First XI report v Harrow – Won 2-1

A special day. I must report that an extraordinary turn of events took place after the First XIs 2-1 win against an exceptional Harrow side. Deep in the huddle, in the post match calm, talk soon turned to the parallels to be made between academia and sport. The centre back pairing of Gazzard and Bray, who had stood firm all day, turned to one another and started weighing up the merits of the shortest poem. Muhammad Ali once postulated simply Me-We. Charlie Howells, never one to be content to take a back seat on areas of notable interest, took up the pose of a top QC and summed up the consensus from the Team “It was simple chaps, today we turned me-we into we-me”.

The team, full of confidence and attacking verve, exploded from the traps, tore into the opposition and forced them to drop deep in doubt. A combination of Howells, Grant and Bray secured early reward. From a set short corner routine, Harrow sent forward a single defender, in hindsight probably four too few when faced with three magical feet of the Howells/ Grant combo, (Howells right foot excluded). A balletic Adam Bray delicately touched a wonderful, pinpoint cross from Howells wand of a left, past a flailing Harrovian keeper.

The team continued to perform and crosses from wide areas sustained the early dominance and kept the hosts pinned down and panicky. Even Usain Bolt would have been grasping haunches, keeping pace with the opening salvos, served up by this most special of units. Having latched onto a well worked pass and flick from O Glanville, K Sarpong, displaying his own brand of magic, bolted through and finished with aplomb. Although his team mates mobbed him, captain Sarpong, who had received his arm band from Ted Caplan on the preceding night, a magnanimous gesture if ever there was one, admonished his team mates for daring to be demob happy.

The pattern was sustained as O Glanville’s version of Casper the Ghost saw him through on goal for what might have been a third goal when a cynical, scything tackle smote him, an act inexplicably ignored by the referee, who struggled with the balance of his interpretations throughout. A third goal at that stage would have provided a comfortable cushion and shortly thereafter there was a sting in the tail. A free kick, well delivered, failed to be cleared sufficiently and a scrambled finish narrowed the lead and sobered the team.

Turning round 2-1 up presented its own difficulties, but with a confused but ultimately unified, consensus, the boys faced up. Bob the Builder quotes of working together to get the job done were shelved in favour of gladiatorial quips that whatever comes out of those gates we will work together and win. In the second half G Rowling and K Brown delivered manfully and the two combined for a breakaway, which saw the crossbar shaken not once but twice in quick succession. In the last quarter, the boys reflected their ingrained value system, all that St John’s stands for shone through, notably the twin goals, of performance allied to excellence.

The centre-back pairing of Gazzard and Bray were magnificent and were protected manfully by the eclectic fusion of the latent talents of Pritchard and doggedness of Caplan. Leo Woodward for his part stood tall when pressure mounted by commanding his area. With a large crowd drawn in, and the whistle pending, Harrow threw caution to the winds and attacked in numbers. However, the raids were too direct and consequently without success and when the final whistle blew, the St John’s team were spent but joyously so. The Harrow coach was magnanimous in his praise, a deserved and historic victory recorded.

Mr Gregor Macmillan - Master in Charge of Football