JHS 6 Brill 0 (Goals: Dan F 2, Luke 1, Wilf 1, Henry 1)
Squad: Ned, Henry, Nick, Wilf, Luca, Luke, Daniel, Joe and Theo
Following the usual chant (“John Hampden Nuts”) led by Nick, the boys arrived again in high spirits for this much anticipated match against local rivals Brill, recent winners of the washed-out Partnership Tournament at Tetsworth.
After kick off, JHS soon got at it playing uphill having lost the toss. Daniel opened the scoring with 2 goals including a lob of the keeper. Not long after, Henry added another, making it 3-0 at half-time.
The second half started out much the same, but JHS now had the downhill advantage and extra energy from half-time Jelly Babies. However, following a lengthy half time team talk, Brill “woke up” all of a sudden and became much more determined and more of a threat. Joe, Nick, Theo & Henry all worked hard to repel the Brill attack who began to get frustrated.
A penalty save from the Brill goalkeeper, prevented a goal for Luca, much to his despair! With 10 minutes to go, a goal from Wilf settled JHS nerves and took the sting out of the opposition.
The final whistle blew and the boys were pleased to have won against a Brill team that doesn’t lose that often and helped them get over the disappointment of the Tetsworth tournament, where they were beaten by the weather!
A special mention to Ned in goal who did not put a foot or glove wrong throughout the whole match.
The return match at Brill is sure to be a tougher test.
T Field & S Bridges – Football Coaches
