Category: Sport
The best of endings…
The Hockey first team put out a performance to remember in what was the last competitive hockey match of the girls’ hockey season. The match was special not only for a great 5-2 win over rivals from RHS, but because it was the last match for six of our Y13 students, who have contributed so much to the first team over the past 2-3 seasons.
Woodbridge started strongly and it looked like they would get on the scoreboard early. However a number of near chances went begging and it was RHS who opened the scoring in the 6th minute, against the run of play. Woodbridge bounced back through Ianthe who scored from a goalmouth scramble during a penalty corner. In the 20th minute it was Ianthe who put Woodbridge ahead with a good drag at another penalty corner. This joy was short lived as RHS came back a minute later to make it 2-2 going into half time.
At the half time, not many words had to be said. Woodbridge looked the stronger, more skilful and fitter side… The team knew the next goal would be crucial and put the scoring team in good stead for the rest of the match. Woodbridge did not have to wait long for this chance to go ahead, and it came along in the 3rd minute. They say fortune favours the brave. Woodbridge capitalised on a bit of good fortune when RHS players hesitated for a second expecting the whistle to go, but none was forthcoming. Woodbridge, reacting quickest, saw the ball end up in the back of the net from the stick of Sophie G. The very next minute Harriet scored a sharp chance to give Woodbridge some breathing space, taking full advantage of a now somewhat flustered RHS side. Woodbridge aimed to control the rest of the match but it was end to end. Joanne played a fantastic match at left back, and Eleanor was a solid as ever in defence, to add to her cracking runs up the right. Sophie L in goal had to make some important saves to make sure RHS don’t get a way back into the match. Mollie managed the centre of the pitch in professional style, always being in the way to stop anything RHS tried to put through the middle. Ianthe was in impressive form in any one-on-one and the opposition would have been best advised to avoid her area of the pitch. The forwards, led by co-captain Georgia did a sterling job in their press, varying their depth and dealing very well with one of RHS’s key players and floating centre back. Poppy, Kiya, Victoria, Harriet and Sophie G were outstanding in their attacking link ups in the second half and any number of goals could have been scored. Kiya and Georgia were denied numerous times in the match by great goalkeeping, and the goal post.
Ten minutes from the final whistle Harriet put the game out of reach for RHS, her goal taking the score to 5-2, the win making the perfect ending to a near perfect season for a great group of players.
Much more can be written about this memorable match in which Woodbridge were dominant, players showed off their skill and the team showed exactly what it means to be a team, with every player contributing to the positive outcome, but more importantly a great performance.
Well done to each player, and especially the Y13 leavers who played their last match. Chloe, Eleanor, Flora, Georgia, Mollie and Sophie L will be missed but they leave many memories with the team, and a legacy of growing the team and pushing it forward – through commitment, hard word, passion and pride. Well done and thank you to each of these players. They did what they set out to do!
The Girls’ First team continued their good run of form against Culford, delivering a very entertaining display to win 5-0.
Having weathered the early Culford storm well, Woodbridge started to build momentum, and it wasn’t long before they took the lead: a clinical finish at the far post by Victoria, perfectly set up by Georgia. A little later, Ianthe made it 2-0 from a penalty corner to give Woodbridge a good cushion at half time. This can be a dangerous score in sport and Woodbridge were determined to be the first team to score in the second half. A series of attacks resulted in a penalty corner and a great move was put away by a deflection from Harriet, who then doubled her tally five minutes later in similar fashion. Woodbridge played with flair, moving the ball around through the defenders and midfield and really working on maintaining possession, choosing the right time to go forward. The team played with speed and passion and deservedly ended on a high, a string of penalty corners on the final whistle seeing the whole team involved in trying to get one more goal, achieved at last by Sophie G.
Well done to each player on a near-perfect performance and good game by everyone. Player of the match went to two-time scorer, Harriet.
