Assembly after exeat
February 01, 2012
If anyone here was present at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon as I was, when the Gunners played Aston Villa, then they were lucky people. Not only would they have witnessed one of the most exciting games of the FA cup this season, but they would also have seen how teamwork, passion and determination can turn around the fortunes of eleven men who seemed all but beaten at half time.
Villa started off brilliantly, but they had the most to prove. Goals were scored in the 33rd minute by Dunne and then in injury time by Bent. The Villa crowd chanted and cheered, their noise filling the stadium like a swarm of bees as the Arsenal supporters held their heads in shame, hurling abuse at Arsene Wenger.
The mood during half time in the Arsenal supporters area was one of resignation coupled with anger. People stared mournfully into their bottles of Carlsberg and ate their foot-long hotdogs with an air of nonchalant disdain. They traipsed back into their seats with sadness and disappointment tattooed into their hearts.
And then something extraordinary happened. Van Persie led his team onto the pitch. However, from the moment their feet hit the hallowed turf there was a new spirit in their approach. As the starting whistle blew, it was as if an entirely new Arsenal team were playing.
The Villa crowd, previously ecstatic in their jubilation and arrogant in their assuredness of victory, transformed themselves instantaneously from a swarm of bees into silent witnesses at their own funeral. In the space of seven minutes, Van Persie slotted two penalties, whilst Walcott had a lucky moment. The Gunners went from zeroes to heroes. The Villa team, after celebrating their fifteen minutes of fame, fell back and never recovered. The Villa supporters were not singing any more. Throughout the second half Thierry Henry danced and jogged along the side of the pitch, his powerful presence both reassuring and inspiring the team and the supporters. His final arrival for the last seven minutes was a triumph of theatre; he came on as the Emperor, ever powerful, taking the waves and adulations of his people as they celebrated the Arsenal gladiators’ triumph over the corpses of the skewered and destroyed Villa lions.
Some of you, over the coming days, will receive their mock exam results. Some of these will show great promise; some will show huge commitment and the outcome of hard work. Others, however, will find them to be deeply concerning. They will not reflect your true potential. They will not be a great half time score.
I urge you to embrace the mantle of Van Persie and his team. See this moment as half time. Re-evaluate your priorities, and discover what you need to do to raise yourself to victory. You can come out triumphant; you can turn things around. However, this can only be done with tremendous hard work, dedication and passion within your soul. Be gunners in your approach, and look to aim high in this coming second half so the final score truly reflects your ability.
I’d like to use this opportunity to celebrate some of Milton Abbey’s sporting results.
Starting with the 1st XI hockey the match against Downside, which saw the visitors win 3-2, started a spirited season for the firsts with some excellent play from Will Hagenbuch, Ed Fane Trefusis – who nobly filled the goal following Kyle Moore being unwell – Charlie Barron and Angus Morton. Will and Angus scored the two goals. The game against Warminster was a superb test of the players ability to bounce back after a frustrating match against Hardy’s which saw the team lose 3 – 0. Will Stogdale played with immense passion and determination, scoring two of the four goals. Will Hagebuch and Dom Barrington provided the other two, leading to a 4 – 0 victory. Mention must go to the entire team, who won a collective ‘Men of the match’.
The 2nd XI team played valiantly against Downside, with Sam Rhys winning man of the match. The 3rd XI played against a skilful opposition and defended with great determination; Joe Ranson worked brilliantly, and Max Thornton won man of the match for his terrific work rate and skilful touches.
The Girls’ lacrosse has had an interesting start. The first game against Canford saw Emily Pope score, and Sophie Eaton’s great saves in goal enabled her to be awarded girl of the match. The game against Bryanston was a much closer event, leading to a Milton Abbey victory, with Phoebe Unwin scoring three goals and Emily Pope one. Emily won girl of the match, and the improvement in the girls’ lacrosse is becoming obvious for all to see.
The U15 A team won 7 – 0 over Warminster, with Tom Chappel playing with great skills and expertise, whilst the U14’s have had a superb start to their season with the first victory over downside in nearly 20 years. Charles Naimby-Luxmore and Ed Barrington played superbly, whilst sports scholar Ed Doggerell lead by example and showed terrific effort and enthusiasm. The U14B’s also won 1 – 0 with the only goal being scored by Archie Macdonald-Buchanan, who was also man of the match, supported by Freddie Burgoyne and Otto Williams. The U14 match against Warminster, where we were beaten 1 – 0, was a positive game with Charles Naimby-Luxmore securing man of the match.
There have been three cross country events. At the Ken Bailey races at Bryanston, Danny Sala came 15th out of 94 whilst George Hatchard, who became a senior runner for the day, came 19th out of 53 runners. At the DISCCO 2-1-3 races at Canford, Danny Sala, George Hatchard, Chris Wells and Hamish Gardner all produced impressive lap times. Special mention must go to Hugo Hunt in the 3rd form for his impressive lap time whilst still in the third form – he is obviously a name to watch. In the Dorset County Championships at King’s Park in Bournemouth, Danny and George again did brilliantly, coming 27th and 34th respectively.
On Tuesday 17th January the Junior and Senior squash teams played Bryanston. Although we lost 4-1, Alex Denoon Duncan continued his unbeaten run in school matches, whilst Jespar Tseng won his match for the junior team. Well done to everyone for playing with such enthusiasm and with dedication.
I am delighted to finally award the Ten Tors expedition medals from last year. All the pupils represented the school with superb dedication, and to complete this arduous test is an immense achievement. Many congratulations to them all. I will read the names out, and invite the school to applaud when the pupils come to collect their medal.
Junior
William Blair
Ben Doggrell
Hamish Gardner
George Hatchard
James Innes
Rupert Turnbull
Senior
Anthony Bentley-Buckle
Harry Evans
Ed Fane Trefusis
George Lee
Kyle Moore
Tom Walker
I would like to congratulate Louis Hooker for his selection by the Dorset Expeditionary Society to trek through India and the Himalayas this coming summer. This is a superb achievement.
Congratulations to Evy Martin Smith and Jake Warren, both of whom made it through to the squad of 30 for Dorset U17 County Rugby.