29th March

The final matches in the third a2om league season have been played as Tonbridge and Sevenoaks met last Saturday in their local derby.

At Sevenoaks Tonbridge 1st XI went down 2-1. The home side took a 2-0 lead playing with the wind in the first half, but although Sandy Clarke got one back for Tonbridge they could not force an equaliser.

In the 2nd XI match, Tonbridge secured a 3-0 victory. All three Tonbridge goals were scored by Rupert Harbig, the pick of the bunch being the second when he headed into the top corner Henry Johnstone’s pinpoint cross.

Tonbridge Under 16s were also winners, beating Sevenoaks 1-0. The decisive goals was scored by George Lawson from a corner in the first half. Tonbridge could have gone two up when Rory Thomson hit the bar from 18 yards having dribbled through three challenges, but in the end Tonbridge were holding on as Sevenoaks launched a late but goalless bombardment.

Finally in the Under 15 game Tonbridge won 4-0. The game was tight until the last 10 minutes, but goals from Richard O’Grady, Toby Black and Tom Leek made the final score line comfortable.

This set of results meant Tonbridge finished second to Harrow in each of the 2nd XI, U16A and U15A leagues, whilst St John’s finished second in the 1st XI league.

RESULTS AND LEAGUE TABLES

1ST XI

Results: Tonbridge 5 Wellington 3; Harrow 2 Sevenoaks 0; Haileybury 1 St Johns 3; Harrow 2 Tonbridge 0; Wellington 2 St John’s 2; Sevenoaks 1 Haileybury 2; Harrow 6 Wellington 0; Sevenoaks 5 Wellington 0; St Johns 2 Tonbridge 0; Sevenoaks 2 St Johns 2; Haileybury 0 Harrow 4; Haileybury 4 Wellington 2; St John’s 2 Harrow 1; Tonbridge 0 Haileybury 2; Sevenoaks 2 Tonbridge 1

2ND XI

Results: Tonbridge 3 Wellington 2: Harrow 2 Sevenoaks 2; Haileybury 3 St Johns 3; Harrow 3 Tonbridge 1; St John’s 3 Wellington 1; Sevenoaks 4 Haileybury 1; Harrow 3 Wellington 1; St Johns 3 Tonbridge 4; Sevenoaks 2 Wellington 0; Sevenoaks v St Johns Postponed; Haileybury 2 Harrow 3; Wellington 1 Haileybury 1; Harrow 2 St John’s 1; Haileybury 2 Tonbridge 3; Tonbridge 3 Sevenoaks 0

UNDER-16

Results: Wellington 2 Tonbridge 3; Harrow 3 Sevenoaks 0; St Johns 2 Haileybury 0; Tonbridge 2 Harrow 2; Sevenoaks 1 Haileybury 1; St John’s 1 Wellington 1; Harrow 3 Wellington 2; Tonbridge 2 St Johns 0; Wellington 2 Sevenoaks 4; Sevenaoks v St Johns Postponed; Harrow 2 Haileybury 1; Harrow 5 St John’s 0; Wellington 1 Haileybury 5; Haileybury 2 Tonbridge 1; Tonbridge 1 Sevenoaks 0

UNDER-15

Results: Tonbridge 3,Wellington 0; Harrow v Sevenoaks postponed; St Johns 2 Haileybury 5; Harrow 4 Tonbridge 3; Haileybury 1 Sevenoaks 1; St John’s 5 Wellington 2; Harrow 3 Wellington 2; Tonbridge 5 St Johns 2; Wellington 4 Sevenoaks 0 Sevenoaks v St Johns Postponed; Harrow 2 Haileybury 0, Harrow 2 St John’s 2; Wellington 7 Haileybury 0; Haileybury 2 Tonbridge 1; Tonbridge 4 Sevenoaks 0

PREVIOUS REPORTS

16th March

Three wins for Haileybury in their four a2om Cup matches with Tonbridge, emphasised the strength of Haileybury this year but also handed all four a2om Cups to Harrow. This clean sweep of the trophies is the first time that any school has achieved this and reflects the impressive dominance which Harrow has achieved this year.

In the 1st XI match Haileybury were 2-0 winners at Tonbridge. Goals from Maraney & Swaby gave Haileybury the win. At 2nd XI level Tonbridge secured a 3-2 victory. On target for Haileybury was Olumide Williams (2) whilst the Tonbridge win came courtesy of goals from Josh Payne, Nick Spurling and Cameron Bourne.

