FOOTBALL BOYS 1ST XI

Squad

Captain: H. Twite (N)

A. Adefala (N), B. Aluko (O),

L. Bahia (O), C. Bramwell (O),

M. Bristow (C), R. Donegan (N), N. Freyndorf (N), W. Groves (C),

S. Khan (L), O. Oldman (O),

T. Osoba (O), E. Pope (S), J. Rush (N),

N. Salsby (P), O. Schneck (N),

C. Thompson (N), L. Turrell (P),

F. Webb (P)

Also played: J. Davies (C), H. Evans (O),

H. Firth (C), S. Gunn (L)

P29

HUDL INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS’ LEAGUE – 3RD PLACE

Bradfield W 5-1

Millfield W 3-1

Royal Russell W 3-1

Shrewsbury L 0-2

Hampton D 3-3

Charterhouse D 1-1

Ardingly L 0-1

Bede’s W 2-0

ISFA NORTHERN 8S RUNNERS-UP

We started the year knowing that we had a talented, yet relatively small squad. Much depended on avoiding injuries and getting that slight rub of the green along the way, and, although there were a great many moments of triumph over the course of the season, it is fair to say that our lack of depth probably caught up with us in the end.

The continuation of the ludicrous rules in both the ISFA and ESFA Cups meant that we were consistently obliged to leave several 1st XI players out of the squad on match day. Nonetheless, we had a superb run in the ISFA Cup. Despite being regularly on the road, we managed comfortable wins against ACS Cobham and up-and-coming Epsom College with an outstanding 4-0 win against much-fancied and beaten finalists from the previous season, Rossall, sandwiched inbetween. This gave us an incredibly tough away Semi-Final against a Charterhouse team who had beaten all-comers at home. Despite this, we were four minutes away from the Final before their equaliser from a free-kick. We had chances in extra time before a highly dubious penalty was awarded by a referee familiar to the School with only two minutes left. There were certainly elements of the game that were far from satisfactory, but we played well overall and only had ourselves to blame for not making it 2-0 and killing the tie.

U18

Derbyshire Cup Winners

R1 John Port W 7-0

SF Tupton W 6-0

F Netherthorpe W 6-1

U18 STAFFORDSHIRE

R2 Cheadle Academy

SF Codsall

F Blyth Bridge

With the usual curtain-raiser of the ISFA Sixes cancelled after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, we moved straight from pre-season and into our Hudl League games programme. We started with the tricky Bradfield fixture and, finding ourselves 0-1 down at halftime, the season looked likely to have a sluggish start. However, an incredible second-half performance saw us demolish the opposition with five unanswered goals. It certainly felt like we were was up and running and gave a glimpse into what we might see if we blended the ingredients effectively. A tricky trip down to Millfield also saw us 0-1 behind, but we once again reacted superbly to hit them with three goals. A win against Royal Russell followed before injuries started to take their toll and we suffered an away defeat against Shrewsbury. We still had much to play for after Christmas with the destiny of the League in our own hands. However, a careless 3-3 draw against Hampton meant we had to travel to League leaders Charterhouse, who only needed a draw to clinch the title. We were one of only two teams to take anything from them this season, but alas it wasn’t enough. With the title gone we suffered a very tame defeat to Ardingly before rounding our season off with a solid 2-0 win against Bede’s. Overall, we might look at this years’ Hudl League campaign as one that got away, but another strong campaign marks us out as the most successful school over the six years it has been running.

In the ESFA Cup we made similar progress, again coming up against Rossall in a much tighter game that we ended up winning 2-1 this time. In the previous round we had to contend with unquestionably the worst playing conditions I have ever seen, as torrential rain left puddles on The Square and made the tie against Sandbach a war of attrition as opposed to a footballing feast. It is often this sort of battle that lives long in the memory though, and the penalty shoot-out victory was sweet when it came. Sadly, we bowed out to a strong Brook House team in a match we should really have won, missing a penalty to go 2-1 up in the last ten minutes. We succumbed to a penalty shoot-out and can count ourselves unlucky, as the draw looked like it could really have opened up if we had made it through.

In the ESFA Super League competition we started brightly with a strong win against Brooke House 2nd XI before playing out an excellent game against their 1st XI. The game ebbed and flowed with exceptional quality, but we just lost 1-3 when it could have gone either way. This took us to a deciding game against Pro Direct where a draw would have taken us through to the knockout stages. However, we lost out to an aggressive side in what was yet another game where we had the chances to establish what would likely have been a decisive 2-0 lead. In many ways, this encapsulated the story of our season.

