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Awakeri Soccer Club... the Greatest Junior Soccer Club in New Zealand
June 22nd 2002
An evenly matched, very enjoyable, home derby between Awakeri’s two youngest
teams was a feature for
the Awakeri Soccer Club on Saturday. The 6th grade game was well fought by both
the Kingz and the
Rockets, and provided some excellent entertainment for the spectators. It ended
in the best result, a draw
(nil - all). For the Kingz, Bryce Burnett and Shane Gow paired
up well up front. They made several good
attempts at goal and were unlucky not to score. Christopher Walker played well
in defence, with his efforts
helping the Kingz hold out the Rockets players. Kingz player of the match was
Blake Cossey, who showed
much improvement, as well as playing with plenty of energy.
The Rockets played extremely well too, and lasted the entire game
without subs. Luke Matchitt showed his
skill at controlling the ball, nearly scoring twice. Kurt Turpie again proved
his prowess in goal, stopping
several attempts. Four year old Cameron Morrison showed grit and determination
and deservedly was
named Rockets’ player of the match.
In the 7th grade, Awakeri Steelers had a very tough game against
a strong Ohope team. Player of the match
Liam Richards scored both goals, in what turned out to be a 7 - 2 loss.
The 7th grade Alfresco Court
Awakeri Tigers had a great battle with Ohope Piranhas, just losing
in the final minutes of the game. Both
teams showed much determination and good sportsmanship. Robert Law was
named player of the
match for his good defending and good goalkeeping. Tigers certainly had several
good chances. Leah
Sheather scored twice and Robert Law nettedonce in their 4 - 3 loss. Khyron
Prout had a great game and
Vinnie Luca showed some good touches too.
A very exciting and action packed 8th grade game was played between the Awakeri
Devils and Whakatane
Orcas on Saturday, with Whakatane winning 2 - nil . Both teams played well,
with the Awakeri team putting
on their best performance to date. There were plenty of goal shots taken by
both teams. Awakeri were
unlucky not to score in the opening minutes, when a shot at goal hit the uprights.
Although the two sides
were very evenly matched in the first half, the lack of having any subs meant
all the Awakeri players had to
play a full game. This left them tiring in the latter part of the second half
- when Whakatane scored their
goals. The Devils were unlucky, considering the big effort all the team put
in. Stephen Glassbrook took
player of the match for the Devils after running non stop all game. His passing
was excellent and he took a
superb shot at goal, which all the spectators praised with clapping and cheering.
Drain Tech Awakeri Diggers all played well in a 5 - 1 win against
Ohope Tigers in the 8th grade. Riki Roia
was on song with a hat-trick, while Gareth Rowlands and Ryan McIntyre chipped
in with goals too. Logan
Munro’s hard work saw him named player of the match. Taylah Bateson
also had a top game.
Playing some excellent football, the 10th grade Private Asset Management
Awakeri Aces had a good win
against Whakatane Rovers. Chris Johnston was named player of the day
for his excellent commitment, both
attacking and defending. He made many tackles and passed the ball confidently.
Waylen Skipps contributed
well, with a hat trick and some great through balls. Others to stand out were
Finn Kamphorst, for his passing
and Mathew Bateson for his ball skills. Devon Swart (2) and Vincent Sheather
were the other goal scorers.
Robert Sonntag was solid in the midfield, where the game was won for Aces.
Very good passing was a features of the play of the Total Power services
Awakeri Rangers team in their
10th grade game against James Street One. James Attewell impressed with his
good work rate, and scored a
nice goal. Chris Stanton and Matthew Reeves both made excellent saves in their
turns in goal. Conrad
Gurran earned player of the match for his efforts, he also brought a very
good save from the opposition
keeper. Wade Matchitt also did well. The game, which was well refereed by Kerry
Lowndes, ended in a 3 - 1
win to James Street.
The 11th grade Da Silva Awakeri Auto's were at home against Edgecumbe.
Mitchell Warne played his best
game of the season having some good runs up the side of the field, then feeding
the forwards some great
passes, to earn player of the day. Hayden Te Moana, James Wilson, Russell Sisam,
Leonard Sonntag and
Nicholas Knight all scored goals to secure a 6 - 0 win.
In the Intermediate Girls league, Awakeri had a very hard game
against Opotiki Kowhai Kickers. Led by
player of the match Emma Searle, they held out until the last ten minutes,
when they conceded goals to lose
2 - 0.
Adamson’s Amcal Pharmacy Awakeri 13th grade team played Paroa
at home in a skilful clean game. Paroa
were short of players so Mark Ernest played a full game for them. Awakeri dominated
play from the kick off
with numerous attacks on goal bringing top goals to Ben McPherson (3), Matthew
Adamson (2) and David
Wakelin. The second half saw the Awakeri backs and forwards change places allowing
them different
opportunities. First half goalie Jonathan Whitaker had a chance to run and scored
four more for Awakeri
with assistance coming from Max Butler, Casey McKay and Jordan Macdonald. The
score should have been
a lot higher but excellent defence from the Paroa centre back and some great
saves from their goalie kept the
final score to 11 - 0. Player of the match went to David Wakelin for
his 100% commitment with special
praise to Jordan McDonald for his skilful runs and defence.
In the 15th grade, Awakeri Hobbits started well, and had a goal
disallowed in the first five minutes against
James Street. However the performance dropped off and they were down 4 - 0 by
the break. Hobbits closed
their opposites better in the second half and created three good chances, but
to no avail. The final score was
6 - 0 to James Street. Matthew Barr was named player of the match for
his good work in defence. He was
well supported by Nicholas Haslam and Simon Turner.