|
|
June 9th 2005
Holidays were pushed aside as a number of Awakeri's soccer teams played important
catch up games over the weekend. With the 11th and 13th grades about to be split,
results were important.
On Friday a good crowd witnessed a thrilling match up between Awakeri's two
11th grade B sides, Diggers and CJ McIndoe's Dragons. The game was evenly fought,
and went into the second half scoreless. A good combination between Dragons
frontrunners Ben Fretwell and Mark Morrison was always dangerous, but the Diggers
defence, led by their player of the match Shaun Musgrave held them out. However,
a great Leah Sheather pass put Morrison through with ten minutes to go. He kept
his cool and slotted it past the keeper. Diggers roared back and it took a great
save from keeper Jesse Kerei to keep them out. In the final minute Sam Schuler
got away, set to equalize but his shot sailed over the bar, leaving the result
Dragons 1, Diggers 0. For Dragons, Morrison was named player of the match, while
in defence Caleb Sheather was strong. Terri-anne Hollis showed loots of determination
for Diggers.
The following day, Dragons were at it again. This time their opponents were
Allandale Aces. The defence, led by Leah Sheather, kept Aces out. Player of
the match Sheather was rock solid, with one sliding tackle especially memorable.
Ben Fretwell continued his great form and helped Dragons to a 4 - 0 win.
Meanwhile in the 11th grade A division, Da Silva Awakeri Autos showed the benefits
of good positional play and passing against Otakiri Ratbags. They got out to
a 3 - 0 lead at half time. Jemma Shaw was outstanding in defence, earning the
player of the match. She helped set the platform for the goalscorers Jayden
Haddock and Guy Kamphorst, as Autos won the game 4 - 1. Joshua McIntyre was
another to excel, setting up some good attacks from the wing.
In the 13th grade, Total Power Services Awakeri Rangers put on a lethargic display
in losing to Whakatane Rangers 5 - 0. One of the few to perform well was player
of the match Hailey Greene.