We went into the Lent Term looking to retain the Barry Burns ISFA Northern 8s title. We had an excellent day, letting in only two goals throughout the course of the tournament, which is remarkable in such an event. Topping the group before a thumping Semi-

Final victory over Queen Ethelburga’s saw us meet Rossall, once again, in a crunch match. After a tight 0-0 draw, the match went to penalties which, sadly, we lost. Even though we didn’t manage to get our name on the trophy for a seventh time, it is hard to look back on the day with too much disappointment as, despite missing a couple of crucial players, we gave an excellent account of ourselves.

The County Cup competitions were blighted by the opposition giving us walk-overs in the earlier rounds. However, we made strong progress once the matches were played in the Summer Term. Playing at Mickleover FC, we secured a place in the Derbyshire County Final with a comfortable win over Tupton. We then played Netherthorpe in the Final at Derby County’s training complex and managed another six goals, despite falling behind to an aggressive side after just one minute. We scored some outstanding goals with the third effort from Lucas T being the pick. We have not been beaten in this competition since 2015. Having defeated current champions Codsall in the Staffordshire Cup Semi-Final, we now face Blyth Bridge in the Final as we look to win our sixth title in seven years.

Looking back at the entire season, it is hard to be too disappointed. It has been a tremendous squad to work with and the players have been a pleasure to be around. We have been in the mix for every single competition despite very little going in our favour with either injuries or home draws. We needed that small slice of luck at the right moment that all teams require to carry off a trophy and we couldn’t quite find it. But the group have continued to forge Repton’s reputation as a team to be feared.

Our captain Harry T and fullback Tobi O both received their caps for representing the England ISFA U18 team while Charlie B, Charlie T, John R and Nat S all made the ISFA U17 squad. John R and Lucas represented the Gibraltar U17 and U19 sides respectively and Harry T made his first two appearances for the Bermuda national men’s team, playing in the CONCACAF Nations League. This is an astonishing achievement for a 17-yearold and we shall watch his future with interest. It is perhaps no surprise that the Player of the Year award went to Harry with his teammates recognising both his quality and consistency over the course of a long season, and some outstanding goals along the way. MMC

Squad

Captain: R. Tobin (P)

A. Adefala (N), H. Barton-Smith (C),

J. Davies (C), R. Donegan (N),

H. Evans (O), H. Firth (C), O. Flindall (C),

T. Gillett (L), C. Gillies (O), S. Gunn (L),

A. Manasir (C), D. Nto (P),

M. Rybalkin (P), A. Squire (P),

L. Tuinenburg (N), W. Warren (O),

Z. Watson (N)

Also played: A.J. Adefala (N),

A. Hidderley (C), S. Khan (L),

K. Ndow (O), P. Scales (C),

A. Wenham (S)

It was a thoroughly enjoyable season with almost a completely different 2nd XI from last year, owing to Upper Sixth departures and several players stepping up to the 1st XI. Training was competitive and of a high standard, and we are thankful to Ian Cranson (Cranny) for his work throughout the season, which saw tangible benefits on match days.

For many it was a first taste of senior football and this showed in early results where we lacked experience against beatable opposition. Against Bradfield we controlled large portions of the game before conceding a cruel lastminute equaliser, but we then used this as motivation for the rest of the season. There followed a fine winning streak, with goals flowing from a variety of sources. Five wins surrounded a valiant defeat at Millfield in what was our best spell of the season, and in the match against Shrewsbury it was clear to see how far the group had come. In a tight game, played in difficult conditions, we got our noses in front early through Silas G and then were resolute in defence and midfield, determined not to allow the old enemy any shots on target for the remainder of the game.

Silas finished as top scorer with seven goals, and he led the line superbly as the lone forward in the second half of the season. Ted G (four), Ade A (four) and Hamish F (three) were other notable contributors at the top of the

Squad

L. Aboderin (O),

F. Clayton-Ferguson (N),

J. Jenkinson (O), D. O’Brien (S),

J. Paliah (O), H. Pickering (L),

H. Proctor (S), S. Sekhon (C),

L. Tuinenburg (N), A. Webb (P),

H. Xie (O)

Also played: A.J. Adefala (N),

G. Atherley (G), O. Birmingham (P),

H. Cooke (N), G. Darby (G),

L. Gbadamosi (S), S. Gunn (L),

A. Hidderley (C), K. Joshi (P),

S. Kempston-Parkes (L), H. Moore (P),

O. Richardson (L), M. Rybalkin (P),

P. Scales (C), W. Warren (O),

Z. Watson (N) pitch, but goals were spread around a total of ten players. Harry E was everpresent in central midfield and his contribution to the team, both in and out of possession, earned him the 2nd XI Player of the Season award.

