The STC 2nd 11 football team enjoyed a successful season in 2016, finishing 3rd overall in the inter school competition. 

The STC 2nd 11 football team enjoyed a successful season in 2016, finishing 3rd overall in the inter school competition. 

Our very first game was a tough pill to swallow, losing the game 5-3 to Boys High after going up 3-0 before half time thanks to two goals from our marksman and golden boot; Jesse Rarm and one from Declan Jones. 

After this game, we recruited Josh Green from the 1st 15 bench to play as goalkeeper, which significantly improved the defensive side of our team and we continued the season with an almost unstoppable win streak. The biggest upset occurred around mid-season when the STC 2nd XI lost 1-0 against the Cashmere 2nd XI. Despite a terrific performance in both defence and offense, we simply failed to produce a finishing shot. This lose proved to be a costly one for us as it meant that we had to go up against Boys high 2nd XI to make it to the finals of the competition. The captain; Tim Faulding’s, countless runs and crosses in behind the Boys High defence were to no use and we were ultimately beaten 4-2 on a cold night at the football academy. 

Despite being gutted about missing out on the final, we kept our heads high and looked forwards to the game against Hillmorton for 3rd place. We learnt from our previous loss in the season against and had the last laugh with a 4-1 crushing consisting of a double from our maestro; James Cookson and the captain; Tim Faulding forcing two own goals from the opposition with placed crosses. Throughout the season everyone gave it their all with consistent great performances week in week out such as Brodie Ablett, Nick Van de Erf and Hugo Falco. 

The season and the results would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the support from our designated referee; Thomas Newton. The only thing more accurate than his offside calls was his no-nonsense disciplinary actions such as the sending off one of the team’s architects -  Dominic Sullivan for challenging the decision of the referee. Another man that deserves credit would be Jacob Chapman, who week after week attended the games as well as provided transport for the boys that had no other way of getting to the games. 

Lastly is the main man and coach; Mr Strachan. A huge instigator in the revival of the STC 2nd 11, who stayed dedicated to the team the whole season and always looked for ways to improve the performance. His experienced tactical knowledge proved effective in the offense with the team often having a significant amount of shots on target as well as the defence where the attackers were constantly caught offside by the disciplined defenders. Overall the place that we finished the season in put the STC 2nd 11 back on the radar and I can only see the STC 2nd 11 improving year after year under the guidance of Mr Strachan.

Jakub Sawicki