from Lucy (2), Orla (1) and Laura (1) seeing the girls through their second victory of the night with 5-0 being the final score.

Orla C 7R (3), Lola Jn 7R, Ruby G 7R, Eadie B 7R, Esme S 7R, Emma G 7R, Fran T 7J, Izzy B 7J, Lucy M 7J (9), Ellie C 7J, Laura S 8SW (2), Alysia D 8U.

10.10 – KS2 7-aside league – “Will Garbutt’s on fire, your defence is terrified!”.

7.10.16 – Girls Rugby Tournament

This was the first event of the year and it was brilliant to see so many of our girls willing to play. We were the only school to take 3 teams, with a further group of girls watching on, ready for the next event. All 3 teams played extremely well, developing their game and building on their already huge confidence to go into contact.

4.10.16 – Year 8 Sports Leaders

Thanks to our Y8 Sports Leaders for taking part in their first event of the year. They were trained how to run a Multi-skills festival then ran one for our Y2 future pupils. The feedback from staff in attendance was very positive. Well done!

5.10.16 Newminster opening evening Y5/6 Football vs Chantry

The boys all took part in the Newminster and Chantry opening evening football game. A big test for the boys as they faced their first 9-a-side game and the first match where they had played as a team. Some great play from the boys and a massive effort from everyone. The boys took a defeat to a strong Chantry team. Special Mention to Louie who scored the boys only goal, with a great run from the halfway line placing the ball comfortably past the keeper.

4.10.16 – Cross Country

Our pupils also took part in their first Cross Country event of the year at Gateshead Stadium against the top runners in the county. We had teams from Y5,Y6 and Y8. Very well done to all those that took part, especially to top 10 finishers: Kate K (6), Olivia G (9), Dylan G (7), Ellie D (7), Rebecca B (6) and Ben W who took 1st place!

3.10.16 – Marathon Challenge

Pupils from Newminster, Chantry and KEVI once again competed in this fantastic world wide annual event. Both team consisting of 29 athletes had to relay race in 200m legs around KEVI track until they had covered a marathon distance. The idea was to attempt to run it in as close to the Men’s World Record time of 2hrs 2 mins 57 secs. Both teams ran superbly well and gained times of 2hrs 4mins and 2 secs and 2 hrs 9mins 16 secs respectively. To put this in perspective they achieved the top 2 times in the North East and were 11th and 19th in the world. Well done!

For the full set of results see – http://www.competitioncentre.net/results?leagueCode=wmc

10.6 – KS2 Kwik Cricket festival at Ponteland

14.6 – Area athletics at Monkton Stadium

Area athletics at Monkton Stadium – a fantastic effort from our pupils at this event which involved 20 Y6s, 35 Y7s and 25 Y8s. We had representatives in all athletics disciplines on the track and in the field. Huge congratulations to all participants as they helped Newminster win the overall school title in all three year groups. Particular mention goes to the pupils listed below who took top 3 places individually in their events and therefore qualify for the County event on 25th.

1st – Tom Wales, Ollie Bruce, Josh Grenfell, Matty Walton, Harvey Gillie, Lola Jackson, Lucy McConnell, Orla Callaghan, Charlie Lane, Ben Walker, Ben Waterfield, James Herron, Dan Lloyd, Theo Brown, Dan Dowd, Ellie Dandie, Fay Smith, Eloise Walker Barras, Izzy Hull Tommy Cunningham, Lily Heaton, Anna Thompson, Elena Saunders

2nd – Fran Takher, Hannah Bishop Fergus Barclay, Dylan Gooding, Eoin Bowman, Laura Stevenson, Eloise Walker Barras, Izzy Hull Katie Dandie, Nicole Teasdale, Angus Stout, Josh Nelson

3rd – Joe Oliver, Giorgio La Rosa, James McConnell, Josh Armsworth, James Herron, Ben Waterfield Will Milburn, Lily Heaton, Nicole Teasdale, Libby Barber

That’s 15 Y6s, 16 Y7s and 10 Y8s. Well done!

County event held at Hexham

The county event, held at Hexham, pitted our athletes against the best from across Northumberland and Newcastle, so a huge ‘well done’ goes to all those just for getting there.

Sports Days 2016

During the week commencing 20th June we saw our busiest sporting week with both our Sports Days and the Summer Games.

