On Saturday, St Paul’s 1st XI played Hillcrest 1st XI in what was the first of three national qualifiers. Both sides had a lot to play for with the loser potentially missing out on a spot at this year’s national tournament.
An early start saw the ground still soaked in dew causing the conditions to be slippery and hard to control the ball to start with. After a shaky 10 minutes, St Paul’s started to show their dominance over the game bouncing the ball from one brother to another with ease.
It was only a matter of time till the magician by the name of Jacob Robb opened his account of the regular season with a well worked team goal. With in seconds, a second goal was awarded to St Paul’s with Luke Goodwin being the scorer due to a mistake at the back and well finished shot. Over confidence started to creep in to the side as Hillcrest got a few shots away.
The wise words of Coach Groom at halftime all but sealed the game for St Paul’s as they came out with more passion and determination in the second half. Another two goals were added to the tally, both scored by Jacob Robb, which he ended up with a hat-trick.
The first of many for the season. Final score 4-0 to St Pauls. The 1st XI have two more national qualifiers this week. One on Tuesday against Western Heights at school and one on Thursday against top seeded Tauranga Boys High in Tauranga.
