Well... all in all it was a good day out for those who were able to make it, with a lot of promising signs for all concerned. It was always going to be a hard ask to take 3 victories out of the day (given that we really only had two teams worth of players) so the day's results were fairly satisfying. Congratulations to the Men's Reserves and Women's Reserves who both (with a small amount of assistance from a few existing 1st team players) managed to topple their opposition in tough games.

Composite Side vs Mt Albert Ponsonby Super-Div

When basically the same men's reserves squad took the field for a second time against Mt Albert's Super-Div side, it was always looking a little tricky! Nonetheless, the 4-1 loss was very much a disappointment given that for about 70 minutes of the game, the weary Waiuku squad seemed to completely dominate proceedings and had done everything but slot the ball into the net half a dozen times!
At that stage, the scoreline was a very creditible 1-1, and with Logan Drain showing his face at that point, we had every confidence that we might be able to spark the midfield alight and finish with a goal to take the win.

However, it was not to be, and come the last 20, a Mt Albert speedster up front known as "Shadow" managed to mow down the Waiuku defenders on dead legs - putting away two more goals in one on one situations. Unfortunatlely stalwart keeper Andy Wood was playing the entire second half with a fractured wrist (not an exaggeration), so challenging hard in one-on-one's was never going to be part of his arsenal despite his valiant efforts. A headed corner sealed the game at 4-1 and it has to be suggested that by then spirits may have been just a little broken. But with heads held high its a nice feeling to know that coming into a brand new era of Waiuku Football... it took 2 whole teams and 180 mins to break the spirit of the gutsy 16 who took up the challenge. It kinda reminds me of the movie 300... except that it took a million people and many days which is a touch more impressive.

Congratulations go to ring-in Shane Oliver for being closest to the Mt-Albert own goal in his diving, stumbling, forward-rolling header effort at the far post :-)
It was a good try... but we're not crediting you with the goal sorry!

Composite Side vs Mt Albert Ponsonby Div-4

As mentioned, earlier in the day... the combination squad took a relaxed approach in toppling the Div-4 Mt Albert squad 4-3. It was a classy but reserved performance all-round with every player on the park contributing. A mix up in communication meant that only 10 players had arrived for the kick-off time of 12:00. But, clever play and a full field support structure meant there was always a 20 yard ball to knock to a team-mate in open space. Stand-In captain Dale Oliver really encouraged the boys to play simple football and reminded all that while we had the ball at feet, we wouldn't be wasting energy trying to win it back. It proved a solid tactic, and while Mt Albert took the lead 3 times, Waiuku proved that at any stage they could put the extra 20% effort in to keep themselves in the running.

After conceding 1 goal, the early star of the show was Waiuku's newby "Ed" who slotted a beautiful 30 yard effort over the keepers head to tie the ball game.
Shortly after, a second was conceded when a Mt-Albert striker got away with a 2-yard offside play to get one on one with Andy. It was somewhat disappointing
as the defence line had deliberately left the player well off-side and unfortunately got punished. However, you play it as it comes with no linesmen. Ed was the star again, tying up the game with a great chase to a scrappy far post delivery and managed to beat the keeper. He very nearly did the same again 30 mins later but unfortunately was just an inch from scoring his hattrick. One more Mt-Albert strike found the net and once again Waiuku were 3-2 on the back foot, although still un-phased.

Mid-way through the second half Grant Muckle arrived and stripped up to aid the cause. In true Mucksy central defensive style, he found himself on the edge of the Mt-Albert 6-yard box. His opposing defender managed to stop the ball on the spot... stumble backward and leave an open shot into a nearly empty net for Grant :) He was ecstatic... but won't be getting a star on the season chart for that.

With 20 to go, a 3-3 scoreline and a victory in sight the boys lifted the intensity for a last ditch effort and several chances arose. Greg coming in from the left wing managed to seal the game beating a couple of wide defenders on his beeline for goal and slotting it past the keeper's inside hand.

The 4-3 result was well received by all. The Mt-Albert side knew they had been bettered by a classier opposition, but felt satisfied with their 3 goal effort. The Waiuku boys were thankful that a structured conservative style had kept them in the game while hopefully still retaining some gas in the tank for the next run-out.

Women's Reserves vs Mt Albert Ponsonby Div-3

The Women's reserves are taking the step up into Div-3 this season, and with Mt Albert's 1st team being a strong contender in the same league it seemed the perfect opportunity for a match-up. However, the Sunday afternoon game proved to be a no-go for 10 out of 16 of the Waiuku reserve's players which meant we struggled to field a full 11 players. We greatly appreciate the assistance of Lara and Lisa and Laura and Bex from the first team who offered their services to the cause. And a very special thanks go to Annie Van Den Broek who donned her boots at late notice to fill out the 11.

All in all, it was a very satisfying performance. There is still plenty to work on, but the team showed good character and played fairly well as a unit. This was always going to be a challenge given the mix of players involved in the outing. Coach, Dale Oliver, came out with a lot more to think about after Mandy Barnett (potential goal keeper) and Shirley Patterson (central striker) both played controlled and powerful games in the defence line.

Waiuku went 1-0 down after an inital solid 30 mins when perhaps the strikers should have been picked up more closely. It was an unfortunate error, but certainly one that we were quickly able to learn from. Despite a number of good efforts from Laura Johnstone on the wing and Lisa Wooles up front, the scoreline remained 1-0 at the half.

At half-time, Dale made it clear that he was more interested in seeing some structured football than being too concerned with the final result, and really impressed upon the girls the importance of working as support players for each other. The heat and the pre-season fitness had meant that quite often the girls had looked relieved to hand the ball off and let someone else deal with it for a while. Not the mind-set we were after!

They seemed to take this all on board, and the second half was a tight solid performance. Goals came to Lisa picking up a sharp chance inside the box, and to Laura who sent in a beautiful corner kick which beat the keeper on the inward swing.

While it was clear that the Div-1 ring-in strength had an impact up front, we are still very confident with the 2-1 result going into the season. The reserves defence line held strong of its own accord aside from one small error, and there is every
reason to believe that with the pending return of players like Koren Drain, Jenna Barnett, Amanda Smith, Alex Meyer and Teresa Thom that we have legitimate goal-scorers who could well do the job in this new division.

Good signs all round and hopes are held high for the start of the league season! :)