The Field Events Sports Day saw all of our pupils take part in various throwing and jumping events in order to gain points for their House. Well done to everyone! After all the scores were in, the standings were:

Dacre – 483pts

Howard – 466 pts

Collingwood – 447pts

Mitford – 423pts

Track Events

On a baking hot Thursday, we held our Track Events. Despite the searing temperatures the pupils gave it their all and the results were:

Collingwood – 456pts

Dacre – 430pts

Mitford – 388pts

Howard –  384pts

So overall the Athletics overall scores were:

Dacre – 913pts

Collingwood – 903pts

Howard – 850pts

Mitford – 811pts

A superb effort from everyone involved, especially those who pushed themselves to the maximum and gained vital points for their house.

Special mention goes to the following pupils who throughout this season have broken school records:

Summer Games 2016

As listed in previous newsletters we had 5 teams that qualified for the Summer Games this year. The event is a very prestigious occasion with special guests taking part in the Opening Ceremony and each day involving over 1000 participants. It was thought that over 10000 pupils from around the county had taken part in Level 2 events that preceded this.

Day 1 saw the event opened by Craig Heap, Olympic gymnast and Glen McCrory, World Champion boxer. After the parade to Cramlington Sporting Club for the actual tournaments the teams got down to the business at hand and competed against the best from the other areas of Northumberland. On this day we had teams in the Y5/6 netball, Y5/6 Girls’ Football and Y7/8 Girls’ Football.

The Y7/8 girls’ football team had some tough games against teams they have already come up against this year. However, with some experimental line-ups, the girls played some great football to bring this fanatstic fun-filled season to a close with a very respectable 3 wins and 2 losses, earning the bronze medal finishing position.

The Y5/6 football and netball teams seemed to mirror each other perfectly as the tournament went on.

There was an early scare for the football team when the first game went to a penalty shoot out decider, which we eventually won on the seventh penalty when Rugby Gerrard smashed the ball into the roof of the net. After that the games were more straight forward with consecutive wins for both the football and the netball teams meaning they both went into the final game of their respective tournament knowing whoever won it, would be crowned County Champions.

Both teams had a hard game against arguably the hardest opposition they were due to face on the day. And with fantastic team spirit (as always!), superb determination and excellent play our teams dominated and took the victory comfortably. Well done to the latest County Champions!

Day 2 saw the event opened by Tamara Taylor, England Rugby World Cup Winner, whom as well as giving a very inspirational speech, introduced Ellen Fenwick, our Sports Ambassador and Flag Bearer for the day.

Our teams today representing the Area were Y6 Quadkids (as well as our Y8 Leaders for the event) and Y5/6 Tag rugby.

The rugby team started slow in the tournament, but despite having a much changed squad, they played some impressive rugby and recorded a few good results. As there were two other events on at the same time involving players who helped to get them to this stage, it was great to give some other of our pupils the opportunity to play at this prestigious event.

The Y6 Quadkids hopes were high after such fantastic results at the Partnership stage of this event and with so many qualifying for individual events at the Area Athletics. One of the most interesting aspects of this event in which all 10 members of the team must do a 75m sprint, 600m run, howler throw and standing long jump is that as they compete at different times there is no way of knowing the team results until they are announced. So after all the results were in, it was finally announced that this wonderfully talented team were declared County Champions.

KS2 performed brilliantly in the High 5 Netball section of the tournament.  Both girls and boys played valiantly to win all their games.  As a team, we were prepared with strategic rotations which enabled the players to be in their best positions for each game.  The second half of the last game was particularly tense as there was only one point between winning and drawing.  The players pulled it out the bag to win for Morpeth and Ponteland.  A brilliant competition with courageous players and well organised management!

All teams listed below:

Y5/6 Netball			Y5/6 Football			Y7/8 Football
6F	Josh	Armsworth	5T	Erin	Johnstone	7C	Ellie	Dandie
6F	Kiera	Cowan	6M	Izzy	Bird	7U	Alysia	Donnison
6F	Ellen	Davidson	6M	Lucy	McConnell	8A	lucy	Coulson
6F	Bella	Deacon	6M	Fran	Takher	8A	Alex	Carr
6F	Maisie	Nelson	6P	Eadie	Barakat	8B	Elena	Saunders
6P	Ollie	Bruce	6P	Esme	Scott	8B	Anna	Thompson
6P	Emma	Gerrard	6P	Orla	Callaghan	8M	Katie	Dandie
			6P	Lola	Jackson	8R	Ellen	Fenwick
			6P	Ruby	Gerrard

