Hockey Results 2011
BOYS HOCKEY 1st XI TOURN REPORT
22 and 26 August, 2011
SPC 1st XI vs John McGlashan College 1st XI ( WON 3 – 1 )
For the first few minutes of the match JMC camped in our half but the SPC defence held and absorbed all the initial pressure. As the half progressed St Paul’s steadily increased their share of possession and territory penetrating the opposition circle on numerous occasions. This resulted in 4 penalty corners being awarded to SPC during the half from which two goals were scored. The first was slotted by Mat Tingey, who tidied up after a PC went a little pear shaped, and the second was hit in by Tim Coxhead. The score remained at 2-0 right up to half time.
In the second half SPC lost some of the edge they had and conceded a well-executed field goal to JMC. What followed was a bit of an arm wrestle but Matt Snodgrass was able to score brilliantly from another penalty corner giving SPC a well-deserved win of 3 goals to 1.
SPC 1st XI vs Lindisfarne College 1st XI ( WIN 2 – 0 )
SPC needed a win from this encounter to take the pressure off the next game and ensure advancing to the quarter finals. Lindisfarne looked like a very competitive team so it was expected to be a tough match.
Early in the game a superb build up was mounted by SPC and this led to a great goal by Jason Coventry. The game then see-sawed with SPC launching several scoring opportunities but then Lidisfarne would come back and put the team under pressure. During one of their penalty corners Matt Snodgrass snatched the ball from a striker and carved his way towards the opposite circle which enabled Brook Daly to put away the second goal. Coach Hardman’s strategy was to keep the ball away from their strong midfield and force their attacks down the side. This worked very effectively so that the score remained at 2 – 0 until the end of the game.
SPC 1st XI vs Whangarei B H S 1st XI ( DREW 1 – 1 )
SPC started well but found it difficult to lift themselves to their usual standard of play. This was not surprising as the boys knew they were safely through to the quarter finals and many players were still recovering from tiredness and injuries of the previous day’s games. Also coach Hardman used the opportunity to rotate as many players as possible between the pitch and bench.
SPC started well and were very unlucky not to score 4 or 5 goals in the first half. The one and only goal scored was never-the-less a superb effort with the ball being passed from Alec to Jason to Sean to Brook who finally slotted the ball into the net.
In the second half SPC virtually spent the whole time defending with our keeper Robert Carmichael executing several sensational saves. Unfortunately Whangarei were able to score in the dying seconds so the final result was a 1 – 1 draw.
SPC 1st XI versus Timaru B H S 1st XI – Quarter Final ( LOST 2 – 1 )
Both sides made a tentative start but after the first 5 minutes SPC began to dominate the game. This led to several excellent scoring opportunities but unfortunately none were put away.
Early in the second half, due to a lapse in SPC’s defence, Timaru scored a “soft” goal. From then on the game was an arm-wrestle with SPC having to play catch-up. In the last 3 minutes Mathew Snodgrass scored a sensational goal to square up the game. From then on it was a desperate struggle which produced another “soft” goal for Timaru. In the dying seconds SPC was probably deserving of a penalty corner but were denied when the umpire whistled full time.
This was a huge upset to SPC who had high hopes of making the top 4 this time and thus moving up to the top tournament (Rankin Cup) next year. The original goal for this tournament was now gone and so the team needed to now focussed on securing a convincing 5th place.
SPC 1st XI vs Rotorua B H S 1st XI ( WON 7 – 2 )
Throughout the game there were concerns about passes not connecting and other mistakes but in the end this was a convincing win to SPC. Scorers for SPC were Roydon Nutsford (3), Sean Henley-Smith (2), Jason Coventry and Tim Coxhead.
SPC 1st XI vs John McGlashan College 1st XI – Play off for 5th or 6th ( WON 5 – 2 )
St Paul’s had beaten JMC earlier in pool play so were expecting them to go hard out to avenge that defeat. JMC scored first with a stroke after a minute of play and got one other goal later in the first half. Apart from those two lapses, SPC managed to dominate the match producing numerous scoring opportunities. In the first half SPC found the net 3 times (goals to Nutsford, Windley and Daly) and in the second half two more (goals to Coventry and Nutsford).
