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


July 1st 2000

Good quality soccer was the feature of Saturday’s play for the Awakeri Soccer Club teams.

Gould Contracting Awakeri Hotshots made a good start to the newly formed top six of the 11th grade A division. They were at home to Otakiri, and played with a confident positive attitude. An early goal to Ian Sisam started the game well for Hotshots, although their visitors evened it up shortly after. By half time Hotshots had the lead 3 - 1, and went on to secure a 5 - 2 victory. Sisam did well in completing his hat-trick, he was well assisted by player-of-the-match Wayne Groom. Groom’s lead up play down the left was excellent. In defence Michael Etter had a strong game, while behind him goalkeeper Jonathan Whitham provided one of the game’s highlights. He jumped up to turn a penalty over the cross bar. Raniera Mason had a strong game in midfield. He also scored a goal, as did Lance Robison.

First up success also came the way of Adamson’s Amcal Pharmacy Awakeri Athletic as they played Saints in the newly reformed 11th grade B division. Sarah Macdonald played her best game of the year, putting some lovely passes through for Ben McPherson and Mark Ernest to run onto. She also combined well with the hard tackling Max Butler in the midfield. Saints took the lead, but in a 15 minute purple patch, Ben McPherson scored four times for Athletic. Sytse Tacoma earned the player-of-the-match nomination. He covered a lot of ground and found other players well with his passing. Myron Rowlands was another to do well, covering in defence and linking well with the halves. Athletic won the game 4 - 2.

Anthony Sykes was player-of-the-match for his team, David da Silva Awakeri Autos, when they took on Whakatane Black in the 9th grade. Sykes impressed with his concentration on the job and his strong running. Nicholas Knight made some amazing saves in goal, diving and punching the ball away when required. The consistent Russell Sisam scored for Autos, in what turned out to be a 5 - 1 loss.

In the 8th grade, Total Power Services Awakeri Rangers did well to hold a talented Opotiki side. Goalkeeper Vikki Lowndes was Rangers’ player-of-the-match. She was well supported by Ben Hancox, who had an outstanding game, the skilful Bretsche Tacoma and Chris Stanton. Joshua McCormick was rewarded for his hard work with a goal. Opotiki won the game 2 - 1.

A skilful Opotiki Sharks side kept the 8th grade Awakeri Magic team under pressure in their match. Highlight for Awakeri was their great defence, led by Judah Marshall and Finn Kamphorst. Steven Law also worked hard up front and made some good scoring chances. Vincent Sheather was named player-of-the-match for his excellent covering tackles and passing. The final score was 3 - 0 to Opotiki, but Magic can be very pleased with their determined efforts.

Stout defence by Peter Clarke Ltd Awakeri wasn’t quite enough, as their 7th grade Opotiki Mustangs opposition scored three times in the final minutes to take the game 3 - 0. Harry Cotter earned player-of-the-match with a tireless effort. Others to shine were Matthew Richmond in goal and defenders David Ernest and Lindsey Cotter.

Awakeri Blues had their hardest 7th grade game of the season against Opotiki Rattlers. Blues all played well and put together some good passing. Devon Swart and Waylon Skipps have a good partnership going, and they shared the goals and the player-of-the-match award, as the two teams fought out a 2 - 2 draw. Miles McConway and Kane Wakefield both played very well, as did the Opotiki goalkeeper.

In an end to end game, 6th grade Awakeri Hurricanes lost 2 - 0 to a competitive Whakatane White team. Hurricanes did make a number of chances, but couldn’t put them away. Rhys Cram got well involved in the play, winning his share of the ball. He was named player-of-the-match. Jayden Haddock worked hard all game too.

Awakeri Draintech Diggers all played well, using passing to good effect, as they won their 6th grade game against Allandale Tigers 3 - 0. The game was evenly balanced until the second half when Diggers really put it together. Guy Kamphorst earned player-of-the-match with a very good game in defence. Others to do well were Kararaina Kingi and Logan Munro.

In the 13th grade, Awakeri Store Strikers had to farewell Matthew Gwynne with a win by default, as their Edgecumbe opponents couldn’t field a team. Gwynne’s hard running and competitive attitude will be missed as he heads off to live in Blenheim.

Action Photos of the day's play.