Y5/6 Rugby			Y6 Quadkids			Y8 Quadkids Leaders
5T	Harry	Brown	5W	Olivia	Gent	8A	Fergus	Evans
6F	Josh	Grenfell	6F	Tom	Wales	8A	Lily	Heaton
6J	Finlay	Coulson	6M	Lucy	McConnell	8B	Louisa	O’Neill
6J	Ollie	Crooks	6M	Matty	Walton	8B	Elena	Saunders
6J	Dan	McConnell	6P	Eadie	Barakat	8B	Anna	Thompson
6M	Joe	Hardy	6P	Ollie	Bruce	8B	Grace	Bathgate
6M	Danny	O’Shea	6P	Orla	Callaghan	8N	Craig	Fairburn
6M	Sam	Parker	6P	Emma	Gerrard	8N	Jake	Bishop
6M	Fran	Takher	6P	Harvey	Gillie	8N	Ben	Owen
6P	Ruby	Gerrard	6P	James	McConnell	8R	Libby	Barber
						8R	Tommy	Cunningham
						8R	Ellen	Fenwick

Very well done to the following pupils who were double County Champions over the two days:

Orla Callaghan, Lucy McConnell, Ollie Bruce, Eadie Barakat and Emma Gerrard.

15.6 – Day of Rugby

We took the Year 8s to Manchester to experience the World U20 rugby championship. Despite the traffic meaning that we missed the competition that the pupils were to play in. We arrived at the AJ Bell Stadium for the first of the international games. The pupils seemed to really enjoy the games and it was a great experience for them to see some future international talent.

Archery

7 Newminster students entered the tournament and the winner of the tournament was Luke Thorns closely followed in second place by Kate Richmond.

Certificates were given to the winner and to all participants of the tournament.

Students said they really enjoyed and it was great fun and they all feel they improved their shooting skills.

Luis Perales of Active Northumberland said: “Once again it has been a pleasure to deliver this courses for the students of your schools and i look forward to start delivering again archery on the New academic year.”  There are opportunities to take part on paddlesports every Friday and Tuesday after school and throughout the summer holidays.

9.5 – U13 Girls Final league games

17.5 – Y7 Girls Rugby league tournament at St James Park – Winners!!

The girls headed to St James Park in an excited mood and were greeted with free T-shirts and wristbands. We were then walked through the stadium and out onto the pitch. The girls were in two teams and both performed really well coming top and joint top of their groups. Unfortunately due to the time there could be a final to decide the overall winner. But as one of the girls teams had scored more points than any other team and conceded the least they were considered overall winners. The girls then had to have lots of photographs taken with the trophies and current professional players and got the chance to chat to the players as well. I hope they all enjoyed it and are keen to play again next year.

18.5 – Y8 Girls  Rugby tournament at Kingston Park – Winners!!

This was the last official tournament for pupils on grass. There is a beach tournament to come though at the end of term. It was a hot day and the teams that were at the tournament the girls hadn’t faced before, so it was nice for them to test themselves against new opposition. Both teams performed really well and played a lot of rugby, winning most of their games. I hope it was a nice way to finish off the year and hope they continue to play when they head up to the high school.

19.5 – Y5/6 High 5 Netball tournament at Coates – Winners!!

24.5 – Y5/6 Quadkids tournament at KEVI

Well done to all our pupils who took part in this event. We were one of only two schools who took three teams and even then competition at school for these places was fierce. If we were allowed, we could easily have put in a fourth team.

The competitors had to do a 75m sprint, 600m run, standing long jump and a howler throw. They were then awarded points for each discipline and the scores were added together for each team. Out of 12 competing teams, Team 3 finished 9th, Team 2 were 3rd and Team 1 were overall winners and now will represent the Area at the Summer Games in June.

Special mention goes to the following athletes for achieving Individual Quadkids awards –

Bronze – Orla C, Lucy M, Josh G, Izzy B, Roan P, Tom M, Sam P, Joe O

Silver – Tom W, Ollie B, Matty W, Olivia G (3rd placed girl overall!), Emma G (4th girl), Eadie B, Giorgio L-R

Gold – Ollie C, Finlay C, James M (2nd athlete overall), Harvey G (overall individual winner!)

