16 August 2014

Awakeri's football teams had some excellent results on Saturday.
In the 13th grade, Barringtons Motor Lodge Awakeri Wild Cats had a 0 - 0 draw against Saints, and perhaps deserved better. The player of day was Rylie Cavey-Bruce, who was first to the ball and solid in defence. Emily Julian was outstanding with ball at feet but just couldn't get it past the goalie. Cody Baker Bragg had a strong game in goal. Gemma Baldy, Emily Robbie and Taryn and Keely Forbes had strong games too.
A depleted Private Asset Management Awakeri Comets team had no substitutes due to injury and illness for their game against top of the table Whakatane Phoenix in the 11th grade premier division. Regular goalie Ben Olifiers even played out on the field with a broken arm. The game was goal-less at half-time and in the second half Whakatane took the lead and could have doubled it when they had a couple of shots hit the crossbar. But Awakeri showed incredible fighting spirit. Cody Cook chased a loose ball from a throw-in and beat the goalie to score a well-deserved equalizer. Stand-in goalkeepers Cambell Julian and Cody Cook both made excellent saves in each half to keep the Comets in the game. The player of the day was Ethan Patterson, who had an outstanding game running and tackling hard in midfield. The whole team was amazing and several players had very strong games in this entertaining 1 - 1 draw.
Awakeri Crushers had another tough game in the 11th grade prem, away to Kawerau. Sadie van Beekhuizen's good tackling earned her player of the day,
It was a top of the table clash in the 9th grade top four when R. Mahy Contracting Awakeri Warriors faced a determined Whakatane G-Force side. G-Force started the scoring off, before Warriors' teamwork and support play ended with an Elijah Wetting goal. Warriors came out firing in the second half with excellent positional play. Oliver Forsyth and Jamie Julian scored to make the final score 3 - 2. Bonnie-Marie Wetting had a solid game in goal. Elijah Wetting was awarded player of the day for excellent coverage in defence, with Jamie Julian also recognized for his commitment and all round excellent play.
In the 9th grade bottom four, SLH Contracting Awakeri Dragons beat Kawerau 1 – 0. Dragons played well again and created many scoring chances. But it was an own goal that separated the two teams. The player of the day went to Kohen Laurent who chased hard, tackled well and showed true guts.
In the 8th grade, Mainstream Engineering Awakeri Lightning played Whakatane Phoenix. It was an exciting game with the teams being evenly matched. Ollie Fort scored the first goal and John Tiwha-Smith scored two more for Awakeri Lightning, resulting in Awakeri winning 3 - 2. Myles Ashton was Awakeri's player of the day, attacking well throughout the game.
Awakeri Pumas had a good Saturday in the 7th grade. They started with some dribbling skills in the half hour activity session. Their first game was with Ohope, which is always a hard fought match. The final score was 2 - 1 to Ohope but what was so pleasing is how all the players on both teams spread out, allowing for some good soccer. The player of the day went to Judah Bailey who scored the only goal against Ohope. He has improved every week and deserved the reward of a goal. This was his first goal and there was a massive cheer from all the supporters.
7th grade Awakeri Rascals had fantastic games against Ohope and Whakatane Town Sharks this week. Michael Griffiths scored a much anticipated goal against Whakatane Town Sharks by chasing the ball and not giving up. Jessie Jones was awarded player of the day for both getting involved in every step of the game against Ohope and showing great sportsmanship by volunteering to play for the other team to make up numbers.
In the 6th grade Awakeri Sharks had some great games on Saturday. It was good to see lots of enthusiasm from the team. The kids are listening well to the coaches, scoring lots of goals against their competitors. Ryan Somerville played particularly well getting player of the day, for outstanding play, scoring lots of goals and great ball skills. The weather was grand too!


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