On Thursday afternoon, the Senior Boys’ 1st XI Football team faced Battle Abbey School in their final fixture of a very successful term for the side. Having met earlier in the term and won 7-2, the Sutton Valence pupils were feeling confident ahead of kick-off.

Mr Sealy reports on the game, below:
“The prospect of being able to say that they had won every fixture this term certainly seemed to be an extra motivating factor for the boys in the early stages, as they pressed the Battle Abbey defence constantly. Whilst Battle Abbey undoubtedly looked dangerous on the counter-attack, it was SVS who broke the deadlock first with a well-taken penalty from Harrison Endenburg (Lower Sixth). He added to his tally shortly after with a superb counter-attack to make it 2-0. As half time neared, Battle Abbey began to take control of proceedings and had several close chances to get back into the tie. Somewhat against the run of play, Harrison found himself in position to complete the hat-trick but with his shot trickling towards the goal line after a parry from the Battle Abbey goalkeeper, James Yeabsley (Lower Sixth) was on hand to race in and slam the ball across the line for 3-0. A quick break saw Battle Abbey draw one back right before half-time to finish the half at 3-1 to SVS.

The second half was a much more defensive affair for SVS, with Battle Abbey going on the attack right from kick-off. Under lots of pressure, the boys performed admirably to hold back the tide and even create a few chances of their own as Battle Abbey pushed forward, leaving lots of space behind them. Eventually, the Sutton Valence resistance faltered and Battle Abbey was able to take their chance to make it 3-2. Shortly after, Finnian O’Keefe (Lower Sixth) was able to help settle some SVS nerves by reacting quickest to a loose ball and slotting home for 4-2 to SVS. As the game began to draw to a close, Battle Abbey lived up to their name and continued to push hard for goals that would bring them back into the tie. A well-placed shot from their striker got the better of our defenders and goalkeeper, drawing them back within one goal. There was late drama as Matt Rackliffe (Upper Sixth), who was in goal, pulled off a superb save from a corner, followed by the ball being put in the back of the SVS net, only for the referee to have spotted that Matt had both hands on the ball prior to it being kicked. With a final score of 4-3, the SVS boys were heavily challenged but showed excellent teamwork and resilience to come out on top.
This caps a superb run of fixtures this term for both the 1st and 2nd XI sides and all those involved can be suitably proud of their efforts. These performances bode well for the strength of the teams as we look towards next year.”

Well done to all those who have taken part this year.