Walter House Dominate House Football
Given that we had rarely won any house events during my time at the school, let alone one of the biggest - House Football (!) - it’s fair to say that we weren’t brimming with confidence. However, on paper our team looked very strong going into the first game.
Despite missing a few key players, and a confident Walter team took on Manor in a feisty game. We immediately took the lead with a cool 1 v 1 finish from Abhishek.
Unfortunately, the Lower School conceded, meaning the pressure was on to score a winner. Up stepped last minute super-sub: Oliver I. He offered a towering header, with Roop B helpless to save it in goal.
After that, we were through to face Raphael in the tense semifinal. It was another tough contest, with neither side able to take the lead. This culminated in a deferred penalty shootout, which saw Rahul R remain characteristically cool from the spot, smashing us through to the final.
A lot of suspense had mounted throughout the buildup to the main event, with constant chat from certain Spenser players adding to the tension. But their mindgames were all proved to be for nought when a beautiful free kick from Ethan P precisely picked out Rahul, who then managed to shoulder the ball across goal to myself for a comfortable headed finish – a brilliant team goal. The rest of the game was largely comfortable with two more Walter goals.
Shoutout to Sahil H for dominating the whole pitch and being everywhere all at once, and to Brayden D for being an absolute brick wall in defence. A last-ditch attempt to win paid off for Spenser when they coerced ref. Gaertig into giving a penalty for a ball to hand, after the ball ricocheted off my own foot and clipped my hand (accidentally of course). However, despite being tested, keeper Raffi S was never in doubt. He dove right and stopped any chance of a comeback right in its tracks.
Through blood, sweat and tears we had finally done the impossible – won House Football – a dream we had all shared for many years. It was a great way to round off the year, as we look to continue our winning streak.
