The King’s Junior 1st XI Football Team enjoyed a very successful week in Tauranga, playing in the Hillsdene Junior Football Tournament.

On day one we played three group games. A 1-1 draw first up against Tauranga Boys’ College B was somewhat of a disappointing way to begin the tournament, but the comeback from 1-0 down at halftime typified the resilience and determination of this group of players. A 3-0 win against Palmerston North Boys’ High School in our second game reflected a much-improved performance. Luke Williams deserves a special mention for his superb clearance off the line which saved a certain goal and swung the momentum of the game in our favour. Our final game on day one ended in a 14-2 win over Mahurangi College.

From there, the team went from strength to strength. Day two began with a 11-0 win over Whakatane High School and a double hat-trick to Robbie ‘Goals’ Heller. The afternoon game was a tense affair against New Plymouth Boys’ High School, where we came out on top with an important 2-1 win.

The boys began day three knowing that they had put themselves in with a chance of a semi-final berth. In what was undoubtedly our game of the tournament, we dismantled a strong Wellington College side 5-1 with an outstanding, complete team performance. This win meant that we qualified for the semi-finals as the fourth placed team. That afternoon we played the top ranked side Tauranga Boys’ College A. After six games in three days, both teams looked dead on their feet and played out a hard fought 0-0 draw. The ensuing penalty shootout was a great watch…a 4-1 win on penalties with one absolutely top class save from Scott Glover and the clinching penalty kick calmly slotted home by Harry ‘I’ve never taken a penalty in my life’ Gould.

We played the final on day four against Scots College from Wellington, the partner school of the Wellington Phoenix Youth Academy. Scots took the lead midway through the first half with a well taken headed goal. At half-time we changed formation to counter Scot’s strengths, which paid dividends with Hamish Mair steering home the equaliser during the half’s opening minutes. A quick reply from Scots, pouncing on an uncharacteristic mistake, restored their lead which they held until the final whistle. The boys were naturally disappointed with the 2-1 loss, but should be incredibly proud of the way that they played and conducted themselves as a team throughout the tournament.

With many from this group of young men poised to make their mark in our senior teams in the coming years, the future of Football at King’s is looking extremely bright. Thank you to the boys for a great week, Mr Revell for his tireless work and support during the tournament, and Mr Corkhill for the excellent job he did in preparing the team to be successful on the national stage.

Cam McPhail.