Strong Start to the Football Season for St Paul’s

Following late changes caused by January weather, St Paul’s enjoyed a highly successful first block of football fixtures against Epsom College on Saturday, with particularly dominant performances across the senior and U16 age groups. Earlier in the week, the 1st XI had been presented with their shirts, adding further significance to their opening fixture of the season.

The senior block had been scheduled to play at home but produced an excellent set of results, despite last-minute travel changes. The 1st XI secured a hard-fought 1–0 victory, with captain Tom Falconer scoring in the dying moments. The 2nd XI and 3rd XI were especially impressive, recording emphatic 6–1 and 10–0 wins respectively. Further success followed for the 4th XI, who won 2–1, with the only senior setback coming in a narrow 2–3 defeat for the 5th XI. The 6th XI demonstrated impressive strength in depth, winning a thrilling, high-scoring encounter 18–2.

At U16 level, St Paul’s secured wins across the board, with the U16A side winning 2–1 and the U16B delivering a confident 5–1 victory. The U16C and U16D fixtures were unfortunately cancelled.

The U15 fixtures, played at home, proved more challenging against opponents who have already enjoyed extensive match play this season. Both the U15A and U15B sides were narrowly beaten, losing 0–2 and 2–3 respectively, while the U15C and U15D matches were also cancelled.

Thanks go to everyone who made last-minute adjustments to ensure that ten matches were played in challenging conditions. Special mention goes to the senior team staff for accommodating the change to away fixtures, and to the catering team for rapidly adapting provision to support the two home matches that took place.

We now look ahead to the first league fixtures of the year this weekend against Haileybury.

Final results: St Paul’s won seven matches and lost three.