Year 8 County Cup Win against Stoke Mandeville

Despite the miserable weather, Wednesday 8^th October turned out to be a triumphant one for Great Marlow School.

GMS met Stoke Mandeville in the first County Cup fixture of the season. Having played a game the previous day, away at St Michael’s, and winning 5-3, it was vital that the GMS team utilised the full strength and depth that the whole squad had to offer.

With eight changes made to the squad that faced St Michael’s, the new team responded brilliantly to the demands of the match, within the first 10 minutes taking an early 3-0 lead. A contentious offside decision led to Mandeville pulling one back, making the score 3-1. Great Marlow, however, hit back immediately with a goal achieved more or less straight from kick off.

This opened the flood-gates for a brilliant second half, when Great Marlow stormed into a 7-1 lead. A lack of concentration resulted in Mandeville making it 7-2, however, this was nothing more than a consolation goal, with Great Marlow going on to win the game 8-2.

Harry Williams struck a superb free kick, which the opposition keeper somehow managed to tip onto the bar. There were a handful of other chances, which on any other day would have found the back of the net and left the score line in double figures. Nonetheless, an 8-2 victory was a rewarding result, on a cold, miserable day.

Finlay Martin, in goal didn’t have much to do, but managed to produce some fine saves when called upon.

The defence changed from a back three to a back four. Jai Timothy performed well in right back position, but, sadly, had to be subbed off later due to an unfortunate ankle injury.

Luke Mantle and Fergus Lawrie formed a solid centre back partnership, with Toby Holden slotting nicely in to the left back position. The whole of the defence gave a very solid performance. They remained calm, assessing the right time to pass the ball to get it down field.

The midfield changed to a four man line, as opposed to the five used against St Michael’s. Alfie Wall began on the right of midfield, with Jacob Wratten and Harry Williams in the centre, and Charlie Topping on the left. Jacob and Harry both played the central midfield role perfectly. Their work rate was outstanding, not just in going forwards but also defensively: neither of them put a foot wrong in the whole game. The two wingers, Alfie and Charlie, were a constant nightmare for the opposition defence. With their eye for a space to receive a pass, together with the pace at which they moved, it is really no wonder that they caused problems for the other team.

From the two frontmen, Sam Parry and Jack Delgado, there was nothing more that could have been asked of them as strikers: they scored goals in an exemplary way. Both of them acted as the spearhead of the attacks going forward, they had good movement off the ball and were even better when running with it.

The substitutes were also vital to this win. They showed a great positive attitude in coming along and patiently waiting for their chance to play. Gabe was brilliant at right back when Jai was forced off through injury. Ben Smith, Callum Ashby and Oliver Saunders also played. Callum and Oliver both managed to get themselves on the scoresheet, while Ben slotted nicely into defence.

All in all, it was a dominant performance from the Year 8s, who have not lost any of their Year 7 momentum. Judging by the performances this term, they do not look like they will be losing anytime soon.