25.5 – Y7/8 Cricket tournament at Longhirst

13.4 – U11s County Cup Semi-Final away at Ponteland

Squad:

14.4 – U13s Girls Cup Semi

18.4 – U11s and U13s girls footy tournament

20.4 – U13s Girls rugby North of England Finals tournament

After a fantastic season of transition level rugby the girls had qualified for this prestigious full contact tournament involving the best schools in the North of England. They had 4 group games and a potential Final if they topped the group. The first game was definitely the hardest against a very powerful Hexham team and despite some tough tackling and tries from Grace Bathgate and Ava Da Costa, they went down 6-2. This did however start the learning process of rucking over the ball and winning the ball in the break-down. The girls then stormed into a 4-1 lead in their second game against Teesdale with tries from Elena (2), Jess Gagie and Anna Thompson.

Unfortunately the opposition stepped up a gear in the second half and ended the game with a 4-4 draw. After 2 very different games the girls then played against another very powerful team from Workington. This was definitely their best performance so far, earning a very hard fought 6-6 draw with tries from Anna (2), Grace (2), Elena and Jess. It all came together nicely in the final game with the girls running in 8 tries to 2. 4 from Anna, and 2 each from Grace and Elena. The entire squad played with superb determination throughout and really developed their game in such a short space of time. Well done girls!

Squad

27.4 – Y7/8 Handball Sports Partnership tournament for the Summer Games

We took 3 teams to this, which meant all the pupils who wanted to be involved got their chance at this Sports Partnership event. The 2nd and 3rd teams competed very well against Chantry 2nd and 3rd teams, then the highlight game being a match between our 2 teams as the final event. Well done to team 2 for finishing eventual winners of that battle! Team 1 were placed in a very competitive group with Chantry 1 and Ponteland 1 and 2. They started very well with a victory over Ponteland 2 and then a narrow defeat to Ponteland 1. With Chantry matching our results it came down to the final game between Newminster and Chantry to decide 2nd place.

The game was literally end to end throughout, with Newminster eventually pipping their neighbours 8-7. Fantastic team performances throughout, with special mention to goal machine Aiden Layug. Will and Elena repeatedly broke down opposition attacks and turned them into Newminster goal opportunities. Josh and Anna superbly took on the bravest (or daftest) position of Goalkeeper, making a multitude of fine saves as well as performing extremely well out of goal. Lucy and Grace took their opportunities on the pitch very well, always adding something positive when they came on. Final mention to Joe Berry who thoroughly deserved his spot in the first team despite being the only Y7 amongst them; strong in defense and attack.

Squads

28.4 – U11s County Cup Final

for the second year in a row Newminster qualified for this competition at this age group. The game was played at Astley High school against Valley Gardens.

Arriving in heavy rain, we took part in a quick warm-up and were keen to get the game underway. The first few minutes looked like it was going to be a tight game with both teams mounting early attacks. However, Newminster were the first to step up through the gears and stormed into a 3-0 lead with excellent wing play from Tom Wales and James McConnell providing goals for Geogio La Rosa (2) and 1 for Tom himself.

With the weather rapidly deteriorating and a concern it may get abandoned the game settled into a more even competition and Valley stole a break-away goal taking it to half time. After a very brief team talk under parents umbrellas we started the second half again knowing the next goal would be hugely important.

Valley started the better side producing several good opportunities but Newminster once again were kept in the game with quality save after save from Captain, Dan McConnell. This seemed to inspire our team into action, and further powerful running from James and Tom lead to goals from each of them (2-James, 1 – Tom). In addition to these star performances from Dan, Tom and James, the lads wouldn’t have achieved them without the tireless hard work from the rest of the squad. Special mention must be made for: the superbly organised and hard working defense of Ollie Bruce, Harvey Gillie and Josh Armstrong; Louie Gourlay and Matty Walton, who played a half each at CDM and repeatedly broke down their attacks and turned them into chances for us; Roan Parker and Finlay Coulson who came on and added to the already hugely positive contributions in attack from Josh Grenfell and Georgio La Rosa.

A true team effort from the team who have played with an unbelievable attitude and determination all season, well done lads, you deserve this! Also a big thank you from me for the fantastic family and friends’ support (and umbrellas!).

Squad