Overall results for the Tournament
TOP PLACES: St Andrews College (first), Timaru Boys (second), Tauranga boys (third), Western Heights (fourth) and SPC (fifth). St Andrews certainly deserved to be overall winner.
We are very proud of how all our players conducted themselves at tournament but are particularly pleased that Mathew Snodgrass received a tournament “player of the day award” and “the most valuable player award” for our team.
Finally, the players, coach and manager would like to thank all the parents who either assisted directly with our participation in the tournament or supported us from the side-lines.
Under 15 Jon Tanner Trophy Hockey Report
21st – 24th August 2011
This is the first national school under 15 hockey tournament in the country. Organised and hosted by St Paul’s Collegiate. The cup was named after an old collegiate Jon Tanner who represented the school and New Zealand on the hockey field. He is still involved with New Zealand and Midlands hockey and was the driving force behind the turf at St Paul’s while he was a member of the board.
This tournament was going to be tough with 7 top hockey schools being invited to come and join us. They are St Kentigern College, Tauranga Boys’ College, Wellington College, Lindisfarne College, Auckland Grammer, Scots College, Christ’s College and St Paul’s Collegiate.
St Paul’s played their best hockey against teams that were going to be difficult to beat. SPC started the game with great structure and at times put the teams under intense pressure, but unfortunately could not sustain it against very good sides. Losing to Auckland Grammer 4 -2 and Christ’s College 7 – 1. Goals scored by Aubrey Fish and Ryan Steer
As the tournament went on SPC’s structured play extended for longer periods with a narrow loss to Scots College coached by old collegian Tim Vodane 2-1 and St Kentigern College 2 -1. Goals scored by Ryan Steer.
This left SPC playing off for 7th and 8th position against Wellington College on the final day. Once again St Paul’s was playing against a school that is much larger than itself and is one of the top hockey schools in the country. In the first half both teams were putting each other under pressure with Wellington ending the first half 1 goal up. After a halftime team talk by Mr Ballantyne SPC came back in the second half with a nice flick goal over the goalkeeper by Chris Higgens. This was enough to get the whole team fired up with another goal by Aubrey Fish soon after putting us ahead 2 – 1. Wellington responded with another goal drawing the score even. With 5 minutes to play Ryan Steer slotted a goal in to take back the lead, 3 – 2 St Paul’s scored the final goal securing 7th place.
Players that need to be mentioned are Simon Morbey, who was outstanding in goal and produced some awesome saves. Captain Jono Bloor ran tirelessly and kept the pressure on the opposition. The whole team can be very proud of what they have achieved. This is the first tournament for most players and we were the only school in the tournament with only year 9’s in the team. As this team progresses through to next year we are hoping for better results.
The final was between Christs College and Lindisfarne College. Lindisfarne won the Jon Tanner trophy 2 – 1. All teams enjoyed the tournament and are willing to return.
St Paul's 1st XI vs HBHS 1st X1- FINAL
17 August 2011
St Paul's 1st X1 played Hamilton Boys High School 1st X1 in the final of the local secondary schools competition. St Paul’s has a history of meeting HBHS in some very tough finals and knew this would be no different.
As expected the intensity of the game was huge. After a tentative start by both sides a trend emerged where HBHS, having a little more possession and territory, used a steady patterned build-up. SPC adopted a half field defence most of the time which effectively soaked up the pressure and used their talented ball carriers to launch attacks. This strategy worked well with Jason Coventry carving through the HBHS defence and into the circle to pass the ball on to Alec Wilson who slotted the first goal. Just before half time HBHS, in a well-executed attack, wrong-footed our defence and got their first goal. Half time score 1-1.
