Charterhouse 3                              KES Witley 0

Charterhouse’s season ended in a somewhat subdued fashion at KES Witley on Wednesday 7 December. The visitors dominated the game from start to finish but found it difficult to penetrate a stubborn and well-organised King Edward’s defence. Certainly they created enough chances to score a hatful but a combination of good goalkeeping, woeful finishing and simple bad luck meant that they only had three goals to show for it at the end of a bright but chilly afternoon.

It all began so well when Tom Gallyer headed home Fraser Payne’s corner after just three minutes. In the rest of the half Charterhouse had ten more headers at the goal, almost all of them unopposed, but only managed to score with one more – Gallyer again just before the break from a Tom Gilbey corner.

In between these two successes the home goalkeeper made half a dozen good saves, the woodwork was struck twice and the ball was cleared off the line twice more. Add to this another five attempts which shaved the post and Charterhouse’s frustration becomes quite understandable.

At the other end, Alex Cadzow in the Charterhouse goal was a virtual spectator. Nor did things change in the second half. Sam Evans had a tap-in from very close range cleared off the line after an excellent run and pass by Tim Downes. In yet another scramble Ashley Beddows and Evans both saw goal bound efforts cleared away and then after forty-seven minutes, Evans fed Downes who lashed the ball home with his left foot.

At 3-0 Charterhouse were comfortable and could never quite reach the level of intensity which had seen them score seven at Highgate on the previous Saturday. King Edward’s, meanwhile, stuck tenaciously to their task and continued to try to play football, passing and moving with purpose and desire. Try as they might Charterhouse could not create another chance and it was the home team who came closest to scoring in the dying minutes, Cadzow having to come out smartly to save at the feet of an advancing forward.

So Charterhouse’s season ended on a winning note. They have scored more goals in the Oration Quarter than any previous 1st XI and have won more regular season matches. Only the disappointment of a defeat on penalty kicks, in the Boodles ISFA Cup, mars an otherwise quite outstanding season whose culmination is still to come in the Elgin Capital Southern Independent Schools league play-off final at Corinthian-Casuals ground on January 23.