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OC Football Match 2003
On a swelteringly hot Saturday afternoon in mid-September, the annual Drummond Cup match was played between the school football XI and the Old Clayesmorians. The returning heroes, led by the imposing figure of Simon Peters, featured two former head boys, a latter-day d’Artagnan in the form of Ryan Assal, an African hero in Tom “Mowgli” Robertshaw and the flying Russian, Alexander “Sasha” Sergeivich Tolkachev in goal. For the school’s part, Mark Deacon scored a hat-trick and David Kumah played with calmness and presence in defence. Jack Ainslie appeared as a substitute and, more like David Coleman than David Beckham, promptly headed the ball into his own goal. Nonetheless, aided by the guile of Tom Lack and a late substitute Chris Haniff, who hit the crossbar from distance on his twentieth birthday, the OCs equalised late on to claim a 5-5 draw. Extra-time producing no “golden goal”, there ensued a dramatic and elongated penalty shoot-out of eighteen kicks, during which time the home goalkeeper Michael Carr broke his wrist in saving a penalty and promptly scored the next one himself. Ultimately, with the OCs victors by three penalties to two, former pupil, teacher and prominent OC Robert Mash, the Stanley Matthews of his day, presented the Drummond Cup to the winning side after one of the more exciting matches of recent years.
Stephen Byrne