Station

Football

First XI

Results 1995-96

Played 24 Won 15 Lost 4 Drew 5 For 52 Against 26

The Players - goals in brackets

Jo Suddaby performed well as captain. Strong and dominant in the air and very capable on the ground. He organised the defence well.

Andrew Jones (3) was one of the most improved players in the side. He was an intelligent player with good feet and an excellent positional sense.

Yves Florentin-Lee. Totally committed with an infectious enthusiasm. Very one-footed, but a tenacious and skilful tackler and a real asset as a covering defender.

James Taylor (1). A talented player on the ball and a good marker. Needs to improve some of his passing but an able and versatile player.

Cameron Ogden (8). Sharp, pacy and very strong. He enjoyed taking defenders on and beating them. Operating on the right flank, he was a crucial player to our style of play and thoroughly deserved his success at representative level.

Heneage Stevenson (4) was given a responsible rôle in the centre of midfield and was well up to the job. Excellent ball-winning abilities and good distribution. In the second half of the season he was consistently our best player.

John Bentham (4). Undoubtedly a very talented player who impressed at all levels. He made the full ISFA U19 side for their tour of Holland at Easter which was no mean achievement. When on top of his game he was a joy to watch.

Sam Fox (14). He adapted well to his rôle on the left and was consistently our most dangerous striker possessing the necessary combination of composure and confidence in goal scoring situations. Tremendous skill and pace, and along with Cameron proved to be a real handful for most sides.

Russell Korgaonkar (17). A superb goal-scoring record with a genuine knack for being in the right place at the right time. Got better and better as the season progressed.

Sas Ahsani (1). A skilful player who began the season at right back before pushing into midfield. Good going forward but needs to up his work rate and improve on his positional sense and defending skills.

Others who played: Archie Mackay (1), Alan Jones, Martin Dale, Jon Korgaonkar, Tom Webber, Alex Cochrane.

Report

Although there were one or two very talented players who undoubtedly turned in match-winning performances, the key to the side's success was that all the players were all comfortable on the ball and keen to keep possession. Defensively we were mobile and versatile but our real strength was going forward and getting the ball into wide positions early. With Cameron Ogden and Sam Fox always looking to take players on we regularly got in behind defective formations and created the majority of our goal-scoring opportunities. There was a tremendous energy in the side which continually drove them on, but when things didn't quite go to plan, it manifested itself in a child-like frustration when a more patient and mature approach from some key players was needed. That said, I feel that these two years have given the reputation of Westminster football a tremendous boost and for at least the present time re-established one of the oldest football schools in the country as a prominent side on the circuit.

The season began rather disappointingly with a defeat by a well prepared Winchester side. It was a game we expected to win but lost to a speculative strike from outside the box, our keeper having been sent off. This dampened our initial enthusiasm but the side bounced back with two good victories against local rivals Westminster City (3-1) and KES Witley (5-1) where Russell Korgaonkar scored a hat trick. Against Eton (2-2) we were two up in 10 minutes and much the better side, but a typical Eton side dug deep and ground out a draw. There was a convincing win against Kimbolton (3-0) followed by an excellent 1-0 victory away to Charterhouse in the first round of the cup. Although Charterhouse had scoring opportunities, Westminster dominated the game and scored a beautifully worked goal with Sam Fox beating two players in the box before providing a finish for Russell Korgaonkar which he duly took. Lancing (1-2) was a sad affair when we created numerous opportunities from set pieces but failed to convert any of them. Lancing is a tough place to go to and get a result but the side looked more than capable of beating them. They scored first but we equalised in the second half before a clearly offside goal gave them victory. The master i/c accepts some blame for this little oversight but was arguing with one of his own players a good distance away!

A welcome but uninspiring victory against Forest (1-0) brought the first half of term to a close and a disaster against Highgate (1-3) brought the second half to life. Here we allowed a well organised side to get in front and were unable to overhaul them. Two very quick goals just before half time did the damage and we never recovered. The form book would have suggested a Westminster victory, especially with home advantage, but they proved too strong on the day. Two drab affairs against Bradfield (1-1) and Chigwell (1-1) where we were decimated by Oxbridge Exams and injuries were interrupted by the second round cup tie against Brentwood. They were reckoned to be a class act but with home advantage albeit on a Wednesday we felt we had nothing to fear. However we never recovered from a heart-breaking and galling own goal in the first 5 minutes. After that we had 70% of possession and dominated the game although, to be fair, with the exception of one good chance falling to John Bentham early in the first half, we never looked like scoring. A good thrashing of Aldenham (7-2) with Cameron scoring a hat trick and an excellent 3-2 away win over last year's southern supremos and cup finalists Ardingly brought back Charterhouse. This was a poor game played in a very unfriendly atmosphere where on balance I think we were poorly treated. Enough said.

