TH E C A RTH US I A N LQ22
SPORT REPORTS BOYS 1ST XI HOCKEY
Boys 1st XI The 1st XI this year brought together a number of very talented sportsmen and it was clear from the start that the group had potential, although a number of players needed to dust off the cobwebs following a long hiatus from hockey. Pre-season training in Oration Quarter went well, and by the time January arrived, the pupils were ready to test their skills against some top hockey schools. We enjoyed early success at Eton’s pre-season tournament, going undefeated against Lord Wandsworth College, Eton and Merchant Taylor’s. It was an exciting event and gave an opportunity for some of the youngsters to embed themselves into the squad. Ben Gibson (S) did this to great effect, scoring a fantastic solo goal in the dying moments of our match against Merchant Taylor’s. Unfortunately, after the success of this tournament, the team were unable to gain much traction early in the season. Narrow losses against Cranleigh (0-1) and Eton (1-2) followed. Both games were frustrating, particularly the Cranleigh match in which they scored with the last touch of the match. Our first win came on a Friday night in Petersfield against Churcher’s College. The team played exceptionally well to keep the first half tight, against a team who previously won a national title at U15 level. This allowed Charterhouse to build a foothold in the game and a Caspar Beyer (P) hat-trick ensured the result went our way. Unfortunately, our cup run was ended at round three by a strong Bradfield College side. Charterhouse played their best hockey after Exeat. Zhen Yang Lin (W) put Charterhouse in front early in the first half with a well taken finish on the reverse. From this point on, Reed’s dominated the possession stats. However, 60
Sam Wells (P) made a string of fantastic saves to keep us in the match and, despite conceding a late equaliser, Charterhouse had an opportunity to win the game in the dying minutes with a penalty corner. Alas, it was not to be and the game ended 1-1, a good result considering the recent history of national titles for Reed’s School. This result gave the team a lot of confidence and it was great to see this boost carry on to the pitch for a number of players. Joseph O’Neill (P), Lucas Brenninkmeijer (R) and Harry Baker (V) all started to look like well-seasoned 1st XI players, contributing to much of the Charterhouse attacking play. Impressive wins in the final week of Long Quarter came against Portsmouth Grammar School (3-1) and RGS Guildford (2-1). Against Portsmouth, the players got a sense of how dominant they could be as a hockey side. Throughout the match, Charterhouse had territory and possession and could have scored a hatful. However, missed chances saw the scores level at half time. The return of Hameed Belo-Osagie (G) from injury and the addition of Ed Doljanin (g) to the defensive line provided a great platform for Charterhouse to build from. Seb Eaton (D) started to demonstrate his 3D skills down the left-hand side, allowing us to create chances. The play of the match came from Jamie Richardson (B) and Charlie Wyatt (P). Exceptional vision from Jamie allowed quick movement of the ball deep into the Portsmouth circle. Charlie was quickly on to it and tucked the ball into the corner of the net. This was the cherry on top of a performance that showed glimpses of excellence from this group. The final match of LQ was a fantastic Friday Night Lights event against RGS Guildford. There was pressure on the 1st XI after they had watched the U14A and U15A earn good wins in front of large crowds. Fortunately, they did not disappoint and produced a showcase of the Charterhouse hockey processes. They moved the ball quickly in and out of channels to create space: Max Delaney (B) marshalled the back four into good shape high up on the pitch, and Ash Ticktum (P) kept the intensity high at the business end of the pitch. Toby Russell (P) set the pace at the back and his incredible work rate allowed him to cover ground to disrupt the RGS momentum. The highlight of the evening was captain Nic Lamming’s (L) solo effort to score the winning goal. After intercepting a loose pass from RGS, the sweeper beat player after player with silky skills and slotted the ball into the bottom corner of the RGS goal,
demonstrating his calm head under pressure and why he was a fantastic captain this year. This group of pupils was a pleasure to work with and made the most of every opportunity to improve. The results in the second half of LQ show this. I would like to thank them for their help in running coaching sessions for the younger year groups and their openmindedness to the processes that I was asking them to put in place. Due to Covid, the season was a steep learning curve, but they persevered and improved as a result. I am looking forward to working with next year’s 2YS and hope that this year’s leavers continue to enjoy playing hockey at university and beyond. Mr Jason Ellis-Woodley
BOYS 2ND XI HOCKEY
Boys 2nd XI The 2nd XI started the season with a strong squad, benefitting from the high competition for places in the 1st XI and showing the strength of the depth in the School’s senior teams this year. With a tough fixture list ahead, there was a lot of excitement in the group at the beginning of the year for what was to come over the next 10 weeks. The first Saturday of Quarter saw a challenging trip to Cranleigh, a team we had not beaten at 2nd XI level for six years. A competitive first half finished with the scores level at nil-nil, with neither side able to convert their chances in an open first half. Cranleigh made a strong start to the second half, however solid defending inside the circle by full backs Thomas Brocklebank and Kemal Marx (both P) helped keep Cranleigh at bay. Charterhouse then ceased the advantage, as captain David Yang (H) successfully won a short corner from a counterattack which was empathically converted by Seb Eaton (D) to give us the lead. A nervous final 10 minutes then followed, as
