8th Grade Three Kings Tournament

All the bad weather of late has seen several tournaments postponed and we were concerned the same fate may befall the TKU.  But, the skies cleared and the day was warm and sunny, with only a few passing minor showers.  It was all looking good - till the news came that our star striker (Joe Moore) had been struck down by tonsilitis overnight and was unable to come.  This was a real shame - with our ace sharpshooter onside, we would no doubt have got through to the finals.  Nonetheless, we played extremely well and had a great tournament.

The intial pool play saw us up against a Three Kings side, who we completely dominated.  Attack after attack went forward, Hugh Minogue (Hauraki) had a shot thunder against the post and there were any number of near misses. Although the final score was 0-0, to play so well against a TKU side augured well. The next game was against the weakest team in the group who we beat 3-0, despite them playing entirely in their own half.  Our goalkeeper Ben Jones (Devonport) had next to nothing to do; their goalkeeper was outstanding and kept the score from blowing out.  The decider game was against Birkenhead Utd, a tight game which we won 2-0 with a goal in each half.  Zander White (St Leo's) and Barnaby Watts (Stanley Bay) got on the scoresheet again and the defence from Josh Kench and Luke Pank (Vauxhall) was exemplary. 

We got through the whole of pool play without conceding a goal but were pipped at the post for top spot by the TKU side - who scored more goals against Kristin Saints - and so went into the Plate Semifinals for a game against East Coast Bays Kawhia.  This was a tight game again, which we led from half way through the first half.  A clearance from Logan Hooper (Stanley Bay) down the line to Hugh Minogue, a great run by him down the left wing, beating 3 players and a superb cross to Zander White who blasted it into the top of the goal!  In the second half, a lapse of concentration saw a break away attack by ECB and a thumping shot, saved by Ben Jones, but deflected back into the path of an oncoming attacker and it was 1-1.  Once again our defence was great - this was their only shot on goal in the whole game.  The game went to extra time with no further score and then to a penalty shoot out.  At this point, our luck ran out, losing the shoot out 6-3.

To play four games and only concede one goal, to come so close to getting to the final without our star strikers (Joe Moore & Romeo Dean) is a comendable effort indeed.  Congratulations also to our subs, Robbie McCutcheon and William Twiss (Devonport) who was at his first tournament and especially to Hugh Minogue, our Player of the Day.

Pool B	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	Points
Three Kings Germany	3	2	1	0	6	0	7
North Shore Devonport	3	2	1	0	5	0	7
Birkenhead Red	3	1	0	2	7	3	3
Kristin Saints	3	0	0	3	0	15	0

Semi Final:
North Shore Devonport 1-1 ECB Kawhia (3-6 on penalties)

Goal Scorers:
Zander White (3)
Barnaby Watts (2)
Hugh Minogue (1)


Last Modified on 25/08/2009 17:58