Awakeri Soccer Club... the Greatest Junior Soccer Club in New Zealand

August 19th 2000

The Brown brothers stole the limelight in the Awakeri Soccer Clubs’ games on Saturday. Awakeri Store Strikers weathered an early onslaught from Whakatane Two in their 13th grade game, and gradually gained the ascendancy, but it was nil all at halftime. Harrison Brown scored the first goal, after a run down the left, he pushed it past the Whakatane keeper. Carrington Brown capitalised on a good ball from Kate Ernest to score shortly after. He then got a run away goal, and brother Harrison also scored a second, smacking a strong shot off the underside of the crossbar and into the goal. Ernest herself almost scored towards the end when a strong left foot shot was well saved by the keeper. Strikers’ 4 - 0 win was built on a very determined effort in defence. Solid tackling from Sonya Pettinger, Nicholas Haslam and Jeremy Hawkes kept Whakatane at bay. Mitchell James was player-of-the-match for his good passing in the midfield.

In the 11th grade A division, Gould Contracting Awakeri Hotshots lost 4 - 1 to Otakiri, but they played well nevertheless. Lance Robison scored a well-taken goal after some good build up play. Jonathan Whitham’s good running and work in defence brought him the player-of-the-match award. He was well supported by Troy Jansen and goalkeeper Raniera Mason, who made some good saves. Ian Sisam stood out for his tireless efforts up front.

Adamson’s Amcal Pharmacy Awakeri Athletic beat SKF Kawerau by default in the 11th grade B division.

In the 9th grade, David da Silva Awakeri Autos had to battle against Saints, who were assisted by young Matthew Reeves to make up their numbers. Reeves had already played for his 8th grade team, he then defended very well for Saints against his brother’s team. The game was played on a large pitch and this encouraged the players to spread out and pass the ball around. Athletic dominated the second half and opened up a two goal lead, but Saints came back with two late goals to grab a 2 - 2 draw. Cody Fowell was named player-of-the-match. He relished the muddy conditions and made a number of very good tackles.

Total Power Services Awakeri Rangers had a close 8th grade game against Whakatane White. Rangers all played well, with Bretsche Tacoma scoring the goal that earned a 1 - 1 draw. Tacoma had an excellent game, she applied a lot of pressure down the wing. Vikki Lowndes was the player-of-the-match. She played strongly and came back to play on after being injured. The goalkeeping duties were shared by Chris Stanton and James Attewell. They both stopped a number of attempts on goal.

A very determined team effort from Awakeri Magic gave them a 2 - 0 win against Edgecumbe in the 8th grade. Matthew Reeves scored two excellent goals and was the player-of-the-match. Reeves was named player-of-the-match. Amy Falwasser and Paul Haslam also did their jobs very well.

Awakeri Blues had a 3 - 1 win against Whakatane in the 7th grade. Robert Sonntag and Devon Swart shared the player-of-the-match honours. Sonntag stopped some good shots in goal, while Swart had a major influence out on the field. Carlene Steer, Miles McConway and defender Jordan Panasewych all played well too.

Peter Clark Ltd Awakeri tried really hard with some spirited defence, and enjoyed themselves in their 7th grade game against Edgecumbe. Oliver Butler delighted himself and his team-mates by scoring a cracker of a goal for Awakeri. Joshua Mower earned player-of-the-match for some plucky saves in the second half. he came out well and dived at their feet to grab possession. The skilful Edgecumbe side won the game 5 - 1.

It was all locked up at halftime, 0 - 0, when 6th grade Awakeri Draintech Diggers played Ohope. But second half goals to player-of-the-match Liam Richards and Riki Roia brought Diggers a 2 - 1 win. Matthew Orr had a good game in goal for Diggers, and everyone enjoyed the muddy conditions.

Awakeri Hurricanes had a very even game with Saints in the 6th grade. They came back from an early goal to equalise through Hannah Hudson. Hudson made a number of good runs forward. Hurricanes kindly lent Saints a goalkeeper, when they were a bit short of players. Player-of-the-match Sam Schuler put in an excellent game in defence. Jemma Shaw was another to perform well, as the two teams battled out a 2 -2 draw.