The Under16 game at Haileybury saw the home side take a two goal first half lead with both goals coming from Sam Stock. Tonbridge got one back through George Lawson just after the restart but were unable to find an equaliser. Russell Webb came closest when he hit the bar five minutes from time. Finally the Under 15A game also ended with a 2-1 win to Haileybury. Gaskell put Haileybury ahead before Charlie Black equalised for Tonbridge. But Haileybury won it with just a few minutes to play through a Morrison goal.

8th March

Harrow retained the Charles Alcock Cup on Saturday, despite a 2-1 loss at the hands of St John’s. St John’s 2-1 victory on the day came courtesy of a quick start, which saw them two up within 10 minutes of kick off. First Adam Bray delicately touched a pinpoint cross from Howells into the net and then Glanville created the chance for Sarpong to make it 2-0. Harrow however were back in the game before half time, through a William Bamford header. Heavy late pressure from Harrow could have yielded an equaliser but it was not to be, allowing St John’s to finish the season level of points with Harrow at the top of the table. However Harrow’s goal difference is comfortably superior so they will retain the Charles Alcock, which they won from Haileybury last year. In the other 1st XI game of the weekend Haileybury overcame Wellington. Josh Maraney scored twice for Haileybury in their 4-2 victory.

Harrow have also tied up the 2nd XI a2om Cup thanks to a 2-1 win over St John’s. Hastings Wieloch and Jack Alhadeff were on target for Harrow. Meanwhile Haileybury and Wellington shared the spoils in a competitive 1-1 draw.

At Under 16 level Haileybury won 5-1 against Wellington. Jack Baker was on target twice for Haileybury. In the other game Harrow beat St John’s 5-0 thanks to goals from Hamish MacIntyre (2), Cianin Whelan, Jake Hyman, Olivier Huband. That result leaves Harrow four points clear of second placed Tonbridge. Although Tonbridge have two games in hand they will have to improve their goal difference dramatically, as well as winning twice to take their first a2om cup.

Finally at Under 15 level the weekend saw a big win for Wellington and a draw between St John’s and Harrow. Wellington’s 7-0 drumming of Haileybury further confirmed their potential for the future. They have now scored eleven goals in their past two league matches without reply! St John’s against Harrow ended 2-2 with the Harrow goals coming from Lukas Tilk and an own goal. Again Tonbridge currently trail Harrow by four points. This time two wins of any margin will be enough for Harrow to be overhauled.

3rd March

Tonbridge, Wellington, St John’s, Harrow and Sevenoaks have all picked up valuable wins over the past week as the a2om Lent Term League has restarted after half term.

At St John’s the visitors were Tonbridge, whose 1st XI started strongly. However St John’s, with Edward Caplan back in the side, looked comfortable on the ball and hence, despite Tonbridge’s territorial dominance, the home team looked strong in possession. Overall, the first half was evenly matched and the sides turned round without a score posted. St John’s stuck to their patterns of play, and superior use of the width of the pitch turned the game in their favour. Two goals were notched in quick succession. Adam Bray forced the ball home from close range, whilst Oliver Glanville almost tore the net apart with a screamer from distance, to secure a 2-0 St John’s victory.

Sevenoaks also recorded a win as they hit Wellington for six on Saturday, having drawn 2-2 with St John’s during the week. In the latter match a second St John’s own goal of the league season levelled the scores late on and resulted in a share of the points. Meanwhile Harrow maintained their lead in the 1st XI competition with a 4-0 win over Haileybury, with the goals being scored by William Bamford (2), Tom Pearson-Jones and Douglas Morrison.

The 2nd XIs of Tonbridge, Harrow and Sevenoaks have also secured recent victories. Tonbridge went ahead four times against St John’s and eventually came out 4-3 winners through goals from Nick Spurling’s head, Ed Pearce (Ronaldinhoesque from the left hand touchline) and two from pocket rocket Will Hislop. Amongst the gaolscorers for St John’s was Boo Radley. Sevenoaks meanwhile were 2-0 victors over Wellington, whilst Harrow beat Haileybury 3-2. On target for Harrow were Dolapo Akinkugbe, Jack Alhadeff and Michael Prior.

At Under 16 level Tonbridge also secured a 2-0 win over St John’s in a keenly contested match. Tonbridge went ahead when a goalkeeping error allowed Russell Webb’s shot to creep in. In the second half Rory Thomson doubled Tonbridge’s advantage when he finished after Webb’s flicked header. In the corresponding fixture between Sevenoaks and Wellington both James Baker and Will Avrili were on target for Wellington but Sevenoaks nonetheless came out 4-2 victors. Goals from Charlie Stebbings and Hamish MacIntyre helped Harrow to maintain their unbeaten record with a 2-1 win over Haileybury.

