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⚽️ 2nd XI Tournament Winners! 🏆️

Sean McCarthy —

Welcome to New Plymouth!

The HBHS 2nd XI arrived under ominous skies, and as the first match against Otahuhu College kicked off, the weather worsened with heavy rain, lightning, and thunder.
Despite the challenging conditions, HBHS took an early lead with 3 goals.
The match was called off after 25 minutes and HBHS was declared the winner. The boys, drenched and cold, returned to their accommodation to warm up and recover.
The second match against Gisborne Boys' High School was relocated to the New Plymouth racecourse.
Despite windy and wet conditions, the team put on an emphatic performance, securing a 5-0 victory.

The weather improved slightly for the start of Day 2, but there was still a biting wind.
The team travelled to Waitara and won their first match of the day against Upper Hutt College with a score of 3-1.
Later, in the day they faced Francis Douglas Memorial College resulting in a 6-0 victory.

Day 3 saw the team back at Sutherland Park, this time it wasn't under water, the boys faced Hamilton Christian School 1st XI and came away with a 3-1 win.
Finishing top of their pool, they moved on to the semi-final at Webster Field against a strong Westlake Boys' High School.
The match was intense and aggressive from the whistle. WBHS struck first, but after 1-minute HBHS equalised.
After an hour of end-to-end football, the score was unchanged at 1-1, leading to a penalty shootout.
A quick team huddle and a lot of deliberation regarding who 'wanted' to take a penalty before the inevitable began.
Sam made a crucial first save denying Westlake their first penalty.
The two teams then traded penalties before Jan scored and secured HBHS a place in the final with a 8 – 7 win.

For Day 4 and the final the weather was slightly cloudy with a persistent wind.... ever present in New Plymouth it would seem!
HBHS kicked off against the home team, New Plymouth Boys' High School, and within a few minutes Aiden suffered an ankle injury which meant he was off for the remainder of the game, but within the first 10 mins Usman converted a penalty from a NPBH hand ball to make it 1-0.
NPBS equalized shortly after to even the score, 1-1.
Just before halftime, Usman scored again, putting HBHS in the lead, 2-1.
The second half was a battle, but the team held on to secure the win and the Tournament title.

A huge thank you to our dedicated coach, Dylan Groom, and school support staff member Johan Du Toit, and our amazing parent helpers, Brendon Maloney, Nick Richards, and Tamasin Richards, for their unwavering support.
The boys showed incredible resilience and team spirit, making both themselves and the school proud.