Page 51 - OO_2019

09), Ian Wilkinson (L 07) and Tim Pollard were marvellous throughout, repelling wave after wave of schoolboy attacks.
3) The Ship hasn’t succumbed
Stepping into the warm embrace of The Ship on a Saturday night is a reminder that not everything in life changes. Shady lights, ramshackle layout, lashings of Hophead, a slightly sticky carpet and the omnipresent threat of a pub bust took us right back to our own halcyon schooldays.
4) Skipper goes AWOL
Captain Stuart Morgan (Lx 91) turned up for the pre-
match talk and tactics - and then mysteriously disappeared, muttering something about a Veterans’ Cup game in Warwickshire. The moonlighting Morgan was missed, but qualified for the finals at the National Hockey Stadium in May. Hicks proved an excellent stand-in captain, bossing the OOs, who gained in confidence with every passing minute.
5) The comeback kings
From 2-2 at half-time, the Old Oundelians snuck ahead after a fine goal by Nick Edwards (S 96) and a second from the superlative Letten. There was even a disallowed own goal. It seemed too good to be true – and it was. As lungs expired and thoughts turned to a roast lunch at the Two Acre Club, the School got one back and then, at the death, a cruel equaliser on the final whistle as they pulled off a fine short-corner routine, whose zig-zag trajectory fooled our defensive four to end the game 4-4 at full time. 6) Mixing is good
This year marked a first for the OO hockey squad, as we fielded a mixed side. The old girls’ team was sadly inquorate, so the Hall sisters – Annie (N 15) and Frankie (N 13) – joined the squad and brought no little skill, pluck and gritty endeavour to the mix. The ladies linked well with the hamstrung Mark Epton (St A 91) and clattering Andy Rymer (G 91) in the midfield.
7) World-class facilities
You only need to see the silhouette of cranes
puncturing the PE8 skyline to realise that Oundle School is investing big in its sporting future. The 1980s gravel tanyard is giving way to an amazing new sports hall complex; our game was played on one of FOUR astroturfs, smooth green carpet where once we skirmished in the mud of Heron Rogers Wood during Wednesday afternoon CCF exercises. That’s the onward march of progress for you.
8) Shoot-outs are cruel
Never before has an OO match concluded with penalty
strokes, but after finishing 4-4 in normal time, we gamely agreed to a shoot-out. Goalkeeper Paul Chatterton (S 88) stood like a colossus between the posts, pulling off a fine save (from his son!) to put the old-timers ahead from the off. But the School keeper was a dynamic young thing, leaping around his goal like a saucy salmon and poor ‘Chat’ was facing a barrage of Exocets rocketing past his head. We tried, we really did, but we eventually conceded 7-8 on flicks. What a match! What an encounter! Thanks to the School for hosting so magnanimously and to Morgan for masterminding so brilliantly in absentia.
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