Finally in the Under 15A matches there were wins for Wellington and Tonbridge. Wellington’s 4-0 victory over Sevenoaks reflected the strong side which they have in this year group. Tom Denison scored an impressive hat-trick with the fourth being added by Hector Sales. Tonbridge won 5-2 against St John’s with Matt Eliet’s prolific run of scoring form continuing as he grabbed a brace. Richard O’Grady also found the net twice, once with an overhead kick, and Toby Black added the fifth. The St John’s goals were scored by Nuttall and Courtney. Harrow completed a clean sweep in their league fixture with Haileybury through a 2-0 win for their Under 15s, thanks to goals from Matthew Main and James Breeden.

11th February

Harrow and Wellington met in the final fixture before half term, with Harrow achieving victory in all four a2om Lent Term League Fixtures.

At 1st XI level it proved a comfortable day for Harrow as they strode to a 6-0 win. The goals were scored by Francis Frimong (a first half hat-trick), Yunus Sert (2) and Tom Pearson-Jones. In the 2nd XI match Harrow came out 3-1 winners thanks to goals from George Sanders (2) and Jack Alhadeff. Both junior games were tightly contested but ended with 3-2 to Harrow. In the U16A match Harrow goals came from Olivier Habbard (2) and Douglas Tilk, whilst in the Under 15A the Harrow scorers were Lukas Tilk, Nathan Gilbert and Morgan Ward.

6th February

Saturday saw each of the six Lent Term a2om League schools in action and a number of close and competitive matches.

In the 1st XI league Harrow now sit top of the table after securing a 2-0 win at home to Tonbridge. Goals from Tom Pearson-Jones and Douglas Morrison were enough to secure the points despite Tonbridge enjoying a fair share of possession and carving out their own opportunities to score. In the second game, Haileybury visited Sevenoaks. Headed goals are a notable feature of the Haileybury season and this time James Shirley and Ollie Stirling nodded home. Sevenoaks reduced the arrears late in the game but Haileybury hung on to record their first league win of this campaign. Wellington and St Johns earned a point each in a 2-2 draw in the final 1st XI game of the weekend. Despite twice falling behind, Wellington thoroughly deserved a share of the points, equalizing twice after first Kronenberg and then Glanville had put St John’s ahead.

The 2nd XI league looks wide open after wins for St John’s, Sevenoaks and Harrow on Saturday. St John’s were 3-1 winners against Wellington, whilst Sevenoaks won 4-1 at Haileybury. Tonbridge’s visit to Harrow saw goals from Dolapo Akinkugbe and Jack Alhadeff give Harrow a 2-0 lead before a goal mouth scramble ended with an own goal to put Tonbridge back in the game. However a goal line hand ball from Ed Pearce saw his dismissal and a Harrow penalty, which was converted by Akinkugbe to gave the hosts a 3-1 win.

In the Under 16 league there were a remarkable three draws in the three matches. At Tonbridge, the home side went 2-0 up in a pulsating and hard fought match with goals from Josh Beech and Rory Thomson. Harrow however clawed their way back in the second half with two fine strikes from Jake Hyman and Douglas Tilk. The other two games, between Haileybury and Sevenoaks and between St John’s and Wellington, ended in 1-1 draws.

Finally in the Under 15 league Haileybury are current leaders after they drew 1-1 with Sevenoaks. Harrow got off the mark with a 4-3 win against Tonbridge where Mat Eliet scored a brace for Tonbridge and Lukas Tilk a hat-trick for Harrow. Lastly St John’s won 5-2 against Wellington.

Saturday 30 January

The a2om league season continued as the remaining four schools began their 2010 campaigns on Saturday. Although the U15A game between Harrow and Sevenoaks fell foul to frozen pitches, in the other three games Harrow had the better of things. In the 1st XI match, goals from Zander Whitehurst and Michael Doughty helped Harrow to a 2-0 victory. The 2nd XI match was drawn 2 goals a piece with the Harrow goals being scored by Dolapo Akinkugbe and George Sanders. Finally in the Under 16 match Harrow emerged as 3-0 victors through goals from Olivier Huband, Waleed Alireza and Harry Nicholas.

On the same afternoon St John’s were taking on Haileybury. The 1st XI game saw an impressive performance from both sides, resulted in a superb spectacle of schoolboy football. Haileybury started well, passing the ball around the midfield and hassling the St John’s team. Early pressure paid off with Haileybury scoring after 5 minutes through an impressive 30 yards strike from Ryan O'Leary. St John’s equalised after 20 minutes, when a slick passing movement was ended by a bullet header into the top corner from left midfielder K Brown. St John’s went ahead before half time through another headed goal. This time K Sarpong’s powerful run and cross picked out J Prichard. With both sides playing fine passing football, the match remained wide open until, as Haileybury pushed for an equaliser, diminutive youngster R Heald added a third header to secure a 3-1 victory for St John’s.

