Hamilton North Football Club

Photos from the HNFC Pre-Season Tournaments held March/April 2009

Grosvenor Park was where we would be playing the third game of the season, Arriving at the park we found that like everywhere else the grass was long just as well we now know what grass looks like after the very long stuff that we played in last week.  At least this time we were not in danger of losing any players and with the sun shining the team was looking forward to another good match.

Our opposition started to arrive whilst we were warming up and we knew we should not fooled by the name of the robots they looked pretty quick.  As we lined up for the match on the field there was no more time to ponder if we ate enough Weetbix as the whistle went.

From the first kick off the Wildcats pretty quickly got into the groove and started to pass the ball around.  No one was more surprised and pleased than the coach as it was obvious that practice was paying off as the team looked to pass both backwards and forwards.  The Robots hardly got the ball and it pretty quickly became obvious that the Wildcats were the better team.

The first half just flew by with some great attack and some very nice goals, every goal was created through some nice passing and finishing with Jordan scoring 4 of goals a couple that no keeper would have stopped.  Jordan really dominated the midfield in the first half and was on the end of numerous good passes.  Our 6th goal came once again from a good pass by Chris that went to Braydon Lowe, he turned and went on a run passing the shocked Robots defender, the keeper came out but to late, Braydon was too good for him and he scored.  At half time we were up 5 – 0 and could have scored more except for some good saves by the Robots keeper.

In the second half Neisha and Jordan swapped with Jordan going into goal.  The Robots came out with renewed vigour and certainly played better in the second half but struggled with our defence and only managed a couple of real opportunities.  Playing at the back or the midfield everyone ensured the Robots could not score.   Kate Durie was often quickest to the ball and ensured the Robots couldn’t string many passes together.  Kate Williams skilfully controlled the back line and made a couple of great runs forward with the ball at her feet. Daniel and Jesse also ensured there was plenty of ball being intercepted at the back and often looked to pass it forward.  Daniel’s positioning was spot on and often ended up with the ball by being in the right place at the right time.

Braydon Wall was strong all match both in the midfield and defence, and on a couple of occasions gave the ball a good lump forward when it looked like the Robots were on the charge snuffing out their attack.

As the half unfolded Edward and Jarred remained busy in the midfield, often finding Chris open out wide who looked to pass at every opportunity.  It was no surprise that a few more great passes saw the ball go out to the right wing where Neisha got round one player and passed the ball back towards the edge of the box where Jarred was waiting and quick shot on goal by him suddenly saw the score out to 6 – 0.  There were a few other opportunities but on the whole this half was much more even.

Player of the day went to Chris who was involved in many great passing moves that resulted in goals.  However a non scoring moment which involved 4 one touch passes by Chris and Jesse was certainly a highlight to remember from this match.

Unbeaten the Wildcats wonder just who they will play next.

Cheers
The Wildcats Coach

We started the season with our first game out at a rainy Kopua Domain, v Raglan Sea Snakes. Being the first game, the team were still getting to know each other, but some awesome individual skills resulted in two very well taken goals for Kayla Goodwin, which she then followed up with some amazing defence. Unfortunately Raglan sprung our off-side trap a few times and despite the best goal-keeping efforts of Luke Peters and Martin van Blerk, they managed to score two goals as well. Some fantastic tackling by everyone…hitting a bit harder this year than last. A 2-2 draw was probably a fair result though. Player of the Day for her all-round “being everywhere” game – Kayla Goodwin.

Next up we faced St Josephs Chiefs. As quite often happens, after a sustained period on attack by the Falcons, the Chiefs broke away and scored the first of the game. This was enough to spark our guys up a little and we remembered the drills that we had been practicing. With a little more luck, we would have had a few goals in the first half, but had to settle for 1 – 1 at half time (thanks to a well taken goal by Martin van Blerk). They had a few chances in the first half too, but Kayla managed to intimidate her former team-mates enough to put them off. The second half started as the first had finished, with the Falcons passing well into space and putting pressure on the Chiefs’ goal. This pressure finally told when we scored another 3 goals (2 more for Martin). The Chiefs tried gallantly to peg us back, but some wonderful goal-keeping by Alexander Cutler, including one awesome reflex save from point blank range, kept them at bay, and it finished at 4 -1 (with a Hat-Trick for Martin). Martin was the deserved Player of the Day.

