b'THE ELLESMERIAN 131FootballU12Our first competitive fixtures were the North Shropshire 6-a-sideBrown worked collectively to limit the scoring power of Birchfield and tournament hosted by Oswestry School. Jake Hughes held the goalcreate scoring opportunities. Harry Harrison and Rory Owen got on line well throughout the tournament and bossed the team from thethe scoresheet, with Dan Thelwell adding two including a screamer from back. Manchester Citys Dan Thelwell was the standout player of theoutside the box. The score finished 4-3 to Ellesmere College.tournament, showing excellence with the ball at his feet and distributing the ball effectively to the right places. Harry Harrison held the defenceAfter the half term break, we faced Wolverhampton Grammar School together and always came to the rescue in any counterattack againstat Home. The match started fast and frantic with both teams breaking us. Will Goodwin used his pace effectively on the wing and Sayakthrough and getting shots on target. Ellesmere College defended valiantly; Mukherjee, George Wardle, and Austin Furlong Hart held the mid-fieldhowever, at halftime, the score was 4-0. At the break, the team set a together and attacked and defended as needed. The organisers hadtarget to cut our losses and win the second half. Led by the fighting spirit decided on a round robin format, and Ellesmere College ended with fourof Harry Harrison and Rory Owen the team worked relentlessly to wins and two draws, and became the North Shropshire Champions!stunt the Wolverhampton attack. With a tighter defence, the midfield and forwards were able to penetrate the defence and create good scoring Saturday 3rd February saw the team travel to Moreton Hall. With theopportunities. The second half finished 2-2, and the final score was an home team unable to field a full team, we managed to scratch a three- Ellesmere College 6-2 loss.way fixture, including an Ellesmere College U13 team. The match against Moreton Hall was very one-sided with multiple scores from EllesmereThe final game of the year was held on a glorious Saturday morning on College. The crunch match was between the Ellesmere College U13sParrys field faced Abbeygate College. From the outset, it was clear that and U12s. At 2-1 towards the end of 80 minutes, the game boiled downEllesmere College was the dominant side. This allowed multiple rotations to a penalty. William Webster stepped forward, and he slotted it into theand players coming on and off the pitch to ensure everyone got a good top corner with power and accuracy that David Beckham would haveamount of game time. The score finished 5-3 to Ellesmere College.envied, and the match finished at 2-2.It was great fun to coach this age group in football. With a few very strong footballers and some good all-round sportsmen, this will be a Wednesday 8th February took the team to Birchfield. Dan Thelwell onceteam to watch in the future. again took charge of the team with his superior skill, and the likes of Rory Owen, Harry Harrison, Morgan Lay, Austin Furlong Hart, and PeterCH'