In the other matches there was a victory for each school and one draw. The 2nd XI match ended 3-3 with Charlie Englander of Haileybury finding the net twice. At Under 16 level there was a 2-0 victory for St Johns, whilst the Under 15 game ended 5-2 to Haileybury with Tom Fazakerley also netting twice for Haileybury.

23rd January

After the postponement of the St John’s v Sevenoaks fixture on 16 January, it was left to Tonbridge and Wellington to open the 2010 a2om Lent Term Schools League season. At 1st XI level Wellington started in scintillating form, scoring three times in the first twenty minutes with goals from Ben Blosse, Tom Rowe and Nick Allred. However mid way through the first half a most remarkable comeback started as Ben Brenton got one back for Tonbridge. By half time the scores were level through an own goal and one from George Cottle. In the second half Tonbridge sealed a 5-3 victory with further goals from Cottle and Brenton.

The 2nd XI game also saw Tonbridge come from behind as Wellington went 1-0 and 2-1 ahead before eventually losing 3-2. The Tonbridge goal scorers were Aaron Plant, Josh Payne and Nick Spurling.

At Under 16 level Tonbridge opened the scoring through Rory Thomson, but Wellington drew level at half time when the pace and finishing power of Wellington centre forward Akinrele was too much for the Tonbridge defence. After the break Thomson scored two further well taken goals before James got one back, to make it a nervy last few minutes for Tonbridge.

At Under 15 level the score line suggested an easier afternoon for Tonbridge but this was far from the case. Wellington were much the better for long periods of the match but whilst Tonbridge kept a clean sheet, largely through the heroics of keeper Pryor, Wellington conceded three with Matt Eliet, Richard O’Grady and James Nakajima on target.

For more information on this competition, please contact Andrew Leale.

ROLL OF HONOUR - PREVIOUS CHAMPIONS

1st XI (Charles Alcock Cup)
2008 Haileybury
2009 Harrow
2010 Harrow

2nd XI
2008 Harrow
2009 Harrow
2010 Harrow

Under-16
2008 Haileybury
2009 St. John's
2010 Harrow

Under-15
2008 Harrow
2009 Harrow
2010 Harrow

THE CHARLES ALCOCK CUP



Charles Alcock, who had been a schoolboy at Harrow and a member of Druries House (of whom the current ISFA Chairman was housemaster for many years) was instrumental in the development of international football, the FA Cup, and indeed, the Football Association itself. He was an early committee member of the Football Association which was formed in 1863, joining it in 1866. He was elected, at the age of 28, to the position of FA secretary. In 1871 he proposed the FA Challenge Cup, the first 'knock-out' type tournament. Fifteen teams entered the inaugural competition and Wanderers (a now defunct London team) won it, captained by Charles Alcock who played at centre-forward and had a goal disallow for handball. The FA ‘Challenge’ Cup was so called at that time because Wanderers, as winners, automatically qualified for the final and all the teams played a knock out competition with the winners ‘challenging’ the holders in the final.

Charles Alcock was also instrumental in the development of the first international fixture. He did this by writing an address through the Glasgow Herald, inviting representatives to a game at the Kennington Oval, which was then, as now, the home of Surrey Cricket Club (Alcock was Secretary of Surrey CCC). Because the game's basis was completely amateur at the time, financial considerations meant that the Scottish team ended up being composed entirely of Scots living in England, and England won 1-0. There were three further matches, all in England, before the first match to be held in Scotland.

However all those early matches were considered unofficial, largely because the English FA were running everything, even the selection of the Scottish side. Both the English and Scottish Football Associations record the first Scottish-based match, at the West of Scotland Cricket Club at Partick on 30th November 1872, as the first ever official international match. Charles Alcock was down to captain the side, but was injured and had to be content with umpiring. The match ended at 0-0.

In 1875 Charles Alcock captained England against Scotland in a match played at the Kennington Oval. It ended 2-2, with Alcock scoring England's second goal in the 65 minute. England had had to play without their goalkeeper initially as William Carr was 15 minutes late because of delays on the trains on his route from Sheffield.

Charles Alcock remained as Secretary of the FA until 1896, instigating, amongst other things, the International Selection Committee in 1887. This committee selected England sides until Walter Winterbottom and then Alf Ramsey took over the duty. From 1896 until his death in 1907 Charles Alcock was Vice President of the FA. Unlike David Elleray who only refereed one FA Cup Final (Manchester United v Chelsea in 1994) Charles Alcock ‘umpired’ a number of finals.

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