The second half became a real arm-wrestle with possession being exchanged like a game of ping pong. Unfortunately some inaccurate passing on attack by SPC led to an unexpected break away by HBHS who caught defence unaware and cracked in their second goal. SPC’s reply came within seconds with an outstanding dribble and shot on goal by Matt Snodgrass. Both sides had further scoring opportunities and penalty corners but the score remained 2-2 until full time.
As this was a final, a result had to be obtained and the rules required a penalty strokes shoot out. This is of course is a bit of a lottery, and unfortunately, one which SPC lost with HBHS winning the strokes by 5 to 4 and taking the match.
While it was very disappointing to lose a final, our boys can be very proud of the quality of their hockey and the results they have produced this season. The team looks forward to achieving some good results in the upcoming secondary schools tournament in Timaru.
BOYS HOCKEY 1st XI QUAD TOURNAMENT
AUG 13th & 14th 2011
St Paul’s 1st XI vs Western Heights 1st XI ( WON 6 – 1 )
Western Heights is a side with a lot of talented individualists who like going head to head with their opposition. Having observed this, Coach Hardman’s advice was to hold off tackles until their ball carriers isolated themselves or ran out of room and then they were easily dispossessed. This strategy worked well for SPC and apart from a few opportunistic breaks by Western Heights, SPC were able to play most of the game in their half.
The half time score was 2-1 to SPC but, if 4 or 5 open goal shots had been more accurate, this could well have been much more. In the second half SPC’s dominance continued, resulting in 4 more goals. Scorers were: Sean Henley-Smith (2), Luke David, Jason Coventry, Alec Wilson, Callum Windley.
St Paul’s 1st XI vs Westlake Boys 1st XI ( LOST 1 – 5 )
This was a disappointing result for SPC but we acknowledge that Westlake deserved their win. Given that they are in the final of the Auckland Secondary Schools competition we knew we were in for a very tough game anyway.
In the first half SPC was competitive and only trailed by one goal – half time score 2-1 to Westlake, our goal coming from a Tim Coxhead penalty corner.
Unfortunately the pressure really began to tell in the second half with Westlake denying SPC the space and time they were used to. This caused the team to make a lot of uncharacteristic errors and to turn the ball over too often. Despite some excellent goal-keeping by Robert Carmichael, Westlake were able to slot 3 more goals – final score 5 -1 to Westlake.
St Paul’s 1st XI versus Maclean’s College 1st XI ( WON 7 – 3 )
SPC got off to a good start with Alec Wilson putting away two superb goals in the first half. From then on the team lost its way a little and seemed unable to combat the tight defence and bustling tackles of the opposition. Maclean’s scored the next three goals with at least two of them coming from basic mistakes or a lack of accuracy and timing by SPC.
Finding themselves a goal down seemed to re-ignite SPC’s determination, so some excellent scoring opportunities and a number of penalty corners followed. By the end of the match SPC had slotted five more goals and came through as convincing winners.
Alec Wilson had an outstanding game with four out of the seven SPC goals credited to him. Other scorers were Jason Coventry, Roydon Nutsford and Matt Snodgrass.
Our overall results for the quad
Westlake first place, St Paul’s second place, Maclean’s third place and Western Heights fourth.
Three of our players who deserve special mention are: Tim Coxhead for his disciplined and ultra-reliable defence-work throughout the quad, Jason Coventry for his superb control of midfield despite carrying injuries and Brook Daly for constantly putting the opposition under pressure with his incredible work-rate.
Under 15 Hockey vs HBHS Dev B
August 11, 2011
This was an encouraging game to watch as the team builds up to the Jon Tanner tournament in week 4. The team played what was practiced during the week and followed the game plan and kept its structure. This caused HBHS Dev B to turn the ball over as we set up our defensive screen. St Paul’s played the game with confidence and good supportive play scoring 6 goals. Simon Morbey did a great job in goal and did not let any in.
