A big thank you to the year 5 and 6 boys who featured in our football match this week against Wellesbourne Primary. Coming off the back of an excellent 9-0 victory, the boys’ confidence was high and they were raring to go!

It was clear from the beginning of the match that Wellesbourne had put an excellent team together; our attackers were outnumbered by a tall and strong defence. A pattern quickly emerged of the ball being hacked away from the penalty area just before a goal looked certain.

The first half continued goalless and at an incredibly fast pace, referee Mr. Fairclough had given up trying to run after the ball after 10 minutes! This relentless pace was finally rewarded for OLI with a Billy Smith tap-in goal from a Zac Abbou pass, 1-0! The first half ended 1-0 with the boys looking to push forward in numbers to increase the lead.

The second half began with a huge surge from OLI thanks to some tactically amazing substitutions from OLI’s manager. James Wamulo and Ethan Duke came on and saw OLI’s attack go from strength to strength. Lovely passing combined with excellent positioning to result in several chances stopped only by Wellesbourne’s excellent keeper, including a flicked effort from Joe McFarlane-Wells being inches away from being goal of the season! The constant pressure was finally rewarded though by Kian Skinley leathering a shot into the corner from the edge of the area. OLI were 2 up…

With a 2 goal cushion, the boys played with some creative freedom and managed to create a series of chances towards the end. More excellent saves were made, yet nothing could be done about Bobby Mitchell’s stunning effort from 25 yards out smashing into ‘top bins’. The match ended 3-0 with the boys achieving their 3rd clean sheet of the season; a wonderful effort from defenders Ruben McNeil, Reece Mangan, Aaron Jacobs and Aiden Burns. Well done to Wellesbourne for being such fierce and respectful competition.

MOTM: Bobby Mitchell for excellent passing, positioning and for scoring an absolute ‘belter’.