SATURDAY 15TH MARCH 2008

Wycliffe College 1st XI      3        Old Wycliffian XI      5

The 1st XI have played the OW XI for the last eight seasons and the games have always been fairly equal, producing plenty of goals.  This year's match was no exception with one of the strongest OW sides for many years featuring four former Captains.  The heavy rain made the pitch very wet but the competitive game played in a very sporting spirit was still exciting and the lead changed hands several times.

Last year's 1st XI Captain, Alex Ward (J C 2001-2007), demonstrated his deadly poacher's instinct with a fabulous hat-trick for the OW XI! Wycliffe had many players of quality who gave a spirited performance with Robbie Maycock and Adam Wellstead getting their first goals of the season.  The highlight of the match was a 25-yard scorcher from Zain Ahmed-Riza. The other scorers for the OW team were Richard Wade (R 2001-2006) and striker Sam Hill (J H 1996-2003) who must be the OW top scorer over the years.  James Barnes (J R 1997-2003) captained the side and gave a very cultured exhibition in midfield.

Mr Jonathan Hardaker was perhaps the star of of the day as he refereed excellently. Many of the team travelled a great distance to play and as usual everybody turned up.  It was a very well supported event which was extremely entertaining.

Special mention and thanks must go to Roger Kirby who is hanging up his boots as Manager of the OW team and will be greatly missed.  Next year's team will be managed by Richard Wade.

The OW team was: James Barnes, Jamie Commons, Jack Edwards, Sam Hill, Jordan McGoldrick, Tom Messer, John Sowler, Sam Russell, Richard Wade, Adam Ward, Alex Ward and Li-en Yeung. 

PREVIOUS MATCH - Saturday 24th March 2007

Wycliffe College 1st XI      3       Old Wycliffian XI       3

This year's OW football match was played at a furious pace, but was memorable for the spirit in which it was played and the entertainment it provided.

The school team had just had an impressive first season in the newly formed independent schools football league and to begin with their team spirit was telling. Alex Ward put them into an early lead with a fantastically taken goal, which was made all the more sweeter because his brother Adam Ward (C 2001-2004) was playing in central defence!

Dominic O'Neill put the school team 2-0 up, however a strong OW side fought back with some lovely football which produced goals from Sam Hill (J H 1996-2003) and Jordan McGoldrick (J C 1997-2004) to make it 2-2. Li-en Yeung then towered above the defence in the box to score a third goal for the school side with his head! When Alex Ward put his second into the net it looked to have won it for the school side, however this was controversially ruled to be off-side. Almost immediately the OW's picked themselves and Jordan McGoldrick rounded off another superb move to make the final score 3-3.

It was an exhilarating match which was enjoyed by many supporters and really showed the strength of Wycliffe soccer past and present. 

The OW team was: James Barnes, Tim Griffiths, Sam Hill, Jordan McGoldrick, Jonty Messer, Tom Messer, Phil Rose, Mark Staincliffe, Tom Swain, Adam Ward, Richard Wade and Richard Woof. 

Wycliffe 1st XI was: Harry Case, Kevin Chan, Jamie Commons, Fabio Franco, Sam Hester, Sam Kemp, Dan Morris, Dom O’Neill, Mike Skeates, Rouven Stoehr, Alex Ward (Captain), Adam Wellstead, Ben Woodward and Li-en Yeung.

Mike Milne

February 2006

Wycliffe College 1st XI 2 Old Wycliffian XI 4

The match was played on a pleasant day in early February. As all of the OW team must be under the age of 26, we had a number of changes from previous years, which is not a bad thing as there are always many who wish to play. The twelve players contacted all turned up on time; most even remembered their kit.

The school team had won their previous match and so played with confidence. The OWs might have scored from an early penalty, but the attempt cleared the bar by some distance. Several of the OWs goals were scored from close in after some pressure from crosses. It should be recorded that one goal was scored by Andrew Robinson (J C 1997-2004) - in my experience a rare event.

The school team kept in touch until the final minutes, only a few stunning saves by Mark Staincliffe (J S R 1991-2001) preventing them from equalising. The school’s second half performance did them great credit which perhaps could have fairly resulted in a draw.

Two final memories of the game, one is the great distances Will Gidman (J H 1992-2001) propels the ball from throw-ins, and the other is the OW who shall remain nameless, who asked to be substituted because he was tired.

The Match was organised by Roger Kirby.

Old Boys Soccer Match 2005