The Girls’ First team hosted Langley in a much anticipated “rematch”, after Langley’s last-minute equaliser last season. It couldn’t have started better: Ianthe scored a drag flick from the first corner of the match in the 7th minute; and Martha, making her first team debut in goal, defended Langley’s goal scoring chance and subsequent penalty corner early on. Thereafter Eleanor, Maud, Joanne and Annabel defended brilliantly allowing the rest of the team to press forward with confidence, with Eleanor also using her strength and speed brilliantly to attack up the right. Flora P added to this to make it very difficult for Langley to keep Woodbridge attacks under control. Annabel played a great match whether as defender or in midfield, tackling and distributing well and getting the better of her opposite number. As we have now come to expect, Ianthe and Mollie were towers of strength in midfield. With a smaller than usual squad due to mock exams and illness, the forwards led by Georgia had to work extra hard. Poppy was again instrumental in her work in the press to win possession and Kiya and Victoria’s movement up front made it easy for the midfield to find them. With the players riding the wave of support from the touchline a second goal seemed always on the cards, but it was not to be… and then… close to the end Langley contrived a “one-on-one”… not again?? Not if Martha had anything to do with it! Her match-winning save was quickly followed by the final whistle and the celebrations of a very happy team. This was a very well deserved and hard fought 1-0 victory. Well done to Annabel and Eleanor who were voted joint players of the match.
Thanks to some U13 players and girls that don’t normally play we went to RHS on a rainy Saturday afternoon with a full compliment and it was worth it! We were under pressure for so much of the game but valiant goal keeping by Evie and defending by Asmee and Lucy H and Lucy C we held on to a draw. We had a few chances and there was some great play by Alexandra and Elizabeth attacking. Lily played really well in midfield as did Lara (Year 8) and Sophie (Year 8) who had not played on a full pitch before. An excellent end to the season and thanks to all the girls who have played, and I am pleased that some have enjoyed it more than they thought they would! Very well done.
This was a great match to watch and a real nail biter as there were goals galore and the ball was moving up and down the pitch all game! We knew Finborough would be quite strong but we got on that pitch and gave our all. They went 1-0 up in the first 10 minutes but we held it together, kept the ball wide and there were some great attacking runs from Iris, Annabel and Sophia. Iris then put one in the back of the net and we were on level pegging. We went into half time with some excellent hockey being played and Asmee and Elise holding it all together at the back. We went out determined to bring a win home but unfortunately went 2-1 down with a strong strike from Finborough. And then another went in our net shortly afterwards and we then had to really dig in. There were some fantastic through balls played from the defence and Sophia popped up in the goal and scored to bring us to 3-2. How exciting! We had some sound play from Gabrielle, Charlotte G and Lily and on a break into the circle and after some amazing goal keeping from them, Maddy finally put it in the net to bring us to 3-3. What an ending and such a brilliant and exciting game to watch. Well done!
The J4 finished their season with a good win over Langley played at Harleston Magpies ground. Nominated player of the match again by the opposition was Eloise who had a great game at left midfield, scoring two goals, one from a super cross from Millie. The third goal was scored by Charlotte C to secure a 3-0 win. Some excellent work kept the ball away from our defence and we were unlucky not to score more. Special mention to Caitlyn who played two matches keeping a clean sheet for both.
The J3 played also at Harleston against Langley. Woodbridge had plenty of pressure but found the goal keeper very hard to get around. Eventually two goals were scored by Selina and one each for Sophia and Violetta S. Violet W played particularly well, with lots of pressure and good delivery of the ball to her team. The final score 4-0.
Spirits were high ahead of this match, our last fixture before the Christmas break. Despite the damp and sticky conditions Woodbridge were the first to find their passing game and even though we fluffed our early chances it was clear that the game was for the taking. We took a 2 – 0 lead into the half time interval, the goals coming from close range finishes from Seb and Will. An organisational change gave us even more attacking opportunities after the break and Jake completed a second-half hat trick with some assured attacking play. Seb added to his personal tally and our tireless Captain Joe fired in one of his own too. The two Danny’s were strong at the back for us but RHS did get a late consolation. A special mention goes to the RHS ‘keeper who performed heroics in goal and kept the score vaguely respectable. This romp was a great way to end this term’s football and the team can return in the new year feeling very positive.
