Youth Development start off with a draw

The Youth development squad turned up for their first competitive game of the season with confidence at the Waiuku College grounds. After we got the nets set up, sorted out the changing rooms and warmed up, I became alittle concerned at the lack of opposition and ref. Off I went to the Massey club rooms to find our opposition looking for a pitch to play on, but unfortunately, no ref to be found. Guiding our opposition to the correct venue I was left with the task of refereeing and leaving team affairs to our new Player/Manager, Grant Muckle. The weather was very warm and no breeze to speak of when the lads kicked off. Right from the start Waiuku looked a little nervous, with rushed or wayward passes the order of the day. However, as the game proceeded, Waiuku started to put into practice some of the work we had been doing in training and we started to carve open 3 Kings (Sea Cows). However, it was not all one way traffic and both good defending and keeping kept Waiuku in the game. With 35 min played, 3 Kings were reduced to 10 men for a potentially horrific two footed tackle, but which thankfully did no real damage. With 3 Kings down to 10 men, Waiuku may have thought they would walk the game, but credit to 3 Kings, they kept at it and mustered a number of good attacks. However, as the game wore on and the heat and pitch took its toll, neither team could come up with a goal. For Waiuku, Jack Harris had the best chance of the first half, whilst a couple of good saves from the Kings keeper and poor finsihing from Waiuku ensured a 0-0 final score. As a performance, there is plenty of room for improvement but the lads can take heart at a point and we hope to add 3 more next week away to another 3 Kings team. Player of the Day went to Thomas Mckee for his hard work and confidence inspiring display at the back.