Boys’ Sport 13.9.24

Seniors

1st Team

The 1st XI had a tough start to the season as they took on a physically strong Claremont side. Holmewood were 0-2 within the fist 5 minutes and although we conceded early, we grew into the game and scored before half time through Ruben V. Tommy P and Phoenix C stood strong at the back and at the start of the second half, we were the team that looked like scoring again. That was until the Claremont midfielder struck a long range into the top corner….! We unfortunately, ran out of puff after that and conceded 3 more goals before the end. A 6-1 scoreline looks as if this was a thrashing, but it was much closer than that for 90% of the match. We just have to match the opponents for a 100% of the time next week.

2nd Team

The 2nd XI played away against Claremont for the first time.

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and so the team were very excited to get the season underway. The pitch was massive and so space was not a problem.

We started very promisingly and went into an early lead. However, they managed to score twice but right before half time we equalised to make it 2-2.

The second half was again end -to -end and the final score was 5-3.

The team gave their all and although we lost I was delighted with their play and the camaraderie!

3rd team

A fantastic first game to kick off the season for the 3rd team with two excellent goals resulting in a close win. The first half saw no goals from either side but contained several very good shots that could have easily had an impact on the score.

In the second half pressure from our forwards allowed Eddie S to capitalize on a poor pass from Claremont and score a wonderful goal, however the opposition came back with a great goal to even up the scores. With a couple of minutes to go some wonderful dribbling by Harrison finished with a winning shot. Player of the match was Eddie S for listening to the feedback at half time and using it to create some lovely phases of play.

4th Team

The 4th XI began their season with an encouraging performance against strong Claremont opposition. We took the lead in the first half and, were it not for a very commanding Claremont defence, could easily have scored more. Despite the scoreline, the boys can be proud of their effort and commitment throughout. Particular mention should go to Zachary for making some brave saves in the first half before a tireless second half in midfield, scoring our second goal as reward. Well played all.

Colts

U11A

We travelled to Hilden Grange to take part in the Colts A football tournament. We faced Hilden Grange in the first match and dominated physically for the first few minutes. We managed to overload the defenders a few times but were unable to score. Hilden Grange struck back from a free kick, getting behind our defenders to score the first goal. They kept possession well after that and were able to catch our defence out again, scoring once more in the second half. We had a few more opportunities to shoot but were unable to test the goal keeper.

We played Sutton Valance in our second game and made some changes to the formation. Joel came back as a central defender and was able to use his physicality to win the ball back and drive through midfield to set up numerous attacks. Louis was put in behind the defenders and came away with a goal. It was a completely different match to the first and we came away with a 1-0 victory.

We played Dulwich Prep in our last group match and dominated much of the game. They held us to a draw, which resulted in Holmewood coming second in the group and we progressed into the cup semi finals.

We faced Somerhill who had most of the possession. Our defence did a great job of holding them up and winning back to create counter attack opportunities. Eventually our opponents were able to get a shot off on target and score late in the second half, knocking us out of the competition.

It was a fantastic way to start the season and good practice for next weeks IAPS competition.

U11B

On a day more like April, with a mixture of sunshine and very heavy showers, the Colts B team got their season started by playing in a wonderfully well-organised tournament on superb pitches over at Hilden Grange School. The team was placed in a pool with the hosts Hilden Grange, Sutton Valence and Hazelwood.

The first game was an honourable 0-0 draw against Hilden Grange. Clearly, with matches only 5 minutes each way, goals were going to be hard to come by. A quick reassessment and rejigging of positions and the second match was underway. A narrow defeat against the run of play 1-0 to Sutton Valence in the second match meant a strong performance was going to be needed against the best team in the group – Hazelwood. In a brilliant game the end result was 1-1 with a superb goal from Aaron Oyewale. So it is was through to the plate competition, where the boys played Sevenoaks Prep and despite playing the better passing football and with many chances lost 1-0, as a result of a well worked free kick from the opposition.

Great learning for the boys, plenty to work on but a positive start. Thank you parents for your support at this excellent event and despite journeying back through the lanes from Tonbridge in a Biblical thunderstorm, we arrived back at school, as the minibus clocked turned 5.30pm, our scheduled return time, much to Mr Paterson’s amusement!

U11C

The U11C team went to Somerhill school for a football tournament. The boys were a fantastic defensive unit and drew all of their group games meaning they qualified for the plate. They went on the win both the semi final and final, both on penalties meaning they gained the first bit of silverware for the year. A fantastic defensive display with brilliant teamwork and sportsmanship on display throughout.

U10A

A tournament is how we started our season this year. Being played over at Hilden grange the under 10 As competed in a colts B tournament.

Having narrowly lost their first game through a long range strike the boys turned things around winning both of their next two group games 1-0 seeing us qualify as 2nd in the group. One coach praising our boys saying that we played the best football in the group. We came up against a very strong Hazelwood side in the semi-final losing 3-0 however our defence stayed strong for a large portion of the game and the boys showed a fantastic attitude.

As starts to the season go this was a brilliant one with the side showing plenty of promise for what no doubt will be a successful season.

U10B

The Under 10B team were successful in their quest for some silverware at the Somerhill Schools tournament. They convincingly defeated Hilden Grange, Yardley Court and Dulwich Prep in the group stages without conceding a goal. In the semi-final they beat Hazelwood School in the pouring rain and went on to lift the trophy by beating a second Yardley Court team in a one-sided final. Congratulations to the boys on an impressive start to the season.

Juniors

All the year 4 boys travelled over to Hazelwood on Thursday afternoon to participate in their first match of the season. All matches tarted of brightly in both weather and performance before the first half was interrupted with an almighty downpour of rain. Once this had settled the remainder of the games were played out with all 3 Holmewood sides winning convincingly. A strong start to the season.

U8

Shortly after arriving at the grand facilities of Bede’s Senior School, we kicked off our U8s season with a six-sided game. The game took a format of four 10-minute quarters – HH changing lineup after each quarter. Starting strongly, HH took the lead with a nicely worked goal. By the end of the first quarter Bede’s were just ahead. Not long into the second quarter Bertie hit two fantastic goals to put HH back into the lead – and for the rest of the game HH stayed on top. With some great passing into space, strong tackles – particularly from Callum – and many brilliantly worked goals, the u8s stormed to an amazing victory. A fine performance with goals coming from Cillian, Leo, Bertie and Ollie.