Goals by
Callum Javis-Hall
Aubrey Fish 2
Aodan Wyndam-Smith
Ryan Steer 2
1st XI Boys Hockey Vs St Peters
10 August 2011
On Wednesday St Paul’s played St Peter's School in the semi-final of the local competition. A hockey match between the two independent schools is always a very intense struggle and often a close encounter. On this occasion however St Paul’s dominated possession and territory for most of the match with St Peter's only managing to penetrate our circle three times.
By half time SPC had slotted three goals, the scorers being; Alec Wilson, Tim Coxhead (from a penalty corner) and Brook Daly. As the game continued SPC’s passing and combinations became increasingly clinical while St Peters defending became increasingly desperate. Four more goals followed in the second half, the scorers being Matt Snodgrass, Joel Kosoof, Jason Coventry and Alec Wilson.
In the last few minutes, an uncharacteristic lapse in the SPC defense allowed St Peters to score a consolation goal. The final score, a well-deserved 7 -1 win to SPC who are all to be congratulated for producing such an impressive team effort.
The team looks forward to the final which (depending on the result of the other semifinal) will most likely be against old foes Hamilton Boys High School.
St Paul’s 1st Xl Boys Hockey vs Cambridge High School
6 July 2011
St Pauls Collegiate 1st Xl hockey team played against Cambridge High School. Many of the players were understandably very weary having just got off the bus from the Wanganui Collegiate sports exchange an hour earlier. To make matters worse the conditions were atrocious with cold blustery winds and some “horizontal” rain.
Despite these adversities the team was able to execute the patience, timing and accuracy in their build ups that coach Hardman was demanding and very soon Matt Snodgrass slotted the ball into the opposition net. The next three goals came from goal mouth deflections superbly executed by Luke David (1 goal) and Joel Kosoof (2 goals). Half time score 4-0 to SPC.
Except for a couple of brief opportunistic breaks by Cambridge, St Paul’s continued to have the majority of the possession and territory in the second half. Despite some desperate defending by Cambridge a further 5 goals were scored by St Paul’s. Mat Snodgrass was having a sensational game and put away four of these, one of them from a very slick penalty corner move. The last goal came from the “new-comer” to 1st XI ranks, James Chenery, who pushed forward as his position required and scored from a well-timed tap in. Final result a 9-0 win to SPC.
St Paul's Boys 1st XI v’s St Johns Boys 1st XI
29 June, 2011
The St Pauls Collegiate 1st X1 hockey team played against the St John’s 1st X1. St Paul’s were eager to put in a complete performance and quickly scored the first goal but stumbled a few minutes later to let in the only goal scored by St Johns. From that point on our team picked up the intensity and three more well-constructed goals came in the first half.
St Johns rarely ventured into St Paul’s half for the rest of the game. Coach Hardman had issued some pointers at half time about passing more quickly and using the width and baseline. The team successfully implemented these instructions and notched up a further 6 goals. With a bit more luck this could easily have been double figures for the half. It was also pleasing to see one of the goals scored from a very well executed penalty corner. Mat Snodgrass, who missed the previous game because of injury, was back in fine form and scored an impressive hat-trick. Final result: an outstanding display of hockey teamwork with a 10-1 win to St Paul’s.
Scorers:
Snodgrass – 3
Wilson – 2
Coventry – 1
Coxhead – 1
Daly – 1
Windley – 1
Henly-Smith – 1
St Paul's U15 vs Te Awamutu
22 June, 2011
Playing against Te Awamutu 1st XI was always going to be a tough game.
St Paul’s played some good hockey at times and started to execute play they had practiced. The first half saw the score at one nil against St Paul’s. The second half continued much as the first with both teams evenly matched. St Paul’s had three penalty corners in the second half that they could not capitalise on. In the last five minutes of the game concentration lapsed and Te Awamutu put away two quick goals.
Final score 3-0 to Te Awamutu.
Player of the day Simon Morby, producing a number of awesome saves in goal.
