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August 6th 2005
Awakeri's soccer teams had some tough battles on Saturday.
Awakeri faced a committed and well-structured Gateway Flooring Whakatane side
in a fast paced 15th grade match at home. The first half saw Awakeri dominate
much of the play with good ball through from Kate Dowden and Darren Groom feeding
the strikers. Ben McPherson broke the Whakatane defence mid way through and
smoked one past the keeper. This shook Whakatane who mounted numerous attacks
on the Awakeri goal but the defence of Jamie Emms and Kelly Stanton held strong.
Just before the break, McPherson got free again slotting his second into the
back of the net.
The second half saw Whakatane dominate the game with strikers Liam Phipps, Jessie
Meadows and left wing Zane Lambert breaking the Awakeri defence. Midway through
the half, Meadows stepped around the defence and put one into the back of the
net. After a break down the right, McPherson almost scored his third of the
day with a long lofted shot just catching the top corner of the goal. Whakatane
kept the intense pressure up until the final whistle and if not for brilliant
keeping and organization of his back line by player of the match Jono Whitaker,
the win may have gone to Gateway Flooring. The final score was 2 - 1 to Awakeri.
In the first half of their 13th grade clash with league winners Whakatane Celtic,
Private Asset Management Awakeri Aces played their best soccer of the year.
They passed well, defended brilliantly and Vincent Sheather had two scoring
chances and scored from both. Going into half time, an upset was in the making.
The second half saw Celtic score early and put the pressure back on Aces. Chris
Johnston was having a great game in goal and saved the team on several occasions,
but the pressure finally told and Celtic equalised. This led to a torrid last
five minutes, with both sides having chances to win. However, the final whistle
went, with the 2 - 2 draw being a fair reflection of the game. The player of
the match was James Holani. Ben Hancox, Kimberley Byres and Vikki Lowndes were
also outstanding in their positions.
In the 13th grade B division, Total Power Services Awakeri Rangers showed much
better positional play against Whakatane Rangers. Awakeri created quite a few
scoring chances, despite losing 6 - 1. Paul Haslam defended stoutly and raced
through from defence to score their only goal. Matthew Fulton's excellent work
in the midfield had him named player of the match. Gareth Rowlands worked well
up front too.
League champs Opotiki Volcanics were too strong for Da Silva Awakeri Autos in
the 11th grade A division. Autos worked hard and performed well, although going
down 5 - 0. Alex Christensen earned player of the match with a great performance
in the midfield. Jemma Shaw stood out in the defence.
The C.J McIndoe Builders Awakeri Dragons again found the going tough this week
in the 11th grade B division. They were well beaten 6 -1 by Otakiri Pythons.
The goal scorer for Dragons was Ricky Hollis. Jesse Kerei put in a sound performance
as goalie in the second half, and helped to keep the score down. Thomas Attewell
was player of the match. His very good fitness served him well in midfield.
The 11th Grade Diggers played the Otakiri Warriors in the 11th grade C division
The game started well with the Diggers dominating most of the first half through
some good mid-field passing between player of the day Rhys Cram, Pete Dowden
and Taylah Bateson. Tidy finishing by Rhys Cram and Pete Dowden saw the Diggers
lead 2-0 at the break. The second half followed the same pattern with Terri-Anne
Hollis putting away an early goal. However some poor finishing by the Diggers
and good defence by the Warriors kept the score at 3 - 0.
In the 9th grade, Agritech Trailers Awakeri Knights had a bare team for their
game against Whakatane Scorpions. The Knights put it together well to get a
2 -1 win. Player of the match David Klein-Ovink and Jesse Ingle were very good
in defence. Samuel Burgess knocked in both goals.
The Da Silva Autos Kingz played a strong Allandale 9th grade side at their grounds.
Player of the match Zac Fretwell made some great runs with the ball but couldn't
quite finish off with a goal. Nicci Hammond did a good job as goalie but Allandale
were too good and won 3 - 0.
Awakeri Jets had a tough 8th grade game away to Opotiki Gold. Toby Kirkpatrick
was player of the match. He was a hard worker in a 6 - 1 loss.
The Edge Swim School Awakeri Bullets had an outstanding game yesterday. Their
3 - 2 win against their formidable 7th grade Otakiri opponents was a credit
to the whole team, which played very well together. Strikers Nikoli Christensen
and Joshua Keightley (who won player of the match) were awesome to watch as
they skilfully dribbled around the opposition to take successful shots at goal.
Shane Hope, Thomas Holani, Tyrin Penberth and Dillon Murray kept up the relentless
attacking onslaught, and Jordan Van der Gulik as goalie thwarted many attempts
at goal by Otakiri.
Awakeri Tigers put up a good fight against Otakiri Pirates in the 6th grade.
Tigers couldn't finish their chances and ended up losing 2 - 0. The Tigers defended
well, and player of the match Cameron Shakes took the ball forward well and
put in some good passes.