Logan Park Football has continued to grow this year, with five teams across Junior and Senior divisions.

We have also been involved in a number of tournaments, including: the Linwood tournament in Dunedin, for the Senior A boys, and Invercargill for the Girls A teams, and the Co-Ed tournament held at Bayfield for both boys and girls. We have been lucky to have some excellent coaching support this year by new addition Finn Kelly and the effective Sandy Gorman.

Finn oversaw the junior football, having this to say about both teams:

“The Junior Boys A team played in Division 2 in Term 2 and 3 this year. We had a great team this year but did not get the result we deserved. We won every game in the regular season and made the final, scoring over 50 goals in the process. The final against Bayfield, was delayed a few weeks due to rain and it was eventually moved to the new turf. Unfortunately, we lost the final to Bayfield 4-2. The boys deserved more than 2nd place but they played well all season and were a fantastic group to coach.”

“The Boy’s Junior B team also played in Division 2 this year. A number of players had never played before and the season started slow with big defeats against strong teams. We battled hard every week and improved with each game, towards the end of the season the results got better and we began to play much better football. We won enough games to put us in the 5th/6th playoff against Kaikorai Valley. Although we fought hard and provided a very entertaining game to watch, we lost 7-4 and came 6th. The team improved so much over the season so they should be proud of their results and their effort over the season.”

Maggie Gorman had this to say about our top girls team:

“Over the past few years, the girls football team at Logan Park has been on a journey to grow and develop. Sport at Logan Park has been a way for students within the school to branch out and meet new people, and with many girls signing up to play, we didn’t struggle for numbers like in previous years. This season we played in the premier division for the first time in many years, and although we may not have won every game, the effort and enthusiasm put in by the girls was amazing.

To end the season, the girls 1st XI went down to Invercargill with Sandy Gorman and Ms Vella to compete in a tournament. This was a very special event as the girls football team at Logan Park had never been to a tournament. Although we did not win every game, we enjoyed quite a bit of success coming 9th, and top of our division in the tournament. I was super proud of the entire team for pushing through the week. Even when they were physically and mentally tired, the girls stayed positive and gave 100% in every game, not letting down once.

There is no doubt that every single player in our two teams improved under the guidance of our coaches Sandy Gorman and Kayla Marshall, who have been absolutely incredible”

Ms Vella also said this about the girls’ Invercargill tournament:

The Girls 1st XI Football team travelled to Invercargill for the Lotto Girls Football tournament. There were 16 teams competing from around the country. The girls had a successful tournament coming 9th overall. This team is quite young with no Yr 13's and it was their first time attending tournament. The last game of the tournament was a nail biter and went to a penalty shootout. We won after a very clinical team approach to the penalty shootout. Big thanks to Sandy Gorman who gave up many hours to coach the girls.

The girls were great to take away and we had fun group food shopping, recovery sessions in the pool and a trip to Bluff.

Our Senior A boys decided to enter the 2nd division school league this year after battling last year in the top tier. We found this division a lot more suitable, but often struggled to find the clinical finishing in the final third of the field to secure regular wins. We finished 3rd in this division behind arch rivals Bayfield and Taieri. Our performance in the Linwood tournament in Dunedin was very solid. With games on the new turf, we were excited to see what we could do with more space and no excuses. We picked up enough points with one game to go in our pool to qualify top of our pool if we beat St Kevin’s College, and not go below 4th place overall. We managed to go 2 goals ahead, but painfully ended up losing 3-2, and because of how close other teams were in our pool, we ended 4th in our pool, dropping us into the bottom bracket for the playoffs. We ended up finishing in the lower half of the competition, which did not reflect some of our constructive play in the pool rounds. Our biggest success came from the Co-Ed tournament. Having won the competition last year, we had the pressure of defending our title. We did exactly that. With rivals Kavanagh and Bayfield hot on our tails, we managed to go undefeated and win the tournament again. The girls managed 2nd place, giving Logan Park the title of best Football Co-Ed School in Dunedin.

It has been an action packed year for Football at Logan Park and we look forward to recreating it next year. Thanks again to all the coaches and parents who have supported us this year. Your time is hugely appreciated. See you all again next year!