St Paul’s Boys 1st XI v’s Tauranga Boys High 1st XI
Tuesday 21 June 2011
On Tuesday 21 of June the St Pauls Boys 1st X1 played Tauranga Boys High School 1st X1 as part of the annual interschool sports exchange between the two schools. Being a large boys’ school, TBHS has always been able to field a very strong first XI so we expected a tough match.
Our boys settled into their play quickly and although there were not many goals scored they dominated most of the first half with some great build ups and numerous scoring opportunities. Later in the half St Paul’s went off the boil a bit, allowing Tauranga to gain some controlled possession from which they made a number of fast breaking attacks but rarely looked like scoring. The only goal in the half came from a superb dribbling run by Mat Snodgrass into the circle where he laid the ball off to Alec Wilson who skilfully put it into the net.
In the second half the pressure St Paul’s was applying began to pay off with 4 more goals scored by our side. The first was from a PC where Tim Coxhead laid the ball off to Matt Snodgrass who deflected it neatly into the goal. The next goal was also scored by Matt from a well-timed pass given into the circle by Jason Coventry. Roydon Nutsford got his legendary backstick shot going and scored next. Our final goal came from a bit of a scramble in front of the goal where Joel Kosoof was able to pop the ball into the net.
Some defensive lapses by St Paul’s gave Tauranga a number of opportunities, two of which resulted in a couple of well executed goals. Final score, a well-deserved 5-2 win to St Pauls.
1st XI Boys Hockey
15 June 2011
St Paul's Collegiate 1st X1 Boys Hockey team played Hillcrest High School Ist XI for the second time in the local competition. In the previous game St Paul’s won 12-1 but the team expected that they would have improved significantly this time and that it would be a tougher contest.
As it turned out, SPC played very patchy hockey with some periods of excellent teamwork and individual play but mostly failing to move the ball as quickly as coach Hardman required.
One particularly pleasing note was the number of penalty corners that were won and converted. Another satisfying feature was the performance of some of our “young guns” namely, Alec Wilson, Joel Kosoof and Callum Windley, who stepped up in the second half and contributed to some great goals and penalty corners. Final result a 10-0 win to SPC.
Goal scorers were: Tim Coxhead-4, Luke David-2, Roydon Nutsford-1, Matt Snodgrass-2,
Callum Windley-1
1st XI Hockey vs Hauraki
Click an image to enlarge
1st XI Boys Hockey vs Matamata College
June 8th, 2011
This was the second match played against Matamata for the season, the last encounter ending in a 3-0 win to SPC. The score last time should have been much higher and on this occasion the boys really proved the point!
After five minutes of settling into the match the pattern for the rest of the game emerged with St Pauls totally dominating both territory and possession. By half time the score was 6-0. Four more goals followed in the second half with the final result being 10-0 to SPC.
Matamata were very tenacious in-your-face defenders but our players had the measure of them this time with some outstanding passing and some brilliant individual efforts. Particular mention should be made of Mathew Snodgrass who dazzled the opposition with his dribbling skills and Jason Coventry who owned midfield with his vision and outstanding ball distribution.
Scorers were: Snodgrass – 4, Nutsford – 2, Wilson – 2, Coventry – 1 Kosoof – 1
St Paul’s Under 15 Hockey vs Matamata
June 9, 2011
The first half against Matamata 2nd XI was at times a hard game to watch. St Paul’s did not control the ball or play how they had practiced during the week.
After the half time talk the team became more focused and started to play the hockey basics better. With better shots on goal the final score saw a 4 – 2 win to St Paul’s.
Goals scored by:
Jackson Brown
Aodan Wyndam-Smith
Ryan Steer
Jono Bloor
St Paul’s 1st XI vs Hillcrest 1st XI
Wed 1st June, 2011
Result: WON 12 – 1
This was a very resounding win to St Paul’s who dominated all aspects of play throughout the game.
