ONA Sports’ Reports

Football RGS 1st XI vs ONA

Having been victorious in the last two encounters, you’d be forgiven for assuming the pre-match speculation would surround whether or not the ONA could secure an unprecedented hat-trick against their more youthful counterparts. Quite the contrary as the focal point of discussions was whether the ONA’s notorious XXL kit would still expose Chris Pattinson’s (94-01) ‘mature figure’. Whilst the tent-esque shirts remained true for much of the squad it was noted that “some of them shirts must have shrunk”!

Like any well-prepared team, this year we turned up promptly 30 minutes before the opposition. Without a football.

This, however, was not to deter us and once the game kicked off we soon recalled the importance of such an object. Adopting the ever adventurous 3-5-2 formation allowed us to accommodate ‘wingbacks’ for the first time in our history and this was to prove to be one of many tactical masterstrokes by the management duo of ONA President David Westwood (95-02) and his right hand man Sam ‘Mooreinho’ Moore (9702). A bright start saw the ONs controlling play with two thirds of the Collins trio (Patrick (93-01) and Christian (97-07) stamping their authority on the central midfield positions and this initial pressure was rewarded on 15 mins. A sublime through-ball allowed Captain Christian Collins to burst through from the middle of the park, skillfully round the goalkeeper and slot in the far corner from the tightest of angles. 1-0 to the ONA. It soon became apparent that wingbacks and rolling substitutions are directly related as after 20 minutes both Neil Reekie (92-02) and Rob Collins (89-96) took a breather, being replaced by Mike Carling (01-08) and Will Steele (98-08). The first half continued without any major incident, Sandy Meikle (01-08) looking confident and composed in goal, coping with everything that RGS threw at him. He claims he’s not a goalkeeper but could have fooled us. Iain Fraser (95-02), John Gregson (95-02) and Chris Pattinson were strong as ever as the three at the back. As the half came to a close there was even an opportunity for some showboating as Richard Bissessur (97-07) attempted an audacious overhead kick from the halfway line. The connection was good and despite the ball eventually trickling its way towards the goal it had to be dealt with by the RGS goalie. Another shot on target.

The second half began with the introduction of first half wingbacks Reekie and R Collins, as makeshift forwards. A bold strategy?! A risk?

Or yet another tactical masterstroke?! It was the latter as ‘Keegan & Toschack’ found movement that they didn’t know they possessed. Multiple chances were created by P Collins and G Applegarth (98-05), both bombing forward from midfield with only their finishing preventing them from increasing the ONA’s lead. R Collins even struck a peach off the post midway through the half. So much so was the industry of the front two that they were both off the field for the second time after 70 minutes. Tireless effort or seriously unfit? You decide. The 1-0 lead looked safe despite RGS dominating possession and territory until a corner led to the game’s controversial moment. An innocuous ball into the box was met by a tussle between left back Michael Brett (95-00) and an RGS forward right in front of the referee who, without hesitation, pointed to the spot. The ONA felt hard done by until their own striker Jamie Hansell (92-02) referred to the incident as “blatant”. RGS subsequently equalised from the penalty and it looked like the game was destined for penalties, yet again. Captain Collins had other ideas however.

Picking the ball up on the half way line, Collins went on a mazy run down the right, ignoring many opportunities to offload to one of his teammates, much to their disbelief. Surviving a ricochet or two he powered his way into the box to create himself a chance from nothing. Not prepared to take the risk of the dreaded penalty shootout Collins subsequently found a gap underneath the keeper and made it 2-1. Goal time. A few nervy moments followed as RGS bombed forward in search of the equaliser yet ONA were not to be denied a third win on the spin. The day was rounded off with celebratory pints and ‘nibbles’ at the Brandling. Maybe it’s just me but my interpretation of ‘nibbles’ isn’t the 16 pizzas which arrived at regular intervals much to the amazement of the squad, especially when the RGS contingent headed off early to do their homework. No complaints however. All to play for in 2014.

Netball RGS 1st VII vs ONA

As a committee we felt that it was time for the girls to become more involved in ONA sporting events and thus the idea of a Netball fixture was born. As both a committee member and current member of RGS teaching staff, the task fell to me to organise. Thanks to the horrific British weather and the jam packed schedule of our current Senior Girls, the date could only be fixed for Friday 22nd March, 2013. Until the Tuesday prior to the fixture we only had 5 players: myself, Georgina Cook (0204), Sally Squires (nee Jennings) (0204), Hannah Europe-Finner (02-04) and Penny Harker (03-05) but, thanks to the tenacity of Jane Medcalf (development manager), Charlotte Robson (05-07) and Kate Fagleman (06-08) kindly agreed to play which ensured the game could go ahead.

The weather could not have been less ideal due to the snowy conditions we were experiencing and there was still a risk of the game being called off up until the very last minute. Nevertheless it stayed dry long enough for us to play 4 seven-minute quarters despite the freezing temperatures.

The game started well despite the cold conditions and, by the end of the first quarter, the RGS 1st VII were winning by only a small margin at 6-3. The ONA girls had put in a valiant effort both in terms of attacking and defending and there was a real sense of camaraderie despite having never played as a team before and with some of us not having played the sport in over 12 years. Perhaps most encouraging was the attitude of the 1st VII who were happy to give some helpful tips and pointers although they were still throwing in the odd distraction here and there!

Despite the introduction of Celia Harrison (06-11) in the second quarter, who was on fine form and added some great skills to the ONA team, the 1st VII continued to make excellent progress. Although there was some brilliant work from Georgina Cook and Kate Fagleman as GA and GS respectively, as well as Sally Squires and Charlotte Robson in defence, the Senior Girls continued to retain their advantage as the match progressed. Penny, Hannah and Celia also continued to show real dedication right up until the final whistle, however the final score was 30-5. Despite the loss the ONA girls were simply delighted to have survived the rigours of playing a team who regularly compete in national competitions and living to tell the tale. Most importantly it was great fun and a great chance to catch up. Time to make it an annual thing.

Interested in playing next year? E-mail k.jarvis@rgs.newcastle.sch.uk

By Kate Jarvis (02-04)