The second half of season really speaks for itself. There were one or two slip-ups but generally we dominated the matches against essentially Lent term Rugby football playing schools. I hope this side will be remembered for the quality of football that they played which was at times breathtaking and their tremendous enthusiasm which stemmed largely from a love of the game. Finally I'd like to thank Ian Monk for all his hard work and support of the football Station and the other members of the Common Room (Simon Craft, Maurice Lynn, Richard Bryant, Jon Strong, Martin Robinson, Richard Stokes) who have helped to make football at Westminster competitive at all levels.

Jeremy Kemball

Under 16 Football

Indeed, by the time the season came to an end we had won nine out of the last eleven games, drawing the other two. One of those draws was achieved away against a mighty Charterhouse team who inspired a tremendous performance from the Westminster side. Like the defence, the midfield was magnificent and the following players all made significant contributions: Miles Copeland, Daniel Cavanagh, Jon Barber, George Leventis, Alexi Bentham, Anthony Edey. Alex Cavanagh, who combined tenacious midfield play with some wonderful touches and pieces of skill, was outstanding all season and deserves particular praise as indeed does Jonny 'Romario' Korgaonkar who adapted extremely well to his lone rôle up front and scored prolifically over the two terms. His energy, skill and commitment were exemplary. The goalkeeper Julian 'Motormouth' Dale also had a fine season and pulled off many memorable saves that were instrumental in terms of our success.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable season and the contributions extend much further than the talented individuals mentioned here. The entire squad (Goldens and Silvers) worked hard and really developed as footballers. The boys, as they say in media circles, 'done good'.

Simon Craft

Under 15 Football

When unity prevailed they produced some tremendous performances, most notably in the excellent defeats of the traditionally strong Forest and Lancing, in good wins against UCS and Bedford and in possibly their best performance in the heavy defeat of City of London.

In this game Aidan Jones and Theo Hildebrand produced some superb football as they shared the team's five goals. Indeed Theo was the outstanding performer throughout, scoring no fewer than four hat tricks over the season. Aidan is still too inconsistent, but his talent is unquestionable.

The addition of Charlie Stevenson was a real plus and, in his combination with the tireless Elias Frangos, the team had a powerful midfield engine. Filip Pongratz's pace was a valuable quality and he adapted well to the new demands made of him.

Defending is always a difficult proposition at this level, but Chike M'Bamali was excellent throughout. Llywelyn ap Gwilym produced some towering performances, though he is by no means a refined footballer as yet, and he has now found a reliable accomplice in Michael Walls. Max Hildebrand is a goalkeeper of real potential and his brave performances were invaluable at times.

Richard Bryant

Under 14 Football

The season began brightly with convincing victories over Winchester and Royal Russell, although the former was marred by a serious leg injury to Hayes which ruled him out for the season. The team was brought down to earth by defeat against a very talented and large Eton side, but they consoled themselves by handing out a thrashing to a weak Kimbolton team. There then came perhaps the best performance of the season against a strong Lancing side where we showed admirable organisation and tenacity in a hard-fought victory. A poor first half left too much to do against Highgate, but Bradfield were comprehensively defeated in the next match. The team then set off on a Middlesborough-like string of losses against, it must be said, some of the best U14 sides on the Independent Schools circuit. Chigwell, Brentwood and Ardingly were all extremely talented sides, yet in all three matches we has 'purple patches' in which we ran rings around the opposition only to give away too many 'soft' goals. An undeserved last-minute loss against Aldenham led us into the Charterhouse match which turned out to be an highly entertaining affair. Both sides exhibited a 'Kamikaze' approach where 'Defence' was a dirty word. A thrilling high-scoring draw was the result leaving both 'managers' simultaneously breathless and exasperated.

Into the Lent Term and the high-scoring continued against UCS where in our enthusiasm to win we managed to lose again in the last minute. An inability to deal with the high ball let to defeat against the Oratory on a sloping uneven surface, but winning ways were rediscovered against City of London due to an outstanding first-half performance. Then Bedford were comfortably accounted for although we did squander the proverbial 'hatful' of chances, before the season ended with a below full-strength side losing to a professional, if somewhat cynical, John Lyon team. Going through the Westminster side, both Jeffries and Phillips showed signs of becoming competent goalkeepers with a bit of hard work and concentration. In defence, Mouracadeh played with calm assurance throughout the season, whilst Choo and Karageorgis showed great determination, especially with the ball in the air. In midfield, Alamouti got through a large amount of work all over the pitch and showed no fear as well as a good deal of skill. Both Cowper-Smith and Kirk exhibited an eye for goal as well as a high level of skill with the ball at their feet, which made up for a slight reluctance to sacrifice any brain cells by heading the ball. Up front, Makhoul and Caporali formed a useful striking partnership, with the former's extreme pace (if somewhat wayward finishing) and the latter's fearlessly determined and rugged 'Series A' approach. Useful contributions were also made by the greatly improved Ranki and the talented, if slightly disappointing, Doeh. Elsewhere, the 'B' team lacked any real strength and athleticism, but they battled on gamely and were bolstered by the loan of certain Fives players on match days.

James Kershen