New Zealand Secondary Schools National Tournament

Manager Diary

Friday 3 September 2010

1st XI v Napier BHS - Photos

Thursday 2 September 2010

1st XI v Wellington College - Photos

Wednesday 1 September 2010wr0fw

CBHS 1st XI v Nayland - Photos

The extremely wet weather has played havoc for the tournament organizers and at 9am Mike got a call from the chief organizer to tell us there were no games being played today. The team decided to go to the driving range which was in Hastings. We arrived in Hastings and got another call from the organizer to say that we were now playing at Hastings BHS at 3pm. We turned the vans around headed back to Napier and started our preparation. Only the top 8 teams were playing as the City Council had closed all grounds and the only grounds available were the high school grounds.

The Hasting BHS pitches were in excellent condition considering the weather. We had plenty of supporters with two more parents arriving and 4 other teams including Shirley BHS on the sideline.

We were told that Nayland had 2 very fast and skillful players and our strategy was amended to deal with this. We started well in comparison to our previous games and it became evident early on that the two players we had been told about were very good. There was no score in the first half with Liam pulling off some spectacular saves. Nayland told us after the game that this was their best half of the tournament.

We started the 2nd half stringing some good passes together from the kickoff, Nayland regained possession and on the break their striker got himself past the defense, shot and scored. CBHS gave 100% trying to equalize and unfortunately it was not to be. The boys ran themselves into the ground not giving up till the final whistle. Disappointment all round.

Tuesday 31 August 2010

CBHS 1st XI v St Patricks College - Photos

It poured with rain last night and most of the day. Kick off was at 2pm and alternative pitches had been used for the earlier games which meant that no other games had been played on our pitch. During the warm up there was a torrential downpour, however, it was warmer and less windy than on Monday.

Regarding the game, we played terribly and amazingly were only 1 nil down with 5 minutes to go. A free kick from Daniel found Tom B's head and then the back of the net. It was helter skelter football for the remaining 5 minutes and the resulting draw provided much relief of the coaches and manager.

Had St Pats won the game they would have top qualified and we would have had a penalty shootout with Napier for 2nd spot. The draw meant CBHS qualified top and St Pats failed to make the top 8.

We achieved our first objective to make the top 8 and the team is in good spirits and while a bit sore there are no major injuries. We play Nayland tomorrow weather permitting.

Pool C

Monday 30 August 2010

CBHS 1st XI v Napier Boys High School - Photos

Kick off for our first game on Monday morning was 11am. It started to rain around 10am and by the time we got to the grounds it was raining heavily. It was great to see Trevor MacIntyre there, albeit battling hypothermia as conditions were not pleasant.

We started the game slowly and were not playing the football we wanted, despite this we were two goals up after 20 minutes. In the 15th minute Miles received the ball in the goal box, turned, shot and scored a good goal. Daniel followed up 5 minutes scoring another goal.

Napier were strong in the midfield and initially we were giving them too much space. We got into the game late in the first half and defended well for most of the game. It looked like we were going score again and win the match. Not to be, Napier scored two goals from crosses the likes of which we have successfully dealt with all year. In the last 5 minutes we had at least 3 opportunities to score and win the match but were unsuccessful.

This is a game we should have won and the boys were clearly disappointed at the result.

CBHS 1st XI v Rongitoto College - Photos

After this morning's result the game against Rangitoto was a must win game. They had beaten St Pats in their earlier game. The rain had stopped, and despite the earlier showers, the pitch was in good condition. It would be fair to say that this was not pretty game with a lot of free kicks being given. CBHS had the bulk of the shots on goal. However, there were several scares when Rangitoto came very close, even hitting the post in one instance.

We were leading by one goal at half time with Callum being the successful goal scorer. It was nerve-racking watching the game as we have not been in this position all year with good wins throughout the season. It is fair to say the coaches, manager, Principal and spectators were all pacing the sideline.

With 10 minutes to go Jonty found himself 3 meters in front of the goal-keeper with the ball. He passed to Callum who tapped the ball into the goal. This knocked the stuffing out of Rangitoto and they had used up all their subs by this stage. Mike put all our subs onto the pitch with the instruction to run at everything and not give them any time on the ball. The boys did this very well and shut them out for the last 10 minutes. Players from both teams were cramping up all over the field. There was nothing left at the end of the game.

The boys, despite being very tired were jubilant. Tournament play definitely has its ups and downs.

Later in the evening we dined with Trevor at the Napier RSA, again in school uniform and the team looked good. Mike was on curfew duty but there was going to be no problems tonight.

Sunday 29 August 2010

The trip to Napier was uneventful and flying directly from Christchurch is certainly an easier option than flying via Wellington or to another centre. The team looked great in their school uniforms compared to many other teams arriving at Napier at the same time.

We are staying at the Kennedy Park motor camp where we have been allocated a block of units away from any other teams (including some girl's teams that are staying here). Mike and Phil are very organised as usual. Each night at the team meeting the schedule for the next day is reviewed and a written copy is posted on the window outside my room. Despite the review of the schedule and the reinforcement of the requirements there is a constant stream of boys filing past the schedule to remind themselves what they need to be doing. Short term memory loss must be a teenage thing.

I drew the short straw and got the curfew duty for Sunday night but all was quiet, there are a few nerves as Monday is a big day with two games.