2020 saw the first XI start a rebuilding process after a very successful 2019 season. With only 5 returning players it was always going to be an interesting season as most of the squad made the step up from the Junior grade. There was no doubt about the quality of the players in the squad but a step up in physicality is always an issue in schoolboy football.

The regular season was a lot different due to the COVID-19 pandemic, at one stage we were unsure if any school football would happen. Luckily, we were able to operate under level 2 protocols and a two-pool competition was formed. We had 7 teams in our pool meaning we had 6 competitive games to finish as high as we could before a cross over play off took place. After 2 preseason friendlies against Middleton Grange and Shirley Boys High we begun to feel more and more confident about the ability of the squad. This transferred into the first two league matches where we dominated possession and scored a combined 12 goals and conceded none with two wins over Riccarton and Rangiora. 

Unfortunately, from that point on we started to encounter issues with injuries, club and representative loads and struggled to field our strongest XI for the remainder of the season. As a result of this we did not get the results we had hoped for starting with a 0-0 draw against St Bedes. We encountered a very physical St Bedes side who had no intention of trying to win the game and were extremely pleased with their draw as they celebrated wildly after the game. 

Due to our very successful 3 years at the top of the school’s league it was becoming obvious everyone was out to beat us or take points and they weren’t to concerned about how they did it. The next game was a 1-0 loss to Christ College, probably the most even game of the season. We had a great chance to take the lead in the first half that was not converted which later came back to haunt us. At this stage we were still confident that we would make the top two in the pool to give us a chance to make the finals. We rebounded well against Lincoln with an excellent energetic performance winning 7-0 with Calum Murdoch scoring a hat trick. The next game was a must win to secure second spot and make the playoffs. It was meant to be the first game of the season, but it was rained off. Our opponent was St Andrews who started the season poorly but improved. Due to the Regional Training Centre camp held the same day we were without 6 starting players. We needed a draw as we had superior goal difference, but lack of experience was our downfall as we gave away a soft but unnecessary penalty. A 1-0 loss meant we finished 3rd in the group have only conceded 2 goals and scored an impressive 19 goals. In the first cross over game we came up against Shirley Boys High School who we had played during preseason. We demonstrated how good we were during that game comfortably beating them 4-2 with Calum securing his second hat trick of the season. The final game of the season was to decide 5th and 6th spot in the league and was against our old foe St Bedes. It was virtually a carbon copy of our previous meeting with them showing no intent on trying to win the game. Instead they parked the bus and played for penalties knowing they had a very good shot stopper in goal. We eventually lost the penalty shoot out and finished by our standards a very disappointing 6th position.

We have learnt a lot as a squad this year that will serve us well over the next two years. We are only saying goodbye to one Y13 player Jake Charlton with everyone else returning next year. Revenge is firmly on the minds of all involved in the 2020 campaign and we all look forward to dishing out some heavy defeats next season.

Results

Preseason

5-0 win against Middleton Grange

1-1 draw against SBHS

League

5-0 win against Riccarton

7-0 Win against Rangiora

0-0 draw against St Bedes

1-0 loss to Christs College

7-0 win against Lincoln

1-0 loss against St Andrews

Play-offs

4-2 win against SBHS

0-0 Draw with St Bedes (lost on penalties) finished 6th in league

Awards

Player of the Year – Alex Ballard

Players Player of the Year – Alex Ballard

Most Improved Player – George Campbell

Golden Boot – Calum Murdoch

Captain – Calum Murdoch

Vice Captain – Oliver Cosgrove