In the first half the team entered Hillcrest’s circle 17 times, were awarded 6 penalty corners and scored 7 goals. In the second half play was a little tighter with 5 goals being scored from 10 incursions into the opponent’s circle. Hillcrest scored their one consolation goal in the later part of the second half from a fast break which caught our defence on the back foot.
One disappointing aspect of St Paul’s play was the low success rate directly from penalty corners – this will no doubt get special attention in future practices.
In general play it was very encouraging to see St Paul’s moving the ball quickly and accurately with ball-carrying being kept to a minimum or left to the specialist ball carriers. It was also pleasing to see the team making maximum use of the width and length of the field.
Scorers were: Coventry (4), David (1), Henley-Smith (3) Nutsford (1) Snodgrass (3)
Under 15 Hockey report
2nd June, 2011
Having not played a game last week the teams hockey was unpolished as they played against Putaruru this week. The team had plenty of opportunities and shots on goal but couldn’t get in the net. Putaruru had plenty of opportunities also. This ended the game with a nil all draw. Putaruru were lucky with this result as the team played good hockey at times but just not consistently enough to secure a win.
It was great to see the team using some of the skills they have be doing in practice.
St Paul’s 2nd XI vs HBHS Development A
May 28th, 2011
This game produced some excellent skills which created opportunities for St Paul’s scoring on many occasions. However, the boys continued to apply the pressure but they could not produce the goal to finish the job.
Byron Muirhead and Callum Windley continue to rocket the ball in their goal area.
Boys High would have felt very lucky to have come away with a nil all draw. This team is showing plenty of potential, the band of brothers are back.
Full time score 0-0.
Players of the day were Callum and Byron.
St Paul's Girl’s 1st XI Hockey vs Dio Junior
Wed 25th May 2011
This match saw a fair amount of movement from end to end initially, but St Paul’s started to exert more pressure as they used the width of the field. We scored through Lizzy Rajan to go to the break 1 – 0 up.
Dio’s defence stood strong against our attacks in the second half and they managed to produce an equalizer about 10 minutes from the end of the match. Although we continued to press their defence we were unable to score again.
Final score1 – 1 draw
Player of the day: Toni Anda
St Paul’s 1st XI vs St Peter's 1st XI
Wednesday 25 May
St Paul's 1st XI played St Peter's 1st XI on the St Paul’s turf. The competition between the two independent schools is always being tense, with both sides wanting to show which private institution is “top dog” when it comes to hockey.
As it turned out the match became a clinical performance on the part of St Paul’s with the team dominating possession and territory. St Peter's showed some moments of individual brilliance but our marking and defense prevented them from putting together any constructive or concerted attack. St Paul’s on the other hand had numerous scoring opportunities but didn’t convert until right on half time with a penalty corner slotted by Jason Coventry.
The second half continued in much the same way with another goal scored by Jason after an outstanding solo dribble from 30m out. An uncharacteristic lapse in defence saw St Peter's awarded a penalty corner which Robert Carmichael saved brilliantly. Our next goal came from a great build up with Brook Daly setting up Matt Snodgrass who smashed the ball into the net. St Peters eventually scored a consolation goal from a huge overhead pass which our defence miss-judged. Final score a well-deserved 3 -1 win to St Paul’s.
1st XI Boys Hockey report.
Wednesday 18 May 2011
St Paul's Collegiate 1st XI Boys Hockey team played Matamata College 1st XI, After 5 minutes of settling into the match the pattern for the rest of the game emerged with St Pauls dominating both territory and possession.
St Paul's finally opened the score with a well struck penalty corner from Tim Coxhead. Shortly after Jason Coventry scythed through the defence and laid off an excellent pass to Mat Snodgrass who smashed the ball into the net.
Half-time score 2-0 to St Paul's.
Matamata did not have much in the way of an attacking combination but they were very tenacious in-your-face defenders. This meant of course that there was going to be a lot of free hits and penalty corners awarded so unsurprisingly the next goal came from another Tim Coxhead penalty corner. St Paul's continued to have numerous scoring opportunities but were unable to convert these into points and the final score remained at 3-0 to St Paul's.
