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Awakeri Soccer Club... the Greatest Junior Soccer Club in New Zealand
June 15th 2002
Excellent development, both by individuals, and in team performance was notable
in this
week’s games played by Awakeri’s soccer teams.
It was the start of the second round for the 15th grade Awakeri Hobbits team.
They met
Ohope. Starting slowly, Hobbits were on the back foot for the first ten minutes,
then they
seemed to realise they could compete on even terms. A lovely ball from Nicholas
Law
gave Ian Sisam a one-on-one with the Ohope keeper, but he proved equal to the
task.
Next Awakeri’s keeper Cody Hancox made an excellent fingertip save to keep
out a shot.
After halftime, Ohope scored an early goal. That spurred Hobbits into action
and an
exciting period of attack saw them create a good number of chances. However
the Ohope
defence and keeper were in top form and denied them. Ohope scored a late goal
to seal a
2 - 0 win. Jeremy Hawkes was in top form in defence and was the Awakeri
player of the
match.
A very sharp Adamson’s Amcal Pharmacy Awakeri 13th grade team played away
to
James Street. All players showed 100% commitment and teamwork in a stop start
game.
Awakeri dominated play from the kick off and top defence by the backs and goalie
quickly turned around the chances that came to James Street. Awakeri forwards
and
midfield players created numerous chances in the first half with top keeping
from the
James Street goalie keeping the score to a well-earned goal by Ben McPherson.
The
second half saw three more goals to Awakeri, one more to McPherson and two to
David
Wakelin. Kelly Stanton, Max Butler and Casey McKay created some brilliant
opportunities and help set up chances for Awakeri. Player of the match went
to Mark
Ernest for his defence and accurate clearances to his forwards. The final
score was 4 - 0
to Awakeri.
In the Intermediate Girls’ grade, Awakeri were outplayed by their larger
Kawerau
opponents. It was a hard fought, flowing game and Awakeri never gave up despite
eventually losing 4 - 0. Melanie Hancox earned player of the match with
lots of useful
clearing kicks and plenty of commitment in the midfield.
The Da Silva Awakeri Autos 11th grade played Ohope. Autos had several players
sick
and only ten fronted up against a strong Ohope squad. The Awakeri team passed
the ball
well to control the first part of the game, however Ohope attacked back and
started
putting points on the board. Player of the match Thomas Turner saved
numerous shots as
goalie and Hayden Te Moana got around the defenders for a good goal. Autos looked
very tired at the end and lost 4 - 1.
In the 10th grade, Total Power Services Awakeri Rangers played very well to
secure a 2 -
2 draw with Otakiri. The draw was a fair result for both teams. Player of the
match,
James Attewell scored both the Rangers’ goals. The first came after
a great ball from
Matthew Reeves, which Attewell controlled then smacked into the goal from quite
a
distance. Vikki Lowndes had an outstanding game in defence, Kane Wakefield made
some very good saves in goal too. Hawea Mansell made some good tackles, while
Emma
Barr impressed with her hard running and linking with her team mates.
Hat-tricks to both Devon Swart and Waylen Skipps secured a good victory for
the 10th Grade Private Asset Management Awakeri Aces. Mathew Bateson also netted
in
their game with James Street One. The key to the win, though, was the
excellent passing shown by all team members. Miles McConway had his best
game of the season and Joseph Newdick is showing good positional play.
Vincent Sheather was named player of the day, for his linking with the
forwards and also his support in defence.
Awakeri Hurricanes Under 9 team had their best game of the season so far, with
a
fantastic 4 - 0 win over Allandale. The goals were shared between Matthew Richmond
(2), Maddison Constantine and an own goal. There were some excellent set-ups
by
Destrii Prout, David Ernest, and Matthew Fulton. Harry Cotter earned
player of the day
with some good runs up the sideline.
The Awakeri Devils put on one of their best performances against a keen James
Street
team in the 8th grade on Saturday. Devils scored 6 goals to 1 to record a sound
victory.
This can be put down to all the team playing well and combining together as
a unit with
excellent passing, calling and individual ball control. The player of the match
went to
Kararaina Kingi, who did some very good attacking moves to help set up
some
convincing goals for her team mates.
Drain Tech Awakeri Diggers all played well in their 8th grade game against Whakatane.
Riki Roia’s two goals earned Diggers a 2 - 2 draw, after he had been goalie
in the first
half. Logan Munro also had a number of good attempts at goal. Sam Schuler
was named
player of the match for his good defensive work.
The 7th Grade Alfresco Court Awakeri Tigers had an entertaining match with Ohope
Piranhas. Ohope started well and were two goals up at half time, but Tigers
fought back
well and the final score of 2 - all, was a fair result for both teams. Leah
Sheather was
named player of the match for her excellent skills and determination. She scored
the first
goal for Tigers and Liam Richards added the other just before full time. Alex
Costello
and Robert Law, both had their best games of the year. Clive McIndoe again showed
great skills all over the field.
Also in the 7th grade, Awakeri Steelers had an exciting game against the strong
Opotiki
Wasps team. Liam Richards scored twice in what turned out to be a 2 - 4 loss
for
Steelers. Mikaela Hancox played very well and was named player of the
match. Mark
Morrison and Thomas Attewell both had strong games too.
Awakeri Rockets played Whakatane Mighty Midgets in the 6th grade. Whakatane
borrowed two Awakeri players and ended up wining 3 - 2, with Samuel Burgess
scoring
for Whakatane and player of the match Luke Matchitt scoring 2 goals for
Awakeri.
Cameron Morrison was awesome in defence for Rockets.