Alec Stewart shows his footballing skills in Steep

PETERSFIELD, U.K. - Dec. 8, 2014 - PRLog -- Bedales hosted one of the most prestigious amateur football clubs in the country recently when the school’s first team faced up to the Corinthian-Casuals Schools XI of veterans and ex-first teamers. In a competitive match in glorious autumnal sunshine, the visitors emerged 3-1 winners, despite an even contest throughout with the Bedales XI matching Corinthian-Casuals throughout the game. Jack Shannon (6.2 - upper sixth) scored the only goal for Bedales, who will rue a number of good chances that could have secured a famous win.

The club is an amalgamation of two football teams, the Corinthians and the Casuals, founded in 1882 and 1883 respectively. In 1904 Corinthians beat Manchester United 11-3, still their worst defeat.

Both the Corinthians and the Casuals regularly took teams to play against schools across the land to promote the game. Now with their first team playing in the Ryman League Division One South, their Schools XI continues this tradition with fixtures against some 30 schools. The side is run by Brian Wakefield, ex-Oxford captain and member of Great Britain's Olympic squad in 1960. The team includes a considerable range of footballing talent and several players have won honours at the highest level in non-league football; on this occasion Alec Stewart OBE, former England cricket captain, was a stalwart in defence and helped contain the Bedales attack.

Having come close against the Corinthian-Casuals, it was an unbeaten week for Bedales boys’ football. Tuesday saw the U14 team take on Ditcham Park School, resulting in a 2-0 win for Bedales. On Wednesday, Box Hill School were beaten by all three Bedales teams as the 1sts won 2-0, the 2nds won 5-0 and the 3rds won 3-2 with Sam Brady scoring the perfect hat-trick (right foot, left foot and header). On Thursday the 1^st team drew 2-2 against strong footballing outfit Pulse Academy in a very tight fixture with Bedales goals from Tom Reynolds and Luca Caruso.

The girls were on a roll too as the 1^st team beat KES Witley 4-1 in a fantastic match, with goals from Lola Crichton-Stuart, Tilda Raphael, and Rori Abell. KES Witley also faced the U15 girls’ football team and drew 1-1 with a goal from Sophia Reinisch in a well fought match.