This year’s GDST Rally saw fourteen GDST schools assemble at the spacious facilities offered by our hosts, Northampton High School. The day was unbelievably packed, with OHS sending its U14 netball, U13 football and U18 hockey teams to compete in the day’s events.
Our U14 Netballers did fantastically, topping their group with three games in hand, before losing out in a nail-biting semi-final against Croydon High School. The game went back and forth with goals at each end and OHS never losing their spirit, but Croydon ultimately clinched it with a 7-6 win in order to progress to the finals, where they finished second overall.
Our U18 Hockey team, meanwhile, who did so magnificently in qualifiers with their 11-0 victory against South Hampstead High, had a very tough first match against hosts Northampton High School, losing 1-0. Finding themselves left to fight it out in the play-offs, the First XI proved themselves both undaunted and unstoppable. They defeated Wimbledon High School in a closely fought match thanks to some exceptional short corners. Then, in the final match of the day, they faced a very tough opponent in Bromley High School, whom they nonetheless managed to neutralise through a combination of expert goalkeeping from Millie and Alice Potter’s second-half goal, which the girls defended to place fifth overall, securing the school’s highest placing for several years.
Finally, the U13 girls had a great day in the first ever GDST football rally. Facing off against 14 other GDST schools, OHS won every match in their group, netting over thirty goals while conceding only four throughout the whole day. The final against Birkenhead was the most hotly contested, thanks to Birkenhead fielding two Liverpool Academy players. It was OHS, however, who scored the decisive goal just before half-time and dominated the second-half, creating multiple chances but never quite converting them. With a cup presentation ceremony finishing the day, this was a highly successful outing for a very promising group of players.