The U15A team put up a great fight and comeback against RHS on Saturday. It was an extraordinary effort by the players, especially those who doubled up on the day: Jess and Ashleigh who had already run cross country very successfully in the morning; Year 9’s who gave their all in the U14 match before and still shone in the next match (Ella P, Ella S and Maddy M); players who performed well for club before (Molly and Ella W) and those players who also helped out the team after (Julia and Myla). It was a big Woodbridge effort to make all the fixtures possible.
The U15As started the match well and looked to dominate at the start. However after the initial exchanges it was RHS who scored half way through the first half. Woodbridge came back strong and it was good penalty corner defence that denied them getting back on level terms. The Woodbridge players showed excellent discipline, resilience and sportsmanship throughout the match, coping well with frustrating situations, including RHS scoring a second goal just before half time.
Worse followed as early in the second half RHS scored the dreaded third goal: now with nothing to lose Woodbridge really pushed forward. This worked well, and Ella W scored a great team goal in the 10th minute, followed five minutes later by a goal from Molly. Woodbridge were rampant; RHS desperate in defence… but some sharp saves by the goalkeeper made sure RHS kept their lead at 3-2. Despite the loss, this was a gutsy performance from the U15A team, showing how well they have developed both as individuals and as leaders. Well done to Mr Wright and the team.
Molly takes up the story: As our last game of the season we decided to try lots of new things that we had practised in our games sessions and hockey practices. We started slow lowering ourselves to their level and not playing our usual fluid style. However, after winning a flurry of short corners we eventually put one away with Clara injecting to Molly who passed it out to the right to Ella who passed it back to Molly who put it away from the penalty spot. After this our game play improved as we set the press better and won the ball higher up giving us lots of attacking chances. Another goal followed as Ella shot from the top of the D and Clara deflected it in from close range.
We continued in attacking form from half time winning a short corner quickly after the restart. Clara injected it out to Molly who passed to Ella who was free on the left who slapped (yeeted) it into the bottom right hand corner. We then reverted to an attacking half court press which meant Ipswich High could barely enter our half which led to more attacking chances: Clara and Ella had some beautiful play up the right with lots of 1-2s which eventually resulting in Ella flicking it into the back of the net to make it 4-0. We then subbed our goalie Lakisha off to have a kicking back as an experiment which allowed us to retain the ball better and have more players to pass and transfer between the defenders Myla, Olivia and Ariane. This allowed us to work our way up the pitch and win a long corner which was quickly taken by Molly catching them off guard who eventually slotted it into the bottom corner. This meant we finished the season on a high with a 5-0 win to cap off a brilliant and enjoyable season.
On Saturday 1 December, over thirty Woodbridge School athletes competed at Ipswich High in the second Suffolk Schools Cross Country trial, having qualified through the first trial in October. And they produced an outstanding set of results despite the constant rain. In summary:
Four individual medals: golds to Amy and April, silver to Nathan and bronze to George.
12 top 8 positions (the Suffolk Team comprises 8 in each age group to compete at England Schools in March).
15 top 16 positions (a wider Suffolk Team is selected to compete at Anglian Schools in February).
24 athletes qualify by right to compete in the final Suffolk trial to be hosted by Woodbridge School on 10 January (Top 40 finish).
These numbers exclude two of our superstars who were ill or injured and who, together with a few other runners close to qualifying, will be granted byes to the final trial.
Congratulations to every athlete that represented Woodbridge School so well in difficult conditions. The results are just rewards for all the hard work you are putting in and everyone should be extremely proud of their performance.
Full results as follows (with apologies for one or two missing placings):
Minor Girls:
8 Eloise
10 Rose
17 Lara
And close behind, Millie and Sasha
Minor Boys:
5 Ethan
15 James
35 Jack
46 Arthur
And close behind, John and Will
Junior Girls:
1 Amy
21 Anna
27 Isobel
Junior Boys:
7 Henry
19 Edward
23 Jonny
48 Fazil
Inter Girls:
1 April
5 Jess
10 Bea
22 Ella
27 Ashleigh
Inter Boys:
3 George
4 Charlie
6 Kit
28 Tom
Senior Girls:
6 Sarah
Senior Boys:
2 Nathan
5 Alex