Another successful season saw the 3rds grow markedly through the term, developing into a disciplined and welloiled unit, full of character, and willing to fight for each other – a fact all the more to their credit in light of the 2-6 footballing lesson we had been given by Bradfield in our opening fixture. A draw for which we were very good value, at Millfield – always a tough place to get any sort of result – was followed by the season’s defining fixture, away at Twycross. Inexplicably 2-0 down at half-time, we refused to accept the cruelty of Fate, clawing our way back into the game, and thoroughly deserved to seal the 3-2 victory five minutes from the end. Felix C-F and Jay P terrorised Twycross’ full-backs, while Hugo H and Rory F conducted the orchestra from midfield. Max H, a strong contender for player of the season, was, in his quiet way, a rock at the back – albeit a rock possessed of breath-taking timing and finesse.

In the first 15 minutes against Shrewsbury, we were simply too hot to handle, and left the crowd on Tower in such a state of awe that they could have been led to their own execution with one finger. Hugo X, Hugo H and Jay probed the Salopian defence like a doctor, with a twinkle in his eye, prodding a patient, and asking, “Does that hurt?”. The 5-1 victory was an appropriate legacy in the 3rds for these boys, and for Joe J, our ’keeper, whose loyalty, physical courage and technical ability have lit up the past two seasons. CSD

P6 W0 D1 L5 F13 A38

Squad

L. Aboderin (O), D. Ademoroti (P), S. Agafonov (P), G. Atherley (G), M. Barker (M), O. Birmingham (P), H. Bola (L), D. Chan (L), B. Cheung (L), G. Darby (G), S. Derby (M), A. Earnshaw (L), O. Goode (S), E. Harrison (L), C. Hennessy (F), R. Holdcroft (P), L. Jackson (L), S Kempston-Parkes (L), A. Mattu (L), C. Mayfield (N), I. Milenin (C), C. E. Moloney (S), C. Mulkibayev (N), D. O’Brien (S), O. Okubadejo (L), S. Parkin (O), H. Proctor (S), A. Ramsbottom (L), O. Richardson (L), H. Spear (L), C. Thompson (P), A. Webb (P), B. Weston (L), L. Wright (O)

U16a

Squad

Captain: R. Johnston (P)

B. Aluko (O), G. Atherley (G), O. Berry (O), H. Buckley (S), M. Carson (S), E. Crossley (P), N. Freyndorf (N), M. Goulden (C), B. Hidderley (C), C. Mayfield (N), B. Mills (O), H. Moore (P), K. Ndow (O), H. Ojougboh (S), Y. Pevzner (C), G. Pocklington (N), C. Walmisley (P), J. Wang (L), C. Wright (L), J. Ziff (L)

P13 W7 D0 L6 F45 A32

School Fixtures

Esfa Cup

A tough season but one where the players’ perseverance cannot be faulted. Playing against more experienced opponents was always going to be difficult, but they never stopped running, tackling and smiling throughout. On occasion we played schools that were large enough to field a 5th XI team, and it is testament to the determination and resilience of our boys that we were able to field teams to match. The excellent relationships the players developed with each other during training could clearly be seen on the pitch, regardless of the score. The vast majority of the squad will be returning next year so we look forward to more successful times.

CTI/TBM

One cannot help but look back on the U16A's season without reflecting on what might have been with a little more grit and momentum. (Trying to complete a cup campaign when one round is played every four months isn’t straightforward.)

However, once one sees through the mists of disappointment, there are a few moments to take solace from.

After a couple of chastening early defeats, the introduction of MH as assistant manager ushered in an improved era that saw comprehensive wins secured against Ormiston, Moorside, Blessed William Howard, Shrewsbury, Lady Manners and The Excel Academy – a run reminiscent of Greece’s purple patch at Euro 2004. The only difference between these two stories was that this one ended in heartbreak, not once but twice, as the ‘R’s were unceremoniously dumped out of both ESFA and the Staffordshire County Cup in the later stages of those competitions.

The figures would suggest that when Bade A played, Repton U16s won, so a special mention to that man; it is no surprise to see him snapped up by Leicester City FC. Commendations should also go to Captain Robbie J who steered the (at times sinking) ship through stormy waters and is developing into an impressive leader. Gemma A was a rock at the back throughout the season and has the world at her feet, whilst one can’t help but feel that Jonah Z is a 1st XI goalkeeper in waiting. A squad full of ability, they are worth following in the years to come.

Staffordshire County Cup

R1