Girls Hockey Update
Wed 11th May St Paul's 1st XI vs Hillcrest 2ndXI 4 – 0 win
Wed 18th May St Paul's 1st XI vs HGHS 2nd 2 – 2 draw
Tue 17th May St Paul's 2nd XI vs Sacred Heart maroon 2 – 0 win
[St Paul's 1st XI Hockey team plays in the Waikato B division and our 2nd XI plays in the D division]
St Paul’s 2nd XI vs St Peter’s 2nd XI
May 18, 2011
St Paul’s had a strong start to the game and were quick to stamp their mark upon it.
Quick, slick and accurate passing between players resulted in Byron Muirhead scoring St Paul’s first goal. This was followed by a beautiful goal scored in the top corner by Aodan Wyndham-Smith.
St Paul’s started the second half with confidence having built a 2-0 lead in the first half. St Paul’s kept the St Peter’s goalkeeper fully employed, with numerous goal attempts from the team. Aodan scored his second goal and secured a St Paul’s victory with a 3-0 win over St Peters.
The players of the day were Aodan, Byron, Callum Windley and Ben Scott.
The team would like to thank Mrs Carmichael for the jelly beans, and the coach and manager for their words of wisdom and encouragement.
Under 15 Hockey report
19.05.11
St Paul’s U15 Hockey team played St John’s 2nd XI on Thursday. The team had a good weeks training leading up to the match which was evident with a convincing 7 – 0 win over St John’s. The team listened to Coach Ballantyne’s advice and game plan which lead to a solid performance by the team. St John’s could not put up much of a fight due to our strong playing structure and control of the ball. The team is showing good form heading into the upcoming tournament week.
Goals were scored by:
Callum Jarvis – Hall 1
Jono Bloor 3
Aubrey Fish 2
Aodan Wyndham-Smith 1
St Paul’s Under 15 Hockey Report
May 12 2011
Thursday evening was the start of the season with the first challenge being against
Te Awamutu 1st XI. The first half finished and we were one goal down. The second half
Te Awamutu came out fighting with two quick scrappy goals. St Paul’s replied with two quick goals of our own from Callum and Aoden. Final score 4 – 2 Te Awamutu. The score did not reflected the quality of hockey we played. This game was a good start to the season as we get used to playing together as a team and against opponents that are bigger then us.
HAMILTON BOYS HIGH 1st XI
Wednesday May 11th
St Pauls 1st X1 played Hamilton Boys High School 1st X1 in the first competition game of the season. This match is also usually the annual match for the Matt Allen Trophy, however sanity prevailed and it was mutually agreed to defer this to a later date. At the national tournament last year HBHS had established themselves as the fifth best team in the country, so we knew we were in for a very tough match.
As expected the intensity of the game was huge. Early in the game, our boys found themselves doing a lot of defending with HBHS penetrating the circle on several occasions. Fortunately our defenders were up to the task and, while HBHS looked threatening, they never really looked like scoring. As the half progressed St Paul’s steadily increased their share of possession and territory eventually resulting in a superbly executed solo run and goal from Jason Coventry. The score remained at 1-0 right up to half time.
We knew HBHS were going to come back more determined than ever in the second half and so it was. The second half turned into a huge “arm- wrestle” with both sides mounting numerous attacks and being awarded penalty corners but none of them resulting in goals.
Unfortunately, during a period of sustained pressure from HBHS we finally had a defence lapse from which they scored. From that point on it could have been anyone’s game but the score remained 1-1 until the final whistle.
St Paul’s can be very proud of the way they stood up to the opposition’s physicality with some determined and hard play of their own! The HBHS coach commented at the end that his players will need to train with their 1st XV in order to prepare for our next encounter.
Given that this was the first competition game, and that it was against our strongest opposition, we can feel very encouraged about the potential for success in future matches. Thanks to all those who turned up to watch the match – the enthusiastic vocal support was much appreciated.