THE NEWSLETTER OF WAIUKU AFC
MARCH 8, 2007
First home game – first trophy for the year!
Yep, we’re on the path to collect some more silver (we hope), and after the narrow loss against Manurewa’s Northern League side a couple of weeks ago, we returned to George Street and cut Huntly to ribbons.
The 2-0 result didn’t reflect the way the game went – they only had one shot on goal in 90 minutes while we just got better as the match went on and our midfield and wide players roamed at will through their defence. Only poor finishing and a bit of miscommunication on the last pass stopped it being a complete rout for the Waiuku lads. Great credit must go to our defence, who were more than tidy throughout and kept some speedy Huntly players at bay. As Jimmy said after the game, we are all about pace this year and it showed. Needless to say though, there was a fair bit of time spent on shooting practice on Tuesday night and that will continue as the season draws closer.
In other matches the Reserves found Drury to be a tough opponent, eventually going down 5-2, in a match memorable for an 80-metre goal by goalkeeper Ben Smith, who bounced a clearance over the opposition’s custodian.
A combination Over-35s and Third team lost to Huntly’s Reserves, but it was great to see some new faces in Waiuku’s Blue, as well as the return of some of last year’s Over-35s. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see Davy Laurence in action again, as I think he injured himself getting out of bed that day, and a few other Over-35s, notably Bob Thornton, neglected to bring their gear. (He’s claiming he retired last year but clearly he is still in prime physical condition).
Huge thanks to Annie, Keith and College principal Stuart Harrison for the refereering on the day. The matches weren’t easy!
A great after-match at the Kentish Hotel saw the Huntly boys well fed and refreshed afterward, and they paid tribute to how lucky we are as a club to have the sponsor support we have. I couldn’t agree more – frankly, I’d say we would be one of the best supported clubs in the country, and, on that note, check the list of sponsors we have and make sure you support them.
On behalf of the club, thanks everyone and we look forward to seeing our business supporters (and the rest of you club people) next Sunday, 11am at our sponsors function at the Kentish. Invitations should arrive early next week.
Breaking News – We may as well play the best!
The web has been humming this afternoon with talk of University Mount-Wellington’s shock withdrawal from Northern League and the likelihood that their top team will end up in Super Division with the Blues.
For those who haven’t caught up with the news, Uni-Mount’s president has been quoted as saying the costs of Northern League outweigh the benefits and they are going to play Super Division. Exactly what this means for Super Division has yet to be determined, and we haven’t yet heard formally from the Federation about what’s going on. However, if the reports are true, we’ll be playing against arguably the most successful club in the country, with a team that has won the Chatham Cup more than anyone I believe, and players that are a match for anyone in the country.
Uni-Mount’s boss has also been reported as saying he believes his club are just the first of a few to consider pulling out of Northern League – is this the end of the Northern League as we know it?
An old Chinese curse says ‘may you live in interesting times’ - it seems we are!
This weekend – we think!
Premiers are due to play Western Springs at 11.00am at the George Street ground, with the Reserves to play Manurewa straight after.
At least, that’s the plan as I haven’t had final confirmation from either team yet but as far as I know nothing’s changed. Come along and watch the Blues in action.
Remember, Springs were the only side we didn’t beat last year, although the draw we had with them was the only points they lost on the field, and they ended up winning the division. This year they’ve gone to Northern League which suggests they have likely picked up some new players and will be even stronger than in 2006.
Upcoming events.
Don’t forget the sponsor’s function at the Kentish on March 18 (Sunday). I know it’s the day after St Pats and there’ll no doubt be a few sore heads, but cope with it.
I still need barbecue-type people to barbecue things. Email me if you can cook. Actually, email me even if you can’t, we’ll teach you on the day.
For those who get this email on Thursday please note it’s the AGM this evening. Get your body along and vote for something. If you don’t vote you can’t complain about who you get on the committee!
Personal – Man seeks other Men
Middle-aged Waiuku man with size five balls
seeks similar for sweaty Saturday fun.
Apply in relative confidence to:
Waiuku.editorial@xtra.co.nz
Yes, the Over-35s need more players. If you’re a bloke who fits the above description, get in contact and have a great season with the lads.
I think there might be a special subs offer for those broken-down former stars who keep defying the sands of time to bring further glory to Waiuku.
Subs and registrations
As always, keep the subs coming in, and have a word to any mates you have about having a run for Waiuku this year. The mens third team and the Over-35s always need more players. We’ve got a few new lads this year, and from the whispers I hear there’s a pretty good turnout happening for the ladies as well. If you or your mates are thinking about playing but haven’t yet registered, at least get in touch with the club officials and let them know your intentions. Remember we have to put our team entries in fairly shortly so we need to know how many in each grade we are looking at. You’ll be kicking yourself if you turn up in April to play only to find out we didn’t enter your team because no-one told us we had enough players!
The mens prems and reserves train Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6.30pm at George Street, but we’ve had a few from other teams join us and all are welcome.
Anyway, that’s my lot for this week. Hopefully the new-format newsletter isn’t killing the bandwidth on your email machines; if it’s really slow I’ll see if we can change it a bit, but that’s a pain so I’d rather not.
Seeya Saturday or at training tonight.
Go the Blues!
Nigel