This last week we played the Koromatua Tigers. I thought we were in for a tough game when they went and hid themselves away for their warm-up so we couldn’t check them out beforehand. My worst fears were realised when, after 18 seconds or so, we were 1 – Nil down. A call from one of our team to the ref to start again fell on deaf ears (sad when you can’t even rely on your own coach to pull a few strings). Unfortunately for the Tigers, this stung the Falcons into action. Possibly the highlight of the first half was Martin latching on to a perfect through-ball from Rikihana Ngaruhe (on the end of some awesome passing) to score the second of his 4 goals. Particularly pleasing for the Falcon’s coaches was the way the everyone was playing as a team, passing into gaps, running into space…a wonderful team effort. Some good keeping by Rikihana when the Tigers were suddenly the only ones running at him managed to keep them out. Of particular note was the Player of the Day performance from Alexander Cutler. He was passing down the line, into space, shooting from a fair way out (he said it was a cross….but I think we all know the truth), actual crosses and another fantastic pass in behind the defence that helped Martin bag his last goal and then running back on defence as well. An awesome 4 – 1 win though, so well done all.

Brent

Welcome to the Hamilton North Football Club website.

Welcome the newly formed team THE BRONCOS-Jamie, Adam, Daniel, Cameron, James, Kasandra,Pablo, Sean, Sam, Caleb and Jodie. Not forgetting the excellent coaches Jorge & Steve.

Caleb unfortunately was unable to play in this match due to illness. Hope he gets better soon.Daniel was also unable to play due to a pre-arranged commitment.

What a great start to the season. This was the first time the team had played together in a match and certainly showed great enthusiasm and commitment to working together as a team. The first half found them finding their feet against an established team. All players were actively involved in the game and gave it their best shot ..on a full pitch as well. Great stuff!! The second half saw a great effort in team work and individual players becoming more confident and determined to do well. Super cool. All of the team showed good ball work and effort in trying to create chances to score and outrun the opposition. Sam our brilliant goalkeeper was particularly consistent and tried his best to prevent those goals. Well done Sam!!! Kasandra and Jodie also provided us with a good example of determination to do their best. Well done girls!! Adam too he scored our only goal.

All of the players provided an entertaining and exciting match and kept us parents on our toes. Our next match will be just as enjoyable and a great challenge for us to develop our skills and scores those goals – Bev Teague-Brown, Broncos Manager

Congratulations to the following Club players who have been selected into the Waikato Representaive Age Group Programme this season :-

U8 - Guy Andrews & Jackson Hawke

U9 - Keaton August & Avishak Kumar

U10 - Jordan Lynch

U10 Girls - Neisha Bouma-Tucker, Kate Durie, Sarah Krystman, Deanne Nicholson & Kate Williams

U11 - Kalib Bouma-Tucker, Christopher Goodwin, Lee McGregor & Logan Rogerson

U12 - Alastair Gloyn, Patrick Howell, Kaylim Humby, Raheem Hunter-Ali, Cooper Rowell & Mathew Sawyer

U12 Girls - Brittany Griffin & Emma Megchelse.

U13 - Taylor Clement, Stefan Krystman, Reid McLeay, John Penyas & Michael Sugar

Well done to all those that were nominated.

The second grading match brought us to Hillcrest Stadium a fine venue. The weather held out and stayed sunny and warm. This seemed to inspire our players.

The team quickly settled and proceeded to take control of the pitch ensuring that the ball in the first half of play only reached the inner sanctum of our goal area a few times. Sam our goalkeeper took it in his stride and used the goalpost to ponder about life and watch his team score a series of spectacular goals.

Caleb scored our first goal within the first few minutes followed closely by a second. Well done Caleb which earned him the title of player of the match. The team continued to demonstrate some awesome passing and ball skills. James wants on to score two goals, Sean two goals, Cameron two goal followed by Jamie who scored our last goal.

The opposition came back in the second half scoring their first goal in the first few moments and temporarily seemed to gain control of the game .This was short-lived and our team re-gained their composure and continued to play well.

Jorge and Steve our coaches provided direction and encouragement as did our supporters.

Bev Teague-Brown Manager

Congratulations to all teams that participated in Week 2 of our Pre-Season Tournament. The weather turned it on for us and we were grateful for the lack of dust !!

After the mid-week move from Ashurst Park to Discovery Park we hoped all would still work out as planned – and it did. Here are the result from the day: -

9th Grade

Championship Winners – East Coast Bays (1-0)

Championship Runners Up – Bucklands Beach

Plate Winners – HNFC Tigers (1-0)

Plate Runners Up – Papakura Celtic

11th Grade

Championship Winners – Onehunga Sports (1-0)

Championship Runners Up – FHM England

Plate Winners – Papamoa NGU (3-0)

Plate Runners Up – Glenview Skydragons