Coffee Concert, Beldam Hall, 11.15 am

Despite not winning a single game against the school (which must be a first for a very long time, if not ever) the Old Reptonians can be pleased to know that their talented opponents will one day be team mates – every cloud! Thanks to all who took part in what was (as always) a fantastic afternoon. Any leavers keen to join the ever-growing ORFC are always welcome, please email captain@oldreptonianfc.com

After being somewhat controversially dumped out of the Cup competition after Foresters fielded too many players the squad did well to remain focused and claim their first piece of silverware of the season, defeating Aldenham comfortably in the final by 2-0. Luke Duggan (O’05) won the Golden Boot with four goals in the tournament. Squad: N. Samra (N’02) (capt), A. Haynes (P’04), M.Bracegirdle (O’96), A. Evans (N’04), J. Bishton (L’02), S. Duggan (O’00) and L. Duggan (O’05).

The second round fixture must be played on or before 20th December 2014. Please keep an eye on the school website for a confirmed date, your support will be appreciated as always!

We have been invited, along with Shrewsbury, to celebrate Malvern School’s 150th Anniversary. To mark this occasion there will be football matches (Old Boys and Veterans) between the three schools at Malvern on 28th February 2015. Those keen to be involved please email captain@oldreptonianfc.com.

The OR team were proud to hand debuts to 3 players who had all just left the school earlier in the year – S. Kosmala (O’09), J. Bullock (P’12) and J. O’Callaghan (S’12).

The school took an early lead after J. Golding (P’04) nodded into his own net from a teasing school corner. This was quickly doubled when some slick passing resulted in a penalty which the school skipper nonchalantly tucked away. Almost immediately at the other end the old boys were given a penalty of their own but the felled P. Tuffy (P’08) was denied by a fine save.

The second half saw the returners concede another goal to make it 3-0 before finally taking control of the game and finding the net twice in quick succession through James Bishton and Alex Evans, the second of which was a thunderous left footed strike that dipped, ducked and dived past the school keeper to make it 3-2. With only ten minutes to go the old boys pushed hard for a third goal and looked good value for it. However, the fitness and depth of the school squad played its part as they finished the stronger side – scoring on the counter and bagging a second penalty – to make the final score 5-2 to the school. We wish them the best of luck with their season, not that they should need it! The old boys started well and controlled the game with the lion’s share of possession. As the half went on the tie became more even with both teams doing some excellent last- ditch defending.

The efficient distribution from the OR backline was starting to reap rewards with some strong attacks down the left. The deadlock was broken through one such attack when a whipped cross was met with a precision header by W. Charlesworth (O’01).

As the game went on, the old boys’ distinct lack of fitness along with a couple of injuries, saw the students take control. With the OR goal under siege, Evans was kept busy, but his heroics couldn’t prevent the school scoring twice in the last 15 minutes to win the game. Special mention to the school centre backs (Browning & Mann) and central midfielder (Swann), who will hopefully prove a strong addition to the OR ranks in the forthcoming years.

With several recent Old Reptonians in the line-up, many an old rivalry was renewed in a cracking game of football. Repton took the lead after their striker latched on to a neat through-ball and calmly slotted past the ‘keeper. The returners ended the first half well and grabbed a deserved equaliser just before half time from A. Smith (O’08).

The school restored their one goal lead and if it wasn’t for some superb stand-in goalkeeping from J. Carter (L’09), the game could well have been over. However, D. Chandler (N’07) repeated his heroics of last year to score a superb goal from fully 40 yards, which levelled the score at 2-2.

As the second half neared conclusion, the game became increasingly stretched with both sides pushing for a winner. W. Lewis made it 3-2 to the pupils, slotting home after some excellent work from G. Poole. The 3rd XI then scored two further goals on the break with O. Elsom completing his hat-trick.

Another closely-fought game saw the old boys narrowly defeated – you’ll have noticed there’s a pattern emerging! The advantage of the Lower Tower slope paid dividends in the first half as the school went in at half time 3-1 up, the Veterans being unable to cope with the pace of Litvienko, who bagged a first-half hat trick. The OR midfield were given no time on the ball as the schoolboys nipped at their heels.

The second half was a nervy affair for the school team. The Vets had most of the possession, converting two corners to make it 3-3 with 10 minutes to go. Unfortunately for the Vets, the pupils didn’t panic but found their form again, soaking up the pressure and hitting them on the counter to secure victory.

N. Samra (N’02)

OR Vets Squad

I don’t know quite why, but this fixture just seems to get better; and what a great team of guys played for the school this year. Not only were they all decent golfers, but they were also very engaging company, well mannered and a credit to Repton. We look forward to welcoming them all as new members of the O.R.G.S. The match was played in the now customary mini Ryder Cup style (six holes of fourball, six holes of foursomes and six holes of singles). Both teams had fourteen players competing in pairs. This means there are four points available for each pair and twenty eight in total for the fourteen-man team. The result was a convincing win for Repton; 151/2 - 121/2. The team was made up of nine pupils and five staff. The staff didn’t make a huge contribution to the win; seasoned players Odell and Mitchell effectively losing their match 21/2 to 31/2.

This result is even more impressive when you know that the O.R.G.S. team was lucky enough to contain the captains of all three scratch foursome’s teams; Pete Forster (N’87) (Halford Hewitt), Richard Holdsworth (C’92) (Grafton Morrish) and Alex Murray (M’86) (Queen Elizabeth Trophy). Pete Forster and Richard Holdsworth played together and lost all four points to the inspired pairing of upper-sixth formers and James Frost. Alex Murray (M’86) fared better with a 31/2 - 21/2 positive result, but he was blessed with a terrific partner. The course at Little Aston was beautifully presented by new head green keeper Neil Baker and we were well looked after in the clubhouse by Wayne and his staff. We very much look forward to next year’s match. The teams were paired as follows: O.R.G.S. v Repton 1 Alex Murray (M’86) & Tony Bishop (P’72) vs Will Odell & Matt Mitchell 2 David Sharpe (N’75) & Jon Gough (H’74) vs Jack Sanders (P’09) & Matt Thomas (S) 3 John Coley (H’62) & Andrew Clarke (H’62) vs Patrick Griffiths & Ian Setterington 4 Pete Forster (N’87) & Richard Holdsworth (C’92) vs Will Swann (N) & James Frost (O’09) 5 Richard Fry (N’60) & Philip Davies (C’72) vs Russel Embury & Angus Shaw (S) 6 Jonathan Kofler (N’93) & Simon Armstrong (C’63) vs Liam Karai (N) & Lewis Jones (S) 7 Colin Garrett (H’70) & Mike Pett (M’93) vs James Glover (P) & Alec Davies (S)