Awakeri Soccer Club... the Greatest Junior Soccer Club in New Zealand
June 2nd 2001
Awakeris soccer teams notched up some excellent results
in their matches on Saturday.
In the 13th grade, Gould Contracting Awakeri Hotshots came away with their first
win of the season, when
they hosted SKF Bearings Kawerau. Hotshots scored within seconds after an excellent
move down the right
wing and Nicholas Law was on hand to put the cross into the goal. Kawerau evened
things up within ten
minutes, but Awakeri always looked dangerous on attack. Quite a few opportunities
were created and not
converted. However a good pass from Lance Robison put Matthew Ward away and
he made no mistake. In
fact Ward went on to get a hat-trick. Fittingly, he was assisted in his final
goal by a pass from player of the
match Nicholas Law. The result a 4 - 2 win to Awakeri Hotshots.
Adamsons Amcal Pharmacy Awakeri Athletic had a comfortable win over their
plucky Otakiri opponents in
the 11th grade A division. Darren Groom had a field day, putting away five goals,
while Ben McPherson (2),
Neil Sax, Richmond Brown and Jonathan Whitaker also got their names in
the score book. Sax was in fine
form, doing well in a variety of positions and being named player of the match.
To their credit, Otakiri never
gave up and managed a goal in the second half, eventually going down 10 - 1.
Jordan Macdonald and
Matthew Adamson provided good service for Athletic, keeping the midfield engine
room fires stoked.
In the 11th grade B division, David da Silva Awakeri Autos put in a great team
effort to beat Opotiki
Grizzlies 2 - 1. Autos player of the match was Hayden Te Moana.
He excelled with his natural running
game and also laid on some fine balls for his forwards. Hayden Soeters battled
away in the midfield, like a
soccer version of Josh Kronfeld!
Private Asset Management Awakeri Aces put in a much improved all round effort
and showed good
positional play to earn a 2 - 1 win against Whakatane One in the 9th grade.
Aces scored twice in the first
half, through Vincent Sheather and Devon Swart. Matthew Reeves was named
player of the match for his
work both on defence and attack. Maia Poananga made some good tackles and is
improving well in her first
season of football. Aces managed to hold on for the final minutes to hold their
one goal lead.
Total Power Services Awakeri Rangers had an excellent 9th grade game with a
well organised Allandale
Team. The first quarter of the game was very even until the better positional
play and teamwork of the
Allandale Team enabled them to score goals. The final score was 5 - 0 to Allandale
as Rangers were shown
how keeping positions and passing, rather than chasing the ball in a bunch,
is very important in this grade.
Player of the match was Joshua Graham. He is in his first season and
had a good bustling game. Brechtsje
Tacoma also shone. She made a series of athletic saves in goal and Ben Hancox
made some excellent runs
from the back.
It was a hard fought 8th grade game between Awakeri Chiefs and Saints. Very
good tackling saw Kane
Wakefield named player of the match for Chiefs. Lindsey Cotter defended
well too, while Robert Sonntag
showed good ball skills. Joshua Mower and Don Marshall showed good sportsmanship,
being happy to play
for the opposition to make up their numbers. The final score was a 0 - 0 draw.
Drain Tech Awakeri Diggers played Allandale in the 7th grade. Maurice Graham
played very well and was
named player of the match. Riki Roia was again a prolific scorer, before having
his turn at helping the
opposition. Logan Munro also sportingly did this and played well. Rhys Cram
played hard for Diggers and
helped them to a 4 - 2 win.
Also in the 7th grade, Awakeri Blue Stingers had a full turn out for their games
with Paroa. Stingers are
showing the benefits of the new system this season, and their good passing and
team work paved the way for
comfortable wins. Player of the day for Stingers was Jayden Haddock.
Awakeri Rockets split their 6th grade squad into an older and younger team for
their match with Kawerau
One. Clive McIndoe was player of the day for Rockets. He scored a goal
and played very well. Taylor
Aramoana was in top form too. She scored five goals! Robert Law and Samuel Burgess
also scored for the
younger team. The older team also did very well, grabbing a 4 - 2 victory.