This evening the year 8 netball team travelled across to NLS to play their semifinal. The girls were in good spirits and were excited for the game ahead.

The girls started the game with a blistering first quarter seeing Holly and Amelia linking up well to put 7 goals past the NLS defenders in the first 8mins. Chloe H and Evie matched up well and read the ball well to only allow 1 goal to pass them making the score after the first quarter 7-1.

As the whistle went for the 2nd quarter the girls made a few mistakes but managed to turn over the ball in the centre third with Sophie and Alice making it hard for NLS pass the ball beyond their attacking third line. Abby T came off the bench and managed to ensure her eye was in and combined well with Scarlett and Chloe S to score another 7 goals – at half time it was 14-3.

Third quarter saw the girls continue in the positive manor, with outstanding feeds from Ella and Chloe S to assist Amelia and Holly. This time Southam put 6 goals past NLS making the score 20-4.

Final quarter, the girls went full out with the aim of 30 goals in sight. Some outstanding intercepts in defence from Evie, Alice and Sophie saw continuous turnovers for the Southam girls. The pairing of Abby and Holly was outstanding showing some brilliant link up play.

Final score: 29-5

Well done this evening ladies, you played brilliantly you should all be proud of yourselves. Another fantastic performance and good preparation for a tough match against Kings High in the final on the 25th.

Mrs Turton and Miss Hancocks

Tuesday evening saw the Y8 football team host Aylesford in a cup semi final. Unfortunately, Southam started nervously and found themselves 2-0 down inside 8 minutes. Southam had an uphill task from here but soon started to play with the freedom they usually do and started to create some good chances through the hard working Leo and Jack on the wings. A goal did come after good play from Jasper found Harry whose lovely threaded pass was latched onto by Archie who cooly slotted into the corner to make it 2-1 at Half Time.

Southam played much better football in the second half, the back 4 of Spike, Charlie, Noah and Oliver broke down attacks and started to play out from the back. Southam continued to press but couldn’t find an equalising goal despite persistent pressing and attacking! A rare attack from Aylesford resulted in a free kick on the edge of the box which was thumped into the net. 3-1 with 8 minutes left. A big amount of credit must go to the y8 team at this point, they didn’t let their heads drop and continued to attack, Alfie, Charlie and Alfie all created chances as well as Noah being denied by a tremendous reaction save, before another through ball from Harry was latched onto by Ronan who shot into the net with 1 minute left! Cue Southam piling on the pressure…unfortunately, a counter attack caught the team out and left the Aylesford striker a tap in to give them a 4-2 win and a place in the final.

Despite the result, I am extremely proud of how the team played and worked together. They have shown real progress this year and with a few league games left I am hopeful of a successful end to the season.

Well done boys

Mr Turton

Thursday night saw the Y8 football team host Princethorpe in a friendly in readiness for our cup semi final next week.

The team started well and were passing the ball round comfortably until they were robbed of possession, with the ball breaking down the wing and being squared to the waiting striker who turned the ball home. This didn’t deter Southam who hit back instantly after some fine play. The ball was retained from kick off and played through Noah, Charlie, Spike, Ronan, Oli who then fed Harry who beat the defender before crossing for Josh to nip in ahead of the defender and score. An instant reply from Southam. This goal helped Southam who began to create chances but couldn’t convert before half time.

The second half began and Southam nearly scored within the first minute. Good pressure from Josh and Harry allowed Archie to break through but he was denied by a good save. From the resulting corner Harry went close with a volley. Southam did continue to press and were rewarded when Archie’s shot/cross found Leo at the back post who tapped in to make it 2-1. Southam continued to try and pass the ball and make it hard for Princethorpe to gain any momentum in the game. The final few minutes saw southam keep possession and hold on to a 2-1 win.

Man of the match goes to Ronan for lots of hard work and thankless running up the wing! Special mention goes to Joe as well for playing out of position and doing a fantastic job!

See you all at training on Monday before our busy week of fixtures next week!

Mr Turton

Year 7 boys: WE win

Year 7 girls: DRAW

Year 8 boys: SE win

Year 8/9 girls: SE win

Year 9 boys: SE win

WH v WE on Tuesday 10th March

SE v GV on Thursday 12th March

On a showery evening the year 8 netball teams had their area tournament hosted at Kingsley. We took 2 teams who competed in different pools of the tournament.

The evening started with the black team, captained by Holly F taking on Kings High (who they lost to last year). It was a tough physical battle but Southam edged their noses ahead to a 6-3 win with some unbelievable shooting from Abby and Holly. The run of good form went into the second match where they faced Kenilworth. Some outstanding defending from Alice and Chloe H teaming up stopped Kenilworth getting many chances on goal, with the final score being 11-1.

The team then faced Campion, again the girls played some good quality netball and good feeds from Scarlett and Chloe S saw both Abby and Holly get lots of attempts on goal again putting 11 goals past a team in 10mins, 11-0. The penultimate game came against Aylesford (semi finalists in the league) who were knew would be strong, the team continued to power through with Ella driving through the court intercepting the ball numerous times to mean Southam were on the front foot. Chloe H replicated a ninja on court picking up balls all over the place to make the score 9-1. The final game of a long afternoon saw them play Kingsley. In a sloppy game (only one of the evening) the girls looked a little tired, but still battled hard with Alice giving 100% but saw a 3-3 draw. It was still enough to take victory and win their tournament.

The green team, captained by Sophie H had similar experiences. The first game saw them take on Kenilworth and after some excellent link up play from Sophie and Flo saw Southam easily sail to a 7-1 win. The second game against Campion saw the defence take control with Abbey, Scarlet, and Evie stopping the ball getting into the defensive circle by making numerous interceptions on the court, seeing a 9-0 win.

Arnold lodge was the wobble game of the evening seeing the girls making a lot of silly mistakes and not looking after the ball, however the girls still managed a 5-0 victory. Their penultimate game saw them face Kingsley but the girls played their best netball of the evening with Evie and Toula acting as a brick wall stopping Kingsley’s attack and Sophie bringing the ball down and feeding both Flo and Freya beautifully – 8-0 win. The final game saw them face Myton in more of a physical battle, but once again the girls stepped up and managed to win 7-4.

The quality of netball played by both teams was exceptional this evening and would have challenged most year 9 teams. The girls are peaking just in time for the semifinals of the league next week (11th) against NLS, with the prospect of the finals to come and in the run up to the netball tours.

Well done girls, you were amazing this evening well done!

Coaches players:

Black: Chloe H and Alice

Green: Sophie and Freya